PM Justin Trudeau has decided to move forward with his cap on nitrogen emissions by reducing fertilizer use even as provincial Agriculture Ministers beg him to stop. As per a Government of Saskatchewan news release, both Alberta and Saskatchewan’s Ministers of Agriculture have expressed «profound disappointment» in Trudeau’s decision to attempt to reduce nitrogen emissions from fertilizer. «We’re really concerned with this arbitrary goal,» Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture David Marit said. «The Trudeau government has apparently moved on from their attack on the oil and gas industry and set their sights on Saskatchewan farmers».

According to Alberta Agriculture Minister Nate Horner, «This has been the most expensive crop anyone has put in, following a very difficult year on the prairies. » « They have helped drive increases in Canadian crop yields, grain sales, and exports,» a news release from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reads. «However, nitrous oxide emissions, particularly those associated with synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use have also grown significantly. » This is a tacit admission that any attempt to lower admissions by reducing nitrogen fertilizer will consequently lower crop yields over the next decade, hurting the Agriculture sector and, more importantly, hurting farmers.

Total Emission Reduction puts a cap on the total emissions allowable from fertilizer at 30% below 2020 levels. In 2020, Western Canadian farmers planted approximately 20.8 million acres of canola. Using these values, cumulatively farm revenues from canola could be reduced by $396M – $441M on an annual basis. Wheat famers could experience a reduction of $400M.

Moreover, Fertilizer Canada doesn’t believe that forcibly decreasing fertilizer use will even lower greenhouse gases but could lead to carbon leakage elsewhere.

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Source: TCS WIRE | THECOUNTERSIGNAL.COM