In this photo, the corn on the right has been treated with Utrisha N while the corn on the left hasn’t.

Major crops get a new source of nitrogen

Biological products like Envita and Utrisha N enable crops to harvest nitrogen from the air

Glacier FarmMedia – It’s an essential element for plant growth, but nitrogen in the air all around us has been unavailable to major crops — at least until now. New biological products have arrived in the marketplace that enable crops like wheat, canola, soybean and corn to harvest nitrogen from the air. Why it matters: […] Read more

File photo of Canpotex potash cars. (Dave Bedard photo)

Nutrien eyes potash production boost amid turmoil in Russia, Belarus

Idled Saskatchewan mines could be restarted

Winnipeg | Reuters — Nutrien, the world’s biggest potash miner, could boost production by up to 29 per cent in coming years, depending on any sanctions facing rival producers in Russia and Belarus, the Canadian company’s interim CEO told Reuters. Prices of granular potash fertilizer are near 10-year highs in the United States and Brazil, […] Read more

Gavilon in October last year opened a new southern Montana grain elevator, shown here, at Huntley, just northeast of Billings. (Gavilon.com)

Viterra to buy Marubeni’s U.S. grain firm Gavilon

Grain handler looking to expand reach in Americas through acquisitions

Grain firm Viterra’s plans to buy an expanded global reach are about to move forward with a 10-figure deal for the bulk of U.S. ag commodity firm Gavilon’s grain business. Viterra, owned by commodities firm Glencore and two Canadian public-sector pension funds, announced Wednesday it will pay $1.125 billion to buy Omaha-based Gavilon from the […] Read more

Keefer Terminal (foreground) at the Port of Thunder Bay. (PortOfThunderBay.ca)

Thunder Bay shipping season wraps up

MarketsFarm — The last vessel of the shipping season will depart the Port of Thunder Bay on Friday. Grain handling volumes were down on the year, but increases in other categories helped limit the overall reduction in movement through the northern Lake Superior port. The 2021 navigation season will come to a close with the […] Read more

Yara’s headquarters in Oslo. (Yara.com)

Yara to stop buying potash from Belarus due to sanctions

Fertilizer firm buys 10-15 per cent of country's potash output

Oslo | Reuters — Norwegian fertilizer maker Yara said on Monday it will wind down purchases of potash from Belarus by April 1 as international sanctions made it impossible to continue the trade. Yara estimates that it buys 10-15 per cent of the annual output of state-owned Belaruskali, one of the world’s largest producers of […] Read more


FCL’s Co-op Fertilizer Terminal at Brandon. (Photo courtesy Federated Co-operatives Ltd.)

Fertilizer prices to remain high for now

MarketsFarm — There are two factors to consider when it comes to fertilizer. One is the cost as it’s to remain quite expensive at least through the first quarter of 2022, according to Chris Lawson, head of fertilizers for the CRU Group. The other is its availability, said Todd Lewis, president of the Agricultural Producers […] Read more

Elemental sulphur is a byproduct of the oil and gas industry that is often sold at a loss, but shows promise as a replacement for ammonium sulphate to fertilize crops. Shown here are piles of sulphur in the port of Vancouver.

Canadian company brings carbon-friendly sulphate alternative to market

Byproduct from oil and gas industry offers sustainable fertilizer input

A Canadian company has launched a product that could help farmers meet sustainability demands without comprising yield – and provide a cost advantage over conventional products. SulGro is a non-synthetic, micronized elemental sulphur product that Sultech Global Innovation Corp. of Calgary says can replace conventional ammonium sulphates found in synthetic fertilizer programs. Why it matters: […] Read more

Mayo Schmidt, shown here speaking in Winnipeg in 2007, has “left his position” as Nutrien’s CEO and resigned from its board, the company said Jan. 4. (Dave Bedard file photo)

Nutrien makes surprise CEO switch again despite strong profits

Abrupt change 'mighty perplexing' to analysts

Reuters — Canada’s Nutrien, the world’s biggest fertilizer producer by capacity, surprised investors by replacing its chief executive on Tuesday for the second time in eight months, even as the company rakes in strong profits. Nutrien said in a statement it named Ken Seitz, the head of its potash business, as interim chief executive after […] Read more


Chemistry professor Maria DeRosa was looking for a better way to target drugs in human medicine when she realized her technique could be used in a fertilizer coating that would only release the nutrient when a plant needed it.

When the plant speaks, nutrients listen

Canadian researcher may have found a radically new way to fertilize crops

Glacier FarmMedia – It sounds like science fiction, but some day there may be a fertilizer that only activates once the plant tells it to. That’s an oversimplification, but it’s the premise behind a researcher’s prototype for a “smart” fertilizer that uses a unique chemical to “listen” to calls for nutrients from the plant roots. […] Read more

A report from the Smart Prosperity Institute says a well-targeted, comprehensive package of policies is needed for the agriculture sector to promote economic growth while reducing environmental harm.

Debating carbon decrease priorities

There’s debate among agriculture organizations on how to measure the sector’s contributions

Should agriculture’s decreases in carbon emissions be based on intensity of use per unit of food, or measured in the total volume of reductions? That’s the crux of a philosophical discussion happening in agriculture and showcased by competing reports on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. Why it matters: How farmers are required […] Read more