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Russia and Belarus, the world’s two other potash powers, together produce about what Saskatchewan does on its own.
俄羅斯和白俄羅斯是世界上另外兩個鉀肥大國，兩國的鉀肥產量加起來大約相當于薩斯喀徹溫省自己的產量。
But the world has lost access to much of their output, owing to sanctions and shipping blockades.
但由于制裁和航運封鎖，世界其他地區已經失去了獲得大部分產量的機會。
Ken Seitz, the boss of Nutrien, a Canadian potash miner, recently told Reuters that the stranded supplies could amount to 8m tonnes this year, a fifth of global potash exports.
加拿大鉀肥礦商Nutrien的老板肯·塞茨最近告訴路透社，今年擱淺的鉀肥供應可能達到800萬噸，占全球鉀肥出口的五分之一。
That means the biggest importers, such as Brazil, India and Indonesia, as well as Europe, will find it harder to procure the fertiliser they need to plant crops and keep citizens fed.
這意味著，巴西、印度、印度尼西亞以及歐洲等最大的進口國將更難獲得種植農作物和養活民眾所需的化肥。
Saskatchewan is one of the few places in the world that can boost production at short notice, says Bronwyn Eyre, until recently the province’s minister of energy and resources.
薩斯喀徹溫省能源和資源部長布朗溫·艾爾表示，薩斯喀徹溫省是世界上少數幾個能在短時間內提高產量的地方之一。
Ambassadors and other officials have been calling with urgent demands.
大使和其他官員一直在打電話提出緊急要求。
For them, “it’s a national security concern.”
對他們來說，這是一個國家安全問題。
Saskatchewan is often said to be Canada’s heartland, full of cheerful, guileless folk who are just a generation or two off the farm if not still on it.
薩斯喀徹溫省經常被認為是加拿大的心臟地帶，到處都是開朗、樸實的人，他們即使不在農場了也只是才一兩代人的時間。
The ups and downs of farm life helped forge a culture of mutual support.
農場生活的起起伏伏有助于形成一種相互支持的文化。
The province was the first place in North America to provide universal health care, in 1962.
1962年，該省是北美第一個提供全民醫療保健的地方。
But recent prosperity, and perhaps the influence of Alberta, an oil-soaked neighbouring province with a secessionist bent, have changed things a bit.
但最近的繁榮，或許還有艾伯塔省的影響，這個石油資源豐富、有分離主義傾向的鄰近省份，已經讓情況發生了一些變化。
Today’s Saskatchewanites seem to want smaller government and lower taxes.
今天的薩斯喀徹溫省人似乎想要更小的政府和更低的稅收。
Ms Eyre’s conservative Saskatchewan Party caters to that.
艾爾女士的保守派薩斯喀徹溫黨迎合了這一點。
The potash industry is at the centre of this new mood.
鉀肥行業處于這種新情緒的中心。
The tallest steel-and-glass office building in Saskatoon, the largest city, is the Nutrien tower.
在最大的城市薩斯卡通，最高的鋼鐵和玻璃結構的辦公樓是Nutrien Tower。
Mosaic’s building in the provincial capital, Regina, is almost as prominent.
馬賽克在省會里賈納的建筑幾乎同樣引人注目。
The firms’ names adorn stadiums and events.
這些公司的名字裝飾在體育場和賽事活動上。
To anyone who takes the Yellowhead Highway across the province, half a dozen mines and their huge pink-white tailing piles can be seen across the pancake-flat landscape.
對于任何走黃頭高速公路穿越該省的人來說，在這片平坦如餅的地形上都可以看到六個礦山和他們巨大的粉白色尾礦堆。
Firms are scrambling to take advantage of what one boss describes as “outrageous” prices, which have tripled in a year.
一位老板將其描述為“令人發指”的價格，在一年內漲了三倍，各家公司都爭相利用這一價格。
But new mines take time.
但新礦需要時間。
Potash deposits are a kilometre or so beneath the earth, under a thick layer of pressurised water.
鉀鹽礦藏位于地下約一公里處，在一層厚厚的加壓水下。
To sink a shaft down the water must be frozen from above, a procedure that can take two years or more.
將豎井沉入水中必須從上方凍結，這一過程可能需要兩年或更長時間。
Bhp, the world’s biggest mining firm, is rushing to finish its first potash mine, in Saskatchewan, a year before it was due to open in 2027.
必和必拓，世界上最大的礦業公司，正趕著完成其在薩斯喀徹溫省的第一座鉀礦，這比原定于2027年開放的鉀礦早了一年。
Efforts are under way to ramp up production at existing mines, too.
目前也在努力提高現有礦場的產量。
Nutrien plans to extract an extra 1m tonnes of potash in 2022, equal to 7% of its output.
Nutrien計劃在2022年額外開采100萬噸鉀肥，相當于其產量的7%。
Mosaic has reactivated a mine it had mothballed in 2019.
Mosaic公司重新啟用了2019年封存的一處礦場。
But transport problems hamper such plans.
但交通問題阻礙了這樣的計劃。
What Canada needs, says Ms Eyre, is more pipelines to move oil and gas about, which would free rail capacity to move more potash and crops to ports to be shipped abroad.
艾爾表示，加拿大需要更多輸送石油和天然氣的管道，這將釋放鐵路運力，將更多的鉀肥和農作物運往港口運往國外。
The left-leaning prime minister, Justin Trudeau, disagrees.
左傾的總理賈斯汀·特魯多不同意這種說法。
Like most of Canada, the province also suffers from a shortage of workers.
與加拿大大部分地區一樣，該省也面臨著勞動力短缺的問題。
No other province has seen such slow population growth.
其他省份的人口增長沒有這么緩慢。
Over the past century the ranks of Saskatchewanites have increased by half to 1.2m while the country’s population has quadrupled.
在過去的一個世紀里，薩斯喀徹溫省的人口增加了一半，達到120萬人，而該國的人口則翻了兩番。
The provincial government has been keen to take as many Ukrainian refugees as it can get.
省政府一直熱衷于接收盡可能多的烏克蘭難民。
But despite ample jobs, cheap housing and a diaspora, Ukrainians have not come flocking.
但是，盡管有充足的就業機會、廉價的住房和海外僑民，烏克蘭人并沒有蜂擁而至。
