Southeastern Manitoba farmers are facing extra strain ahead of the spring planting season as fertilizer and fuel prices surge due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Randolph-based farmer Kevin Peters is watching the price turmoil closely. He plants rye, canola, wheat, soybeans, corn and sunflowers on his 7,500 acres. Peters locked in pricing for his year-long fertilizer supply in November and considers himself lucky.

“There’s always concern about geopolitical issues.” he told The Carillon. “Whether it has to do with trade or, in this case, fertilizer supply…it can really affect imports and exports for a lot of things.”

The United States and Israeli attacks on Iran began Feb. 28, striking multiple targets throughout the middle eastern nation and killing its Supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian military personnel retaliated, launching missiles and drones at neighbouring nations and vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which flows between Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, grinding the shipping lane to a halt. The New York Times reported on March 25 at least 17 ships have been struck since the conflict began.

Last week in his speech in Davos, Prime Minister Carney said , “A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options.” Four days later, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced 12 percent of its workforce – 665 positions — and seven agriculture research facilities are to be cut. Over the weekend we also witnessed the U.S., our largest trading partner and source of much of our processed and fresh foods, lurch even further into violence and unrest. By closing the doors on agricultural research centres and research farms, and ejecting people who represent upwards of 10,000 years’ worth of experience from the public service, Canada will be foreclosing on the discovery, problem-solving, and knowledge-base that would have been created by these institutions, leaving us more vulnerable with fewer options.

“We are facing multiple crises that affect our capacity to produce the food and agricultural products that Canadians need,” said Phil Mount, NFU vice president, policy. “We need more investment, not less, in our public research institutions and personnel. The planned cuts would remove about $154 million from AAFC’s annual budget, but this is a false economy. Cutting our capacity to address known and emerging agriculture problems will be far more costly. For just one example, agricultural economist Dr. Richard Gray has shown that there is a $35 return to farmers and the public for every dollar invested in public plant breeding.”

“AAFC researchers working in the public interest can tackle large, difficult questions and freely share their findings, helping farmers succeed in the long term. Farmers have partnered with AAFC by putting tens of millions of check-off dollars into these research projects, as has the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) which allocates money indirectly contributed by farmers. Closing these AAFC facilities will make it that much harder to find institutions with the capacity to utilize these funds,” said Terry Boehm, NFU representative on the WGRF.

“Cutting the Organic and Regenerative Research Program at the Swift Current Research Centre, the sustainable livestock programs at Lacombe and the Nappan Research Farm, along with the agro-ecosystem resilience research at Quebec City, weakens Canada’s ability to deal with climate change impacts and biodiversity loss,” said Jenn Pfenning, NFU President. “Farmers in every part of Canada are affected. Research is needed to develop the best kinds of solutions that will be cost-effective for farmers and help us strengthen our food sovereignty.”