Farmers are confused with the Trudeau government’s plan to reduce fertilizer emissions by 30% by 2030..On Thursday night at the Atlas Hotel in Regina, Conservative MPs met with leaders from the Saskatchewan agriculture industry to discuss the federal fertilizer emissions reduction plan..The Conservative MPs described the fertilizer emissions plan as part of Trudeau’s “activist agenda.”.The farmers want to know what is being reduced by 30%. .Canadian Federation of Agriculture Second Vice-President Todd Lewis addressed the media following the meeting. .“We’ve heard kind of the idea that we’re being asked to be put on a diet,” said Lewis..Lewis said farmers do not know where the reduction will come from and how it could be measured. .If the reduction plan is to reduce the use of fertilizers by 30%, the crop yields would reduce as well as the farmer’s profits..“Nobody knows where it came from … 30% of what?” said Lewis..Lewis said farmers would use less fertilizer if they achieved the same crop yield as it would reduce the fertilizer cost and be a “great goal” for everyone..When Lewis was asked if the farmers had any communication with the federal government, he responded with “I think they’re working on it.”.Lewis does not know if the federal government’s plan will give farmers any credit for the progress they have made in reducing emissions..Regina-Qu’Appelle MP Andrew Scheer said the government’s plan is “very dangerous” and could cause “abject misery around the world, as food prices skyrocket.”.Regina-Lewvan MP Warren Steinley said Agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s visit to Saskatchewan had been “eye-opening.”.“I think a lot more Liberals should come out here and take a look at what we’re doing and how well we’re doing it right now.”.Conservative Alberta MP John Barlow said the government’s emissions plan would have a “devastating impact” on food costs, farm families, and the environment..Barlow said a fertilizer reduction would increase emissions because farmers would spend more time in the fields working..One way to reduce emissions could rate fertilizer emissions “per unit” based on the crop yield, suggested Barlow in his discussion with the farmers.
