Jocelyn Velestuk says her family farm near Broadview, Sask., makes a six-figure investment in manufactured fertilizer every year. And she doesn't want it to be wasted in the atmosphere as nitrous oxide. (Matthew Howard/CBC)

‘Win-win’: Better fertilizer use by farmers saves money and the environment

This story is part of a CBC News series entitled In Our Backyard, which looks at the effects climate change is having in Canada, from extreme weather events to how it’s reshaping our economy.

Bouncing through a durum wheat field south of Regina on an all-terrain vehicle, with a shovel strapped to the vehicle’s back and an iPad mounted on its front, Tyler Kessler is taking soil samples and collecting moisture data.

Kessler is an agronomist and spends his days advising farmers on the best way to apply fertilizer to help their crops reach their yield potential.

More fertilizer doesn’t always mean a bigger crop, he says, if there isn’t the right mix of rain, sunshine and soil conditions. And too much fertilizer can simply be wasted, with the unabsorbed nitrogen transformed into nitrous oxide (N2O) that’s released into the atmosphere… Read more

Categories: Environment & Animal Life
Tags: , , , ,

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.