The radical climate policies of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government are now bearing down on Canadian farmers. The federal government announced at a ministers of agriculture meeting last month that nitrogen fertilizer emissions must be reduced by 30 percent by 2030. This could have wide-ranging consequences on future crop yields when many parts of the world are finding it more difficult to produce food.

In a joint press release, the Saskatchewan and Alberta ministers of agriculture expressed their disappointment in the decision: “Fertilizer emissions reduction was not even a topic on the agenda of the annual meeting of Federal-Provincial-Territorial ministers of agriculture, who just finished three days of meetings in Saskatchewan. Provinces pushed the federal government to discuss this important topic but we’re disappointed to learn that the target is already set. The commitment to future consultations are only to determine how to meet the target that Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister [Marie-Claude] Bibeau have already unilaterally imposed on this industry, not t1o consult on what is achievable or attainable.”

According to Fertilizer Canada, a total emissions reduction “puts a cap on the total emissions allowable from fertilizer at 30 percent below 2020 levels. As the yield of Canadian crops is directly linked to proper fertilizer application, this creates a ceiling on Canadian agricultural productivity well below 2020 levels.” With a total emissions reduction, there is no way to reduce emissions without reducing crop yield.

Canadian farmers already use efficient techniques in fertilizer use. “It is estimated that a 30 percent absolute emission reduction for a farmer with 1,000 acres of canola and 1,000 acres of wheat, stands to have their profit reduced by approximately $38,000 to $40,500 annually,” Fertilizer Canada wrote. “In 2020, Western Canadian farmers planted approximately 20.8 million acres of canola. Using these values, cumulatively farm revenues from canola could be reduced by $396 million to $441 million on an annual basis. Wheat farmers could experience a reduction of $400 million.”

In addition to loss of revenue, a lowering of crop yield could lead to significant food shortages in Canada and across the world in the coming years.

Why is nitrogen fertilizer so important to crop production? Nitrogen is a key element in the healthy growth of any plant. Nitrogen is needed in forming amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. Mosaic wrote a factoid report on nitrogen fertilizers: “Since the Haber-Bosch process for synthesizing [nitrogen] fertilizer was developed early in the 20th century, its importance in maintaining the global food supply has rapidly grown. Approximately half the food produced now in the world is supported by the use of [nitrogen] fertilizer.” Nitrogen fertilizers are created from ammonia, which usually relies on natural gas to start the process. Fertilizer prices are often directly tied to natural gas prices.

Nitrogen fertilizers help crops grow by boosting photosynthesis and regulating water and nutrient uptake in the root system. This speeds up growth time and increases crop yield. In Canada, which has a shorter growing season, these fertilizers are critical.

Canada is also one of the world’s leading producers of food. In 2021, crop production contributed $26.3 billion to Canadian gross domestic product and employed 115,500 people on 189,874 farms. The two main crops were canola and wheat. Canada supplies 12 percent of the world’s wheat and is the only major exporter of canola. The food and beverage processing industry, which is dependent on agriculture, accounts for 17.8 percent of all manufacturing gdp in Canada at $33.2 billion. These two industries provide 1 in 30 jobs in Canada.

The new climate target is based on a Discussion Paper released by Agriculture Canada that identifies the policies of the Trudeau government. Nitrogen has become a target because it traps 300 times more heat than carbon dioxide. According to the report, “The target applies to both direct (following fertilizer application) and indirect (from nitrogen leached from fields and volatilized to the atmosphere as ammonia) emissions from the application of fertilizer. … Based on current data for 2019, in which emissions from synthetic fertilizers accounted for 12.75 Mt CO2e [megatonne of carbon dioxide equivalent—a common unit for greenhouse gases], the fertilizer target is anticipated to translate to a reduction of approximately 4 Mt of CO2e.” The paper asserts that the agriculture industry accounts for 10 percent of all Canadian greenhouse gas emissions.

Canadian farmers applied around 3.2 million tons of fertilizer in 2019. Since 2005, that represents a 71 percent increase in nitrogen fertilizer use. The report stated Canadian farmers are one of the worst environmental polluters, writing: “Canada accounts for approximately 1 percent of global agricultural emissions. However, available data show that Canadian cereal production likely has one of the highest levels of emissions intensity … amongst major exporting countries.” Canada’s CO2 emission intensity reportedly exceeds that of several countries, including Australia and the United States—but many Canadian farming organizations dispute the validity of these numbers.

Comparing these numbers to China, the top polluting nation in the world, helps place the “threat” posed by Canadian farmers into perspective. A scientific report published at Nature found Chinese farming emissions to be several times higher than Canadian farms. In 2014, China’s agricultural sector emitted nearly 94 times more greenhouse gases than Canada’s. Looking at the world picture, if Canadian farmers reduced nitrogen emissions by 30 percent in eight years, they will have achieved a mere 0.016 percent reduction in CO2e globally.

This is not the first climate policy to adversely affect farmers. The carbon tax has already proved massively expensive. “In 2020, the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated that the federal carbon tax would cost Canadian farmers an estimated $235 million by 2025,” reported True North. “At the time Conservative [Member of Parliament] Philip Lawrence told Parliament that farmers were sending him ‘exorbitant bills’ for the carbon tax totaling between ‘$10,000 to $20,000.’” The Grain Farmers of Ontario calculated that the carbon tax amounts to $5.50 per acre of corn just for harvesting but rises to over $14 for other transportation costs. When farmers have over 1,000 acres of land, these costs multiply very quickly. Some farmers have reported their carbon tax bills being over $2,000 per month. Rising fuel and fertilizer costs will only make it more difficult for farms to stay viable.

Trudeau’s climate policies are not about saving the planet; they are about destroying the biblical blessings of Canada. The late Herbert W. Armstrong proved in The United States and Britain in Prophecy that Canada is part of the tribe of Ephraim, and it received blessings of wealth and prosperity because of the patriarch Abraham’s obedience. Mr. Armstrong identified Canada’s blessing being its natural resources. The Bible prophesies in 2 Kings 14:27-28 that the Communist radical left will attempt to “blot out the name of Israel” in this end time. Radical climate change policies are an attack on these God-given blessings that supply power, security and leadership in the world. The Trudeau government is actively seeking to undermine Canada’s agriculture industry to solidify its Communist rule and further transform the nation.

The Bible prophesies that just before Jesus Christ returns there will be famine (Matthew 24:7). God specifically warns that famine and agricultural disruptions will strike the modern nations of Israel, including Canada. Mr. Armstrong wrote in The United States and Britain in Prophecy: “Other prophecies reveal we are to have soon such drought and famine that disease epidemics will follow, taking millions of lives. When our heaven is as iron, our earth as brass, we will realize rain does not come down from iron, and an earth hard as brass is not getting rain, not yielding food!” Mr. Armstrong then quoted Leviticus 26:20, which reads: “And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.” Some of this is self-inflicted, but God promises to supernaturally curse our nations because people are rebelling against His laws.

Right now, food is still plentiful, but disruptions to the food supply because of the pandemic and climate change policies on farming will have massive impacts on crop yields in the years to come. These Bible prophecies will be fulfilled. Now is the time to seek God before these terrible curses come to pass. To learn more, please read The United States and Britain in Prophecy and America Under Attack, by Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry.