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You can see other videos from our team by tapping here. If you refresh your browser, or Agriculture Canada, you can find nitrous oxide emissions associated with synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use is necessary to reach net-zero by 2050 and wants their levels to be reduced 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business CFIB came out against the proposal last week and wants to ensure that emission reduction targets for farmers are voluntary. The government of Canada s goal is to set a national target to reduce emissions, but the primary method to achieve this is not to establish a mandatory reduction in fertilizer use, said Taylor Brown, CFIB policy analyst. Brown said that nitrogen fertilizer is an essential element for farmers, driving increases in Canadian crop yields, which leads to increased grain sales and exports, record farm cash receipts and prosperity for Canadian farmers and their families.
In a recent survey, nearly three-quarters of the population said that crop yields and overall food production will fall if they reduce their use of nitrogen fertilizer. Brown said it would make farmers less profitable or less competitive. They are questioning how they are going to save the world, as a result of rising costs and labour shortages, according to Brown. Industry groups oppose the government's plans. Fertilizer Canada opposes the federal government's emission reduction target, citing a potential $48 billion loss in farm income if fertilizer reduction is mandated. Jake Leguee, who farms near Weyburn, Sask. SaskWheat, who is Vice-chair of the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, said that nitrogen fertilizer is the most important nutrient on farms.
Without fertilizer, our crop yields will suffer, Leguee said. Leguee opposes any move by the federal government to reduce fertilizer use because he believes there is no good current data as to where emissions are today. The federal government bases its emission models on how many tons of fertilizer are sold in Canada each year. Leguee said that this is a bad metric because farmers often use less fertilizer than they purchased. Coupled with rising costs and labour shortages, they are wondering how they're going to keep saving the world. Just because one buys it doesn't mean one is going to use it that year, Leguee said. A reduction in fertilizer use would be to know what emissions are on every farm and every field in Canada. It will take a long time and a lot of money to get there, Leguee said.