News

Phosphorous levels in Ohio fields trending downward

Phosphorous levels in Ohio fields are going down. Dr. Elizabeth Dayton from the Ohio State University says research between 1993 and 2015 from all across the state shows a downward trend.

“What we do see in a survey of soil testing labs shows that soil test levels are actually trending down significantly in 80 percent of Ohio counties at all levels.” says Dayton.

Dayton tells Brownfield current research shows farmers who inject nutrients into soils rather than spreading fertilizer, and erosion controls such as conservation tillage are proving best to reduce nutrient run off into water systems and reduce phosphorous levels in Lake Erie by 40 percent.

“When I see that we can achieve a 90 percent reduction in phosphorous run off risk by just managing fertilizer placement method, that makes me optimistic that we can achieve that goal sooner rather than later” says Dayton.

Dayton says researchers have analyzed over 42,000 data samples from 29 farms across Ohio since 2012. Brownfield spoke with Dayton at an Ohio Grain Farmers Conference in Toledo.

Audio: Dr. Elizabeth Dayton, Ohio State University