Posted on 07/23/2022 8:32:22 AM PDT by karpov
Provincial agriculture ministers are expressing frustration with the Trudeau government over plans to effectively reduce fertilizer use by Canada’s farmers in the name of fighting climate change
A meeting of federal and provincial ministers wrapped up in Saskatoon on Friday with several provinces saying they are disappointed.
The federal government is looking to impose a requirement to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizers saying it is a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. While the Trudeau government says they want a 30% reduction in emissions, not fertilizer, farm producer groups say that at this point, reducing nitrous oxide emissions can’t be done without reducing fertilizer use.
“Provinces were disappointed by the lack of flexibility and consultation regarding the federal target,” Ontario’s Lisa Thompson said after the meeting.
Several provincial governments, and organizations representing farmers have asked for emissions reductions from fertilizer to be measured via intensity – how much food is produced compared to the amount of fertilizer used. The Trudeau government is demanding an absolute reduction in emissions, which farmers say will result in less food being produced at a time when the world can ill afford it.
“The world is looking for Canada to increase production and be a solution to global food shortages. The Federal government needs to display that they understand this,” Alberta minister Nate Horner said.
“We’re really concerned with this arbitrary goal,” Saskatchewan’s David Marit said.
(Excerpt) Read more at torontosun.com ...
No doubt.
Then Bill Gates comes in and buys the farms at a fire sale. People need to wake up.
Never been a farmer, have you?
The Canadians have to get rid of this guy. When can they do that and will they do that?
Ban Legumes NOW! 🤦♂️ 🤦♂️🤦♂️
I studied farm records for 40 years.
What do you know?
What exactly do you disagree with?
“Disappointed?” They ought to tell Castro’s son to perform an anatomically impossible act, and infirm him that they’ll use all the fertilizer that they want to unless and until he sends in the army.
Exactly.
I’m not disagreeing with anything other than your slight that the farmers are greedy pigs.
Notice green stuff on the ground and animals in the picture? That picture is a complete natural system with ground covered with plants at all times, animals depositing manure and trampling it in and with lots of microbial soil life. That’s what the system was back when the buffalo and bison roamed by the millions before the industrial age.
Search youtube for Dr Elaine Ingram or Ray Archuletta if you really want to learn about healthy living soil like that in the picture from your link. There are 30 million microscopic organisms in a Tbsp of soil and most are killed by cultivation and leaving the soil bare which is what modern farming does.
In modern mega mono-crop farms or the standard corn/soy rotation in the US, the soil gets cultivated and spends a lot of time bare. There is little to no microbial soil life. Nitrogen gets lost in the atmosphere when disturbed and also kills the microbial soil life that would keep it in the soil. With no soil life, there is no structure to the soil. No glue like substances or mycellium to hold things together and give it a crumbly texture. Think dust bowl.
Corn is a heavy feeder and needs to be fed every crop. Corn is in everything. Most dog/cat foods, all livestock feeds. Extracts from corn are in all processed foods. Ethanol is made from corn.
They rotate corn/soy and even though soybeans are a legume, which is the only kind of plant that can pull nitrogen from the air and fix it in the soil, they still have to fertilize it. Just not as much as they do with corn. With fertilizer prices so high this year, many farmers are growing soy instead of corn.
Canola aka rapeseed is a member of the mustard brassica family and not a legume. Wheat is a grass/grain and not a legume. Canadians need a lot of nitrogen to grow those two main crops. Grains and oilseeds is 34% of their agriculture; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Canada#Major_agricultural_products
A Canadian pig farm would make wonderful fertilizer out of Princess Justine.
Does anyone understand the nitrogen cycle anymore? Have you heard in mentioned at all?
Can you explain your thoughts?
Most of the nitrogen in the atmosphere is N2. How many people know what percentage that is.
other forms are no2, nh4 and many others. Govt is focused on No2, but there is a SYSTEM that is bigger than they are.
My major point is that govt does not consider or factor in natural systems.
The carbon cycle is another major system they choose to ignore.
Are systems ever taught anymore? but the problem with systems is it leads to God as the answer, not man, and we can’t have that.
Soil is the foundation on which various plants grow. Soil not only holds the plants firmly on the ground, but also provides all the essential nutrients to the plants to grow and thrive. The health of the plant is directly related to the quality of the soil. Therefore, it is crucial to choose the right kind of soil for the plants that you wish to grow. And not all soils fit all plants so many times the soils have to be prepared.
The role of fertilizers in food production is usually underestimated. Fertilizers are food for plants. Fertilizers replace the nutrients that crops remove from the soil. Without the addition of fertilizers, crop yields and agricultural productivity would be significantly reduced.
Fertilizers improve the supply of nutrients in the soil, directly affecting plant growth. Soil amendments improve a soil’s physical condition (e.g. soil structure, water infiltration), affecting plant growth. They are portable and easy to transport. Plants easily absorb fertilizers. Fertilizers improve and increase the productivity of many crops such as wheat, maize, and rice.
The used of fertilizers cuts the need for crop rotation. Crop rotation is the practice of planting different crops sequentially on the same plot of land to improve soil health, optimize nutrients in the soil, and combat pest and weed pressure. For example, say a farmer has planted a field of corn. When the corn harvest is finished, he might plant beans, since corn consumes a lot of nitrogen and beans return nitrogen to the soil. A simple rotation might involve two or three crops, and complex rotations might incorporate a dozen or more.
However, there are drawbacks to crop rotation:
It requires the purchase of more and different machinery
It may give lower financial returns
It may not be favorable in certain growing conditions
Probably the biggest problem in agriculture today is cost versus returns. Farmers and ranchers have to eat, too. And crop rotation does not quickly create a harvest. And as worth leaves the crops, so does the farmer’s and rancher’s capacity to maintain and increase the needed foods whether for man or otherwise.
Another problem is existing soil productivity and region. Certain areas are more susceptible to certain crops and others may not be able to be grown there. An example is coffee. The most important conditions necessary for a coffee tree to grow is the presence of a temperate or tropical climate where there is no frost, ample sunshine, and plenty of water. And of course, too much direct sunlight or hydration can have a reverse and detrimental effect upon the trees. There are many plants that require different and a wide variety of scenarios.
Canada, like other nations that have done this, is limiting their self sufficiency thus increase the dependency on other countries and sources.
Today’s agriculture is not like 200 years ago when virgin soil could receive tossed seeds and produce a harvest big enough to satisfy the demand. And at the same time afford the producer a life for him and his family.
Wy69
Isn’t this what Canada voted for? Enjoy.
If Canada eliminated fertilizer entirely, impact on the global climate wouldn’t even be detectable.
With the deliberate propaganda and continuous propping up of the world’s centralized and socialized international press corpse.
Very interesting!
“The same politican is going to ask why a load of bread costs so much next year.”
Some of the people I know are going to be going bonkers, not having prepared for increases, and will be blaming it on the corporate profit seekers, those that they are sure are making insane profits and doing it just to spite us.
That’s what the system was back when ..............
We may affect and effect the system. But it does not go away.
Limiting growth factors have historically been, water, nitrogen, temp, carbon dioxide. Other?
If one is low and others are ok or abundant, we can address the one and get great return on the investment. That was the green revolution, genetics and fertilizer. But if the climate didn’t cooperate, it wouldn’t have happened.
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