Canada set to copy Dutch plans for farming

OTTAWA — Eastern Ontario farmers who fear that drastic Dutch policies on farming are coming to Canada, appear to be right.

The Trudeau government has injected nitrogen fertilizer cuts into Canada’s new agricultural policy framework, to the consternation of Ontario Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Lisa Thompson and other provincial ag ministers

Agreement in principle on the latest five-year refresh of the framework — a multi-billion-dollar federal and provincial funding partnership supporting agriculture — was reached by the participating governments July 22.

Though party to the agreement, Thompson and her prairie counterparts oppose its 30% reduction in nitrous oxide emissions from farms by 2030. A prior study has suggested this target means spreading 20% less nitrogen fertilizer.