4R NUTRIENT STEWARDSHIP
4R Nutrient
Stewardship
Farmer says benefits are
two-fold: financial and
environmental
Don McLean, a longtime
KAP member, is proud
to work on the 4R
Nutrient Stewardship
initiative with KAP
and Fertilizer Canada
because he believes the future of Canadian
farming is tied to a healthy environment
and the continued ability of farmers
to be the best stewards of the land.
So what is 4R Nutrient Stewardship?
It is, as the name implies, four practices
to promote sustainable use of nutrients
for the benefit of farmers and the environment:
•• Right source: ensuring a balanced
supply of essential plant nutrients
including granular fertilizers,
liquid fertilizers and/or manures.
•• Right rate: applying just enough
fertilizer to meet the needs of the
plant while accounting for the
nutrients already in the soil.
•• Right time: applying fertilizer when
the plant will get the most benefit
and avoiding times when fertilizer
can be lost to the environment.
•• Right place: applying fertilizer
where the plants can easily use it
and where it is less likely to be lost
to the water or air.
McLean is a mixed grains farmer
near Manitou in the southwest corner
of the province. Together with his wife,
Stephanie, he plants 2,850 acres, mainly
to wheat and canola. About four years
ago McLean began 4R field trials “as an
opportunity to try different things” as
well as different types of fertilizer.
McLean says that it was encouraging
to see improvements in yield, which
is one way to measure increased profitability,
but also “what I liked to see was
better use of the fertilizer I was applying,
especially more targeted and getting to
where the fertilizer was intended to go.”
“It was clear that (before 4R field
trials) I was losing some of the fertilizer
that I was applying,” he says. “The
benefits of 4R to the farmer are two-fold:
financial and environmental.”
Fertilizer Canada represents members
of the Canadian fertilizer industry,
and it works with federal and provincial
governments, as well as farmers and
agriculture organizations, to promote
this sustainable and profitable concept.
As McLean points out, the majority
of farmers already use these strategies
when feeding their crops by recognizing
the impact of weather, runoff,
the method chosen to apply nutrients
and other factors. The 4R Nutrient
Stewardship program gives them even
more guidance, while at the same time
making the non-farming public aware
that farmers are employing sustainable
agricultural practices.
“I believe it’s important to be more
communicative,” McLean says about
nutrient use, the environment and sustainability.
“KAP is the best voice and has
an easier time facilitating the conversation
with government and the public.
“And KAP and Fertilizer Canada are
a good partnership. It lets us provide
information and talk to the consumer.”
Cassandra Cotton, vice-president
of sustainability with Fertilizer Canada
says 4R Nutrient Stewardship is a science
based framework that looks seriously
at improving farmers’ dollars spent
BY PAT KEENA
❯❯
Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Spring 2019 § 35