Canadian Farmers Face Rising Fuel, Fertilizer Costs

Canadian farmers are facing soaring costs for fuel and fertilizer, nearly doubled since the onset of conflict involving the United States, Iran, and Israel, which has disrupted oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. As seeding season approaches in just two weeks, producers across the country describe the situation as a high-stakes gamble that threatens their slim profit margins and the nation's food supply.

In Cremona, a rural community northwest of Calgary, Alberta, longtime farming families like those of Bruce Bird and Dave Reid have operated their lands for more than a century. Both men decided last fall to pre-purchase diesel and fertilizer to hedge against rising prices, locking in supplies for the upcoming growing season on their respective operations of 1,300 hectares and 1,012 hectares.

Bird, 48, said the decision tied up hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it still left him at a disadvantage. "Had I not been able to justify the cost involved, I would have been a minimum of 100,000 further behind for exactly the same product, the same rates, the same everything," he explained. Even with the foresight, he added, "Our preplanning comes at such a cost. I...