Hot News

11.22.05

By CARYL VELISEK

GERMANTOWN, Md. — Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan who recently announced his candidacy in the Maryland gubernatorial race, put in a brief appearance at the Urban Nutrient Management Forum, “From Our Backyards to the Bay,” presented by the Middle Potomac Tributary Team, at the Montgomery College Germantown campus Nov. 16.
Montgomery County is a leader in ag land preservation, Duncan said, and has worked diligently in helping to clean up the bay and in cleaning up power plant pollution
“We are a national model for smart growth,” he said. “But a lot more needs to be done, “The health of the bay continues to decline. The ag community works very hard to manage nutrients and maintain records but they need more financial and technical help to continue.
“The state has cut back funding and I am very aware of farmers’ efforts.”
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has recently issued a report, “Vital Signs,” that applauds the agricultural community for its contributions in cleaning up the bay but concludes that that farmers need more financial and technical support and they are requesting $120 million in assistance in Maryland to help farmers pay for cover crops and to provide greater assistance with a range of nutrient management issues, Duncan said.
“Unfortunately, the current state leadership has not upheld their part of the Nutrient Management Law of 1998, reducing by 40 percent the technical assistance to farmers and shutting down the soil testing lab at the University of Maryland, a valuable resource to communities seeking to manage nutrients,” he added.
“Not just farmers are involved in these efforts, but we must address urban management practices as well. I encourage the Governor to fully fund the programs that are needed to assist the communities in their efforts to manage agricultural and urban nutrients.”
Duncan went on to say that as county executive he is acutely aware of farmer’s efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay and the need for government support for agriculture.
“I applaud the farming community on their valuable progress in the area of nutrient management,” he said.
“But agriculture alone cannot clean up the bay. We need to do more to reduce the nutrients that come from urban sources as well, Especially lawn fertilizer. For urban nutrient management to be successful, we must educate and inform our citizens about how their actions can affect out local water quality and the Chesapeake Bay. And, once educated, we must motivate people to take action in their communities and in their own backyards. This forum is an important step in that direction.”
While much the rhetoric about runoff and leaching of nutrients has been centered on nitrogen overuse, the conference also had an emphasis on phosphorous and the ramifications of phosphorous runoff into the bay and streams of the area. Phosphorous, along with nitrogen and potassium are the three main ingredients in most fertilizers and, it was noted by several of the conference presenters, that “not many people look at or understand what the three numbers on a bag of fertilizer are.”
They are also the three main nutrients taken up by plant roots from the soil, according to Jerry Spetzman, of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
“While phosphorous is needed by plants in smaller quantities than nitrogen and potassium, it is vitally important to the plant’s energy and reproductive systems.” Spetzman said. “Soil phosphorus is essential for the successful early establishment of vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses and for that reason ‘starter’ fertilizers are relatively high in phosphorous.”
“But,” he cautioned, “once plants become established, there is rarely a need for additional phosphorous.
“Deficiency is rarely encountered. Phosphorous is not a bad word, It’s how we use it.”
Fertilizer, leaves, animal waste, grass clippings and eroded soil are all a source of phosphorous and when they become excessive and enter lakes and rivers as runoff, they become a problem.
Minnesota, with its many lakes, chose to address the problem with a statewide law, according to Spetzman.
Fertilizers containing phosphorous are limited for use on lawns in Minnesota. Phosphorous can be used if a soil or leaf tissue indicates it is needed. The state does not prohibit the sale of phosphorous fertilizers, some lawns may still need it, but the homeowner has the responsibility to choose the proper fertilizer, not the retailer. The law does not apply to agricultural crops and golf course managers must have training in proper use.
When lakes in Dane County, Wis., a county with 37 named lakes, began to show signs of decline such as the presence of blue green algae blooms and fish kills, studies confirmed that phosphorous was a big part of the problem.
Dane County is the seat for Madison, the state capital, and a growing urban population, according to Susan Jones of the Dane County Office of Lakes and Watersheds, who spoke at the conference.
An ordinance was passed in Madison in 2004, banning the use of unnecessary phosphorous. The ordinance prohibits application of lawn and turf fertilizers containing phosphorous within Dane County. It applies in towns, cities and villages, golf courses and use by commercial applicators and use by individual residents on their lawns. It also prohibits public display of lawn fertilizers containing phosphorous.
It exempts newly established lawns during the first growing season, existing lawns where soil tests show a need, agricultural uses, vegetable and flower gardens, trees and shrubs and yard waste compost and biosolids applied to improve the soils physical condition.
Results so far show one to five less days of additional low algae per month in Madison’s Lake Mendota.
The public is being educated through mailings, press releases and garden expos.
George Lechlider, a farmer from Laytonsville, Md., who is president of the Montgomery County Farm Bureau and a member of the Montgomery County Conservation Board, said he was especially interested in the presentations from Wisconsin and Minnesota concerning the use of phosphorous in fertilizers.
“Montgomery County has a bill in the works to ban the use of phosphorous and nitrogen on lawns and farmers are concerned it won’t be long before agriculture would not be able to buy these fertilizers. They have to realize farmers will not overuse them. Agriculture simply can’t afford excess fertilizer.”
Other presenters included Gary Felton of the University of Maryland biological engineering, Neely Law from the Center for Watershed Protection in Baltimore, Mark Carroll, natural resources scientist and the University of Maryland, John Barten of Three Rivers District Park in Minnesota, Judy McGowan, MDA, Lou Kobus, Village Turf, Inc., Chris Forth, Tru-Green-ChemLawn, Rich Martinez, Scott’s Miracle-Gro Company, and Randy Shank, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.