John Heard discusses methods to reduce nitrous oxide emissions through nitrogen management.

New program funds farm emissions reduction practices

Prairie Watersheds Climate Program offers incentives toward control of nitrous oxide emissions; N management field tour coming up July 29

A new program is taking aim at agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Last month, the Manitoba Association of Watersheds (MAW) launched the first phase of the Prairie Watersheds Climate Program, a part of the federal government’s On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF). That’s a $200 million, three-year fund (from 2021 to 2024) that underwrites 12 different programs

Smaller plants, yellow leaves and fewer tillers are the telltale signs of nitrogen deficiency in wheat.

Nitrogen uncertainty requires extra vigilance

Detecting nutrient deficiencies is the first step to knowing whether to top up nitrogen levels this year

Manitoba producers continue to face an uncertain nutrient picture after a slow and wet spring. High residual nitrogen last fall may have tempted some to limit their spring applications of the suddenly very expensive nutrient, but that could mean they need to do an in-season top-up. It’s a situation that has agronomists recommending a number


Nutrien’s head office building in Saskatoon. (Liam O’Connor photo)

Nutrien to further boost potash output amid global shortage

Company will also speed up nitrogen capacity boosts

Reuters — Nutrien, the world’s largest fertilizer producer, said Thursday it will increase its Canadian potash production by 20 per cent to an annual 18 million tonnes by 2025, helping to address tight supplies that have contributed to a global food shortage. Potash prices have soared since the West imposed sanctions against Russia for Moscow’s

nitrogen

No bets on carry-over nitrogen

Recent sampling shows there's less residual nitrogen from last year’s drought in the top six inches of the soil, but much of it may still be available between six and 24 inches

After a season of drought followed by a disappointing harvest, many farmers saw a silver lining in the fact that the conditions left them with a significant amount of residual nitrogen — as much as four times the normal levels in some areas. It was good news at a time when input costs, including fertilizer,

manitoba field work

Understanding where your nitrogen is

Excess nitrates from last fall are disappearing, but more stable ammonium applications are likely still there

Wet conditions are causing a lot of concern over what’s happening with nitrogen in those sodden soils this spring. John Heard, soil fertility specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Development, told the weekly Crop Talk webinar May 11 that this unusual year is causing farmers to contact him with a couple of areas of concern.


CF Industries’ UAN plant at Donaldsonville in Louisiana. The company also makes UAN at plants in Ontario, Iowa and Oklahoma. (Thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com)

CF Industries profit soars as sanctions raise fertilizer prices

Chicago | Reuters — CF Industries on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings climbed 485 per cent as the fertilizer maker ramped up U.S. shipments after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine catapulted prices for crop nutrients. Top fertilizer producers including CF, Nutrien and Mosaic Co. have benefited as sanctions on exporters Russia and ally Belarus limited global supplies

(Nutrien video screengrab via YouTube)

Nutrien bolsters profit forecast on surging fertilizer prices

Fertilizer sector set for biggest profits in years

Reuters — Nutrien Ltd. on Monday raised its full-year earnings forecast well above estimates after posting a more than 10-fold jump in first-quarter profit, as the world’s largest fertilizer company benefits strongly from soaring prices of crop nutrients. Prices of essential crop nutrients such as potash and phosphate skyrocketed in the quarter, touching near-record levels,

CF Industries’ UAN plant at Donaldsonville in Louisiana. The company also makes UAN at plants in Ontario, Iowa and Oklahoma. (Thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com)

CF Industries warns of shipment delays via Union Pacific

Reuters — Fertilizer firm CF Industries on Thursday warned of delays in shipment of its nitrogen fertilizers, a week after Union Pacific mandated certain shippers to reduce the volume of private cars on its rails. The announcement of delay also comes a month after CF said it is increasing fertilizer shipments to both U.S. coasts