Did you know?

The world population is estimated to grow to 9 billion people by 2025.

We have less than 1/32 of the earth's surface to grow food.

Land Use

Farmers use science

If you look at the labels on food at home or in the supermarket, they list nutrients and percentages. Scientists have determined how much of each nutrient an average person needs per day.

One serving of yogurt, for example, provides 5% of the protein an average person needs. And as we use protein or burn carbohydrates and such - we eat to replace them.

Likewise, scientists know how much nitrogen and other nutrients corn needs; or cotton, or soybeans - you name it.

It's also important to remember that farmers are incredibly smart. They won't apply (and pay for) more fertilizer than the soil requires - or, to put it another way, more than the next crop needs.

How much land?

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Slice of Soil Demonstration

We use our land for so many different things and the amount devoted to farming has hardly changed during the past 50 years. Scientists are worried about how we will feed the world's growing population.

The fact is, there are many different forms of nutrients and they all play an important role in growing food. But, the world must use fertilizers to sustain its growing population.

This is not simply our opinion, but the conclusion of agronomists from around the world.

In the next 25 years, global population will grow from a little over 6 billion to approximately 7.5 billion. That's 74 million people that we're adding to the planet every year.

Dr. Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, said that "Without commercial fertilizer, we'd have 2 billion more people than the world can feed."

Not only that, the fact is, today - even with fertilizer - about 2 billion people worldwide are not able to grow or to buy the food they need; 1 out of 3 people does not have what is called "food security."

So if we already have about 2 billion people today who lack food security - and we add almost 2 billion more people by 2025, we'll then have nearly 4 billion people in need. Unless, of course, we're able to double food production by then.

The world's top scientists tell us that's impossible to achieve without conventional fertilizer.

It's possible to grow foods other ways, such as with manures and composting - but not enough food for everyone. Organic crop yields are typically only one-third to one-half as high as commercial fertilizer crop yields. So we really need both if we're going to feed our growing population.

Despite tremendous technological advances in high yield farming and using conventional fertilizer, the job is far from done.

In the United States and Canada, most people don't have to worry about having enough to eat. But food security for everyone worldwide is the goal.

Over the past 40-plus years, farmers in the U.S. and Canada managed to triple crop yields without tripling the acreage of their farms. They've done it on the same land; actually, on a bit less land.

Food produced with organic or fertilizer nutrients have the same health and nutritional benefits, however, fertilizers can produce as much as 50% more crop on the same land used.
Fertilizers are responsible for 40-60% of the world's food supply. Feeding billions of people.

High-yield farming methods, including the precise and scientific use of fertilizer, have made this possible.

American and Canadian farmers are some of the best environmentalists in the world. Farmers not only live on the land, they rely on it for their livelihood.