Agrium Shuts Down Southwestern Ontario Turf Fertilizer Plant

Sep 06, 2012

Agrium Advanced Technologies (AAT) one of the world’s leaders of wholesale fertilizers is closing their operations for good at their southwestern Ontario plant. The Courtright, Ontario plant located just south of Sarnia was making fertilizers for the turf grass market.

"It has become ever more challenging in these times of high urea volatility to secure a supply that would allow us to operate the facility profitably," Andrew Mittag, president of Brantford, Ont.-based AAT, said in a company release.

The facility had previously been producing 69 thousand tonnes of turf fertilizer products per year. The facility employed 28 staff, and some of the staff will remain on a temporary basis until the remaining inventory is sold and shipped out. Company officials at AAT have also said that they plan to work with the various government agencies to ensure that their commitment to environmental stewardship during their process of shutting down and dismantling the plant reduces their environmental impact on the region.

Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.