Excerpt
Studies show many farmers over-apply fertilizer to ensure a good yield. The thought has been that an insurance could be offered to guarantee farmers using best management practices (BMFs) the same yield they would see if they applied excess nutrients to their fields. If the yield using BMPs is smaller, the farmer is paid the difference. All this is an attempt to curb excess nutrients from washing off farm fields into waterways and water supplies.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency offered a pilot crop insurance program this past year. The program touts average fertilizer savings of $26 per acre for farmers who adopt the BMPs developed for corn crops. The pilot is being offered to growers in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Thomas Green, president of Agflex—which helped develop the Nutrient BMP Endorsement in partnership with the American Farmland Trust—says the program offers substantial savings for farmers and the environment. A Wisconsin survey, for example, found the average corn farmer is applying about 75 pounds extra phosphorus per acre per year, and averaging 38 pounds of extra nitrogen per acre, per year.
If you convert the pounds into dollars, there …
Footnotes
Susan Campbell is a freelance environmental science writer located in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.
- Copyright 2003 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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