Growers & Pollution
In the Spring of 2020, the COVID-19 crisis has overshadowed news headlines in the Lake Erie basin about the concerns elated to the algae blooms in Lake Erie. Articles in several Ohio newspapers indicate that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has announced a water quality document that limits the amount of phosphorus (P) that can be dumped into the Lake Erie Watershed.
This announcement was featured by a newspaper in the city of Toledo, Ohio because the citizens of Toledo, Ohio believe "federal and state regulators have had their chance to clean up Lake Erie without strict oversight, and they have failed. Voluntary measures pursued by the administration of former Governor John Kasich did not get the job done." A new "effort should be both rigorous and court-supervised." The judge "should insist on a role in helping to protect the lake from pollution and lax regulation."
As a non-agricultural push-back against nutrient loss from agricultural sources increases in North America, agricultural producers should seriously consider the Growers Program and Growers Mineral Solution (GMS). Up to this point in time, politicians have resisted mandatory regulations and have only pushed back with voluntary implementations. The problem is that these voluntary methods have failed miserably while leaving the producers with few economic choices to fix the problem. Additional wet land acres and underground cisterns are only band-aids for the real problem of using too much fertilizer.
Today's new methods of dealing with agricultural nutrient loss include terms such as caps, tradeable limits, or usage fees. In other words, to limit nutrient loss, less nutrient has to be applied to grow the crop. This approach is a hard pill to swallow by an industry established on profits from higher applied nutrient rates. Therefore, if a farmer believes the new approach to regulation-that is. less nutrient application-is coming, it behooves the farmer to start figuring out how to grow profitable crops by using less nutrient input.
This is where the Growers Program and GMS could be very helpful to a producer. Since 1955, the Growers Mineral, Ltd. company has shown farmers how to drastically reduce the amount of applied fertilizer nutrients while growing an economically competitive crop. This goal is accomplished by using the microbiological life in the soil. Through in-depth discussions (Growers Winter Meetings and/or The Growers Solution articles), the Growers Company has helped producers reduce their use of fertilizer inputs so as to reduce the producer's loss of elements into the environment. Actually, the fact of less fertilizer application has always been a point of discussion for farmers since the agricultural establishment says "you can't grow a good crop with that dinky amount of fertilizer." After 65 years of business, the biggest question within the Growers company network is how "dinky" of an amount can a farmer really use?
The answer to that question rests with the producer. The farmer must study the Growers approach and decide to what level they want to lower their use of applied fertilizer nutrition. After the study is complete, go to the field and give the theory a test. Only trial and error will demonstrate the real answer. However, the fact remains that. if fertilizer reduction by regulation is the wave of the future in farming, farmers need to figure out how to do this reduction sooner rather than later. If enforced regulation requiring less fertilizer application comes to North American agriculture, those who have prepared will be ready of the possible regulatory "pandemic."
This is an excerpt from the Summer Growers Solution (2020) written by Jim Halbeisen.
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