Fertilizer Canada Welcomes The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food’s Report on Global Food Insecurity

Apr 25, 2023

Statement from Karen Proud, President and CEO, Fertilizer Canada

Fertilizer Canada welcomes the report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, Feeding The World: Strengthening Canada’s Capacity To Respond To Global Food Insecurity. The recommendations support Canada’s agriculture sector and the important role we play in global food security. Fertilizer Canada participated in the study, and we’re pleased to see our recommendations on nutrient management, support for Canadian fertilizer manufacturing, and the need to strengthen supply chains reflected in the report.

The Canadian fertilizer industry is a highly export-driven industry and is a world leader in sustainable fertilizer manufacturing. We are encouraged to see the report’s recommendation to explore opportunities to increase domestic fertilizer production. Canada’s fertilizer industry is one of our country’s most Energy Intensive Trade Exposed (EITE) industries and it is critical that the government’s policies accurately reflect the environmental impact and global competitiveness of our sector to support continued investments.

We applaud the all-party recognition of 4R Nutrient Stewardship and the recognition of Canadian farmers for being world leaders in the efficient use of fertilizer by utilizing 4Rs. We strongly support the recommendation that the government keep emission targets voluntary to protect food security while incentivizing adopting of 4R practices. As well, we support the recommendation to fund research and development to further innovation in the application of fertilizer.

The report also highlights the importance of strong, reliable supply chains for the success of Canada’s agriculture sector. We support the call to immediately implement the recommendations contained in the Final Report of the National Supply Chain Task Force, encourage investment in the rail system, and update port infrastructure.

We look forward to continuing to work with the government to implement the committee’s recommendations to strengthen Canada’s agriculture sector and fight global food insecurity.

Source : Fertilizer Canada

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.