The goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer use by 30 per cent kicked up more dust than a tractor on a grid road when it was first announced by the federal Liberal government last summer.
Now that some of the dust has settled, agriculture and industry groups say that goal can probably be met without reducing yields — although maybe not as quick as Ottawa would like.
“Can we get that additional 30 per cent? I think so,” said Keith Currie, vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and a corn producer from Collingwood, Ont.
“But there has to be a combined, collaborative approach by all involved.”
Government figures suggest fertilizer accounts for a growing share of the 10 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions that come from agriculture. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has said reducing those emissions by nearly a third by 2030 is ambitious but must be accomplished.
“We have to have a destination,” she said in an interview last month. “So we got out a target that we aim to.”
Both the government and farmers are placing their trust in an approach known as 4R: right source, right rate, right time and right place.
That means measures such as slow-release fertilizers that give soil time to absorb nutrients. It means understanding the land well enough to know which parcels need more and which need less. It means not applying fertilizer when it’s dry, or using two smaller applications at different times instead of one large one.
It could work, said Karen Proud, president of Fertilizer Canada, but maybe not within the seven growing seasons Ottawa has given farmers.
“It is possible if 100 per cent of the acres in Ontario and Quebec and 60 to 70 per cent of all farm acres in Western Canada adopt the most advanced of our nutrient stewardship practices,” Proud said.
“But we know given where we are today, we are never going to achieve 100 per cent of acres in Ontario and Quebec. And in the short time we have between now and 2030, we are certainly not going to achieve 60 to 70 per cent of all acres in Western Canada.”
Proud’s group recently released a report suggesting a 14 per cent reduction by 2030 is more realistic.
There’s more to fertilizer use than just using fertilizer, said Currie. If farmers are to use latest technologies to get more out of the chemicals, they’ll need the kind of internet service that isn’t available in many rural communities.
“It’s that precision technology that’s going to help us be even better with respect to our cropinputs, which will help with the reduction in emissions,” Currie said. “(We need) to get the government to be really serious about getting 5G and broadband coverage.”
Carbon markets or credits to encourage farmers to adopt lower-emission practices would also help, he said.
“Not that any farmer is going to lift a mortgage off of selling credits, but it’s another tool we can use,” Currie said.
Proud said the government is going to have to spend money to help farmers adapt.
“What we’re asking of government is to sit down with ourselves, with the farm groups, with farmers to talk about what are those barriers to adoption and then how do we work towards reducing that,” she said. “Some of that may be investing in more education at the farm level, so they understand more about the benefits of 4Rs and how that actually helps increase productivity.”
Bibeau said the government has committed to getting 5G internet to 98 per cent of Canadians by 2026, if the provinces co-operate. She also said she’s listening — consultations with farm groups began in March and recently concluded.
“I think we have demonstrated through the years how open we are and how many consultations we can do,” she said.
Bibeau said Ottawa has increased the $3-billion Canadian Agricultural Partnership Agreement by $500 million.
There are other ways to decrease fertilizer emissions other than just using them more efficiently, said Ralph Martin, a retired agriculture professor from the University of Guelph. Most emissions come as fertilizer is made from fossil fuels, he said, so why not look for nutrients from another source?
“What we should really be looking at is human sewage.”
Eliminating waste in crop production would also reduce pressure for fertilizer-driven high yields, Martin said.
He said fertilizer use and farm prosperity aren’t necessarily the same thing.
Fertilizers can create higher yields, but they also increase expenses. Many farmers might be happy to use less fertilizer, but they need incentives to make the change.
“Farmers have a lot invested, a lot of dollars on the line,” Martin said. “If we had incentives, I think farmers would respond.”
Bibeau said she’s optimistic the goal will be met. Fertilizer Canada’s estimate of a 14 per cent reduction is good news, she said.
“This is already great. There will be new practices, new inputs, new technologies that will develop in the coming months and years.”
Farmers are on board, said Currie. They just need realistic plans.
“We never have not been willing to do our part. But the government’s got to do a better job communicating where they want to go and how.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2022.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
TORONTO – Unifor says workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., have voted to join the union.
The union says it’s Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada.
Unifor national president Lana Payne says the employees stood up for their rights and the union is excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.
Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.
The vote was held from Sept. 10 to 12.
Unifor represents 315,000 workers across the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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