The Canadian Federation of Agriculture at its annual meeting held last month in Ottawa, passed a resolution in support of 4-R Nutrient Stewardship.

The spontaneous resolution was brought to the floor following a presentation by Fertilizer Canada President and CEO Garth Whyte.

Whyte explained what the term 4-R Nutrient Stewardship means.

"The four R's mean, the right source of fertilizer applied at the right rate, at the right time and at the right place," he said.

"It is very simple but it is also very complex because it changes by farm, because it is determined by different climate, different soil, different crop and different geography so there are different applications."

Whyte also spoke about the benefits of the stewardship.

"We have a network of soil scientists working with governments, and we have done research over ten years of looking at the impacts," he said.

"For example, with 4-R Nutrient Stewardship it reduces greenhouse gasses so producers can reduce nitrous oxide crop emissions, which are three-hundred times worse than carbon emissions, and at the same time increase their profitability by up to $87/acre."

He notes right now there is about two million acres in Canada that are following 4-R Nutrient Stewardship.

The goal for Fertilizer Canada is to bring that number up to 20 million by the year 2020.