Reading Time: 2 minutes Seoul | Reuters — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered improvements to infrastructure and expansion of farmland to ramp up food production, state media said on Thursday, amid warnings of an impending food crisis. Kim gave instructions to revamp irrigation systems, build modern farming machines and create more arable land as he wrapped up […] Read more
North Korea’s Kim demands more farmland to boost food production
Russia, U.S. bicker at UN over donating fertilizer to Syria
U.S. calls for Russia to distribute via UN
Reading Time: 2 minutes United Nations | Reuters — Russia and the United States bickered on Tuesday over whether Russian fertilizer could be donated to Syria as Moscow heightens complaints about obstacles to its fertilizer shipments before the renewal of a deal allowing Ukraine Black Sea grain exports. Some 260,000 tonnes of Russian fertilizer has been stuck in several […] Read more
Beyond N, P and K fertilizer
A Saskatchewan-developed system will give an overall score for soil health
Reading Time: 3 minutes What do soil-health testing systems have in common? Obvious answers aside, most weren’t developed in — or for — the Canadian Prairies. Two University of Saskatchewan researchers aim to change that with the first Saskatchewan-based soil health scoring framework. “Soil health is defined as the capacity of the soil to function,” says Qianyi (Athena) Wu, […] Read more
Mosaic misses profit estimate amid lower demand for fertilizers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Mosaic Co. on Wednesday became the latest fertilizer maker to miss fourth-quarter profit estimates amid lower demand for potash and other crop fertilizers, pushing shares down 2.2 per cent in extended trading. Although prices of fertilizers such as phosphates and potash decreased toward the end of last year, it did not boost demand […] Read more
Nutrien misses profit estimates amid higher fertilizer prices
CF Industries also books lower sales
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Canadian fertilizer maker Nutrien on Wednesday forecast lower-than-expected 2023 earnings and posted fourth-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates, sending shares down 2.6 per cent in extended trading. While higher fertilizer prices dented demand in early second-half of last year, a fall in prices later in the year did not boost demand as farmers […] Read more
Russia says sanctions a barrier to Black Sea grain deal renewal
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Russia said Monday it would be “inappropriate” to extend the Black Sea grain deal unless sanctions affecting its agricultural exports are lifted and other issues are resolved. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed by Russia and Ukraine last July, created a safe corridor to allow grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports blockaded […] Read more
Dealing with N and S deficiencies in corn
Much of Manitoba’s corn is on sandier soils that are more prone to nutrient losses
Reading Time: 3 minutes Manitoba corn growers’ hopes for a lower nitrogen bill in 2022 disappeared with the N leached away by the wet spring. Manitoba Agriculture soil specialist John Heard tested some fields in the spring and found that about 30 pounds of N per acre leached in clay soils and 80-plus pounds in sandier soils. “We know […] Read more
Mosaic says stockpiles too high to restart Saskatchewan mine
Company expects Russia, Belarus 2023 potash exports at 2022 level
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Fertilizer producer Mosaic Co. does not currently see the right market conditions to restart its idled Saskatchewan potash mine, with high inventories in the U.S. and Brazil and cold weather slowing trains from Canada, CEO Joc O’Rourke said Wednesday. Mosaic curtailed potash production in December at its Colonsay, Sask. mine, but […] Read more
French insect-based ingredients maker Ynsect to expand in North America
U.S. plant would use Ardent Mills' flour milling byproducts
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — French company Ynsect said on Tuesday it had signed deals to build insect ingredient production sites in the United States and in Mexico as the firm kicks off what it says will be the world’s largest insect farm. Ynsect breeds mealworms that produce proteins for aquaculture, livestock, pet food, fertilizers and […] Read more
Belarus to allow Ukraine grain transit with no preconditions, U.N. says
Belarus still wants sanctions lifted off fertilizer
Reading Time: < 1 minute United Nations | Reuters — Belarus told the United Nations on Friday that it would allow, without preconditions, the transit of grain from Ukraine through its territory for export from Lithuanian ports, a U.N. spokesman said. Belarus, used by its ally Russia as a staging ground for Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, said in […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
