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Heavy rain increasing fertilizer runoff to Gulf

The head of natural and environmental resources with Illinois Farm Bureau says keeping up with the state’s nutrient loss reduction strategy has been a challenge for Illinois farmers this year.

Lauren Lurkins says finding ways to reduce the loading of nitrates and phosphorus into the Gulf of Mexico is difficult with such large amounts of rain.

“Particularly, in a year like this, when the upper Mississippi river basin has seen ridiculous amounts of rain and it doesn’t seem to stop,” Lurkins says. “Many farmers that I work for say they just want this year to be behind them because it has developed, and keeps developing, many, many challenges for them on the field.”

Lurkins says Illinois’ goals for cutting down on runoff are long term.

“Visions of what the nutrient loss reduction strategy is going to accomplish in Illinois, or in any other state, is very much a long-term effort,” Lurkins says. “And in Illinois we are looking at trying to reduce our loads by 45% into the Gulf.”

Some farmers couldn’t apply fertilizers because of the weather this year so she says the estimate on how much reached the Gulf might be off.