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If you have a farm, you know that fertilizer
is crucial for growing crops. If farmers were to stop using
fertilizer, crop yields could drop to a very low level.
So, everyone agrees that fertilizer is generally a "good
thing." There are two reasons that too much fertilizer is
not a good thing: it can cost you money for nutrients your
plants don't need; and it can harm our streams
where our children fish,
swim, and go boating.
What you can
do to save money and have healthy crops
You can save money when you don't buy
nutrients your plants don't need. Buying bulk blends might
be cheaper per pound. But if they include nutrients |
your plants
don't need, you're wasting your money. There are folks just
waiting to help you
find out what your cropland does need. To contact these
folks, look in the phone book for "University of Kentucky
Cooperative Extension Service Area Office."
The first thing they will have you do is take soil samples
of the soil in your field; they will guide you in how to
do that. Then they will have the soil samples tested for
several things, including the pH level and nutrients available.
Based on the results of the soil test, they will recommend
the fertilizer you should buy. It's that simple, and it
will save you money in the long run.
What else do we know?
We have learned that excess fertilizer—and
pesticides—from golf courses, thousands of home
lawns, and croplands is washed from the land by heavy rainfalls.
The runoff flows through drainage ditches and storm drains,
and then it all goes to our streams. In the streams, the
fertilizer that grows healthy plants promotes the growth
of harmful algae. As the algae grow, they rob the water
of oxygen and block the sunlight from reaching useful aquatic
plants and fish.
There are two essential nutrients in fertilizer that can
run off the land and end up in our streams, causing excess
plant growth: phosphorous and nitrogen. Phosphorous builds
up in the soil; when soil is washed from the land, the phosphorous
is washed away with it. Nitrogen moves quickly through the
soil with rainwater or irrigation. In other words, nitrogen
leaches out very quickly.
What you can
do to have healthy crops and protect our streams
Find out specifically what your crops
need, and apply the fertilizer as recommended—but not
any more. You will have healthy crops and save money; our
children and future generations will have healthy streams.
It's
a win-win situation! Remember:
Save $$$ and Protect Streams!
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