THE CANADIAN government is the latest to impose harsh restrictions on the use of fertiliser in a bid to meet its ambitious emissions targets.
The Canadian federal government confirmed last week it was looking to cut nitrous oxide emissions by 30 per cent as part of its fight against climate change.
This will have massive implications for the nation's grain producers and their use of nitrogen fertilisers, which emit nitrous oxide through processes such as volatilisation.
While the Canadian government has said the move is linked only to nitrous oxide emissions, not the use of fertiliser, the Canadian farming lobby has said compliance would essentially require less fertiliser use as there was no other reliable way of guaranteeing the emissions cut.
It comes hot on the heels of impassioned farmer protest in the Netherlands where similar plans to cut agricultural emissions will force farmers to lower fertiliser application rates and reduce livestock numbers.
"We're starting to see this push into a real focus into agricultural emissions become an issue right across the globe," said Rabobank senior grains and oilseeds analyst Cheryl Kalisch Gordon.
"It has started in Europe, we've seen Sri Lanka have its disastrous push to cut fertiliser use and now Canada," Dr Kalisch Gordon said.
"What it reflects, in the developed world especially, is that countries are realising they have got some really ambitious emissions targets in place that they won't meet without looking further afield than they first thought," she said.
"Fertiliser, both in the production and application phase has the potential to be a substantial source of emissions so this is somewhere they will look at."
She said Australian growers would need to monitor the situation closely.
"Often these trends tend to snowball and we've seen Australian growers signing up to European sustainability accreditation criteria in order to sell canola already, in the future this could easily extend to fertiliser usage."
Dr Kalisch Gordon said the harsh emissions targets would be led by the developed world.
"We've seen what a poor outcome moves to cut farm inputs can have in a developing nation like Sri Lanka, but in Europe or Canada the economy will be better able to absorb the production shock while farmers adjust.
"As the saying goes it is a lot easier being green with a full stomach."
She said long-term cuts to fertiliser use could have impacts on global food security.
"Until growers can come up with technological or agronomic advances that allow them to get the same efficacy from less product, such as target, variable application or product less susceptible to volatilisation these sorts of targets will lower yields."
She said at the other of the cycle manufacturers of nitrogen, a notoriously high energy product to make, would look at using cleaner energy sources.
"Hydrogen is one cleaner energy source some are quite excited about, but they will be looking at all options to lower emissions in the manufacturing process."