The fertilizer industry helps ensure that farmers have all the crop nutrients they need to grow the crops the meet world requirements for food, feed, fibre and energy. The nutrients supplied by the industry supplement on-farm sources of nutrients, such as manure and legumes. The nutrients in manufactured fertilizers are in forms that can be absorbed by plants. All of these nutrient compounds exist in nature, but the quantities are not sufficient to meet the needs of our growing, urbanized population.