Federal Budget misses the mark on fertilizer tariffs

Mar 31, 2023

Guelph, ON – Eastern Canadian farmers represented by the Atlantic Grains Council, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Quebec Grain Farmers, Ontario Bean Growers, and Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario say the federal budget misses the mark on returning fertilizer tariffs paid by farmers.

This budget represents a huge disappointment for farmers who incurred the costs of an ineffective and ill-advised tariff. Despite warnings from the United Nations, Canada was the only G7 country to ask its farmers to pay a tariff on imported fertilizer. Farmers have been raising the issue with parliamentarians and the public about these unfair tariffs since the tariff was imposed in March 2022. While the budget mentions the impact of the invasion in Ukraine on farmers, it does not provide a mechanism to get money back directly to farmers who paid the tariff.

Today, farming has never been riskier as a family business, and we are disappointed to see our government use money taken from farmers for geopolitical purposes. We will continue to advocate for the tariffs paid by farmers to be returned to farmers.

Source : GFO

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.