Ontario farmers facing uncertainty amid fertilizer shortage

With temperatures warming up, farmers are preparing for their next season. But for many, uncertainty around the supply of fertilizer may hamper their plans. 

Canadian farmers are dealing with both rising fertilizer costs, and now, limited supply thanks to tariffs imposed on imports from Russia. That country supplies much of the fertilizer used by farmers in Eastern Canada, said Brendan Byrne, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario. 

"We're more than willing to kind of sit down and kind of discuss and maybe change our reliance on that overseas and find more closer sources that can be reliable," Byrne said, but he said in the short-term "there's no real solutions." 

Grain Farmers of Ontario is calling on parliamentarians to do everything in their power to support farmers and ensure fertilizer arrives in Canada in time for this year's planting season. 

'A lot of uncertainty' 

Norman Koch, who grows a variety of grains on his farm in Earlton, Ont., said his farm has some fertilizer already which it received in the fall, but he's unsure at this point what will happen with the rest of the fertilizer they've ordered. 

"Normally in the north here, because we do our cropping maybe a month or three to four weeks later than in southern Ontario, usually the fertilizer rush is over by the time we need it. But if there's a hold up in fertilizer then the farmers in the south will be getting fertilizer later, so there, it's a lot of uncertainty for this year on availability and on price," Koch said. 

"We have it booked, but we haven't been promised that we will get it, all that we've booked, and we haven't been given prices for some of the products yet."

Last month the Canadian government imposed a 35 per cent tariff on Russia and Belarus, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Koch said there is a lot of uncertainty among farmers about whether the cost of that tariff will affect the price they pay, even though their orders were placed last fall. 

"Eventually it's the consumer that's going to have to pay more for everything," Koch said. 

Koch said some farmers may be able to adjust which crops they grow, focusing on those that require less fertilizer. But for the most part, a shortage will simply mean lower yields. 

Requesting federal help 

Byrne, with Grain Farmers of Ontario, said provincial and federal officials have generally been receptive to the group's concerns, and are working to help address the challenges. 

The organization is asking the federal government to do everything possible to ensure fertilizer shipments arrive in Canada, to put measures in place to prevent price gouging, and to explore financial supports for farmers. 

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada did not respond to CBC's request for information about what is being done to address these challenges.