This is the third of a four part series on Nutrient Management sponsored by FS/GROWMARK

There are lots of good reasons to be proactive about nutrient management in agriculture, not the least of which is the threat of government regulation and litigation.

“If we aren’t part of the solution, regulations and legislation will define agriculture and how we farm,” says GROWMARK Government Relations Manager Liz Hobart. “Agriculture does a very good job with production practices and I think we need to take ownership of that issue.”

Hobart says the regulatory landscape impacting agricultural practices continues to threaten with cases such as the Chesapeake Bay nutrient management program, which established a precedent with a judge’s ruling last year affirming the legality of broad federal authority under the Clean Water Act. Another case is the Mississippi River Basin Initiative, which would include some 7,000 streams. “We are definitely working on the federal, state and local levels to help growers be a part of the solution,” said Hobart, which includes minimizing the impact of regulation, legislation and civil litigation. “GROWMARK encourages the use of best management practices in all phases of farming.” [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/growmark/growmark-hobart.mp3″ text=”Interview with Liz Hobart, GROWMARK”]

Our final segment of this series will look at developing nutrient management plans. Read the first post in the series on Illinois’ nutrient loss reduction strategy here and the second with Dr. Howard Brown on N-Watch.

Nutrient Management Series

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