(Thanks, R. :)

A Reader sends us:

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As Prices Soar, It’s Time to Ditch Chemical Fertilizers

Chemical fertilizers applied to fields end up running into rivers and lakes, causing huge algae blooms that die and decompose, depleting oxygen in the water and creating “dead zones” that can’t support fish or other aquatic life.

By Kathleen Merrigan

Farmers are coping with a fertilizer crisis brought on by soaring fossil fuel prices and industry consolidation. The price of synthetic fertilizer has more than doubled since 2021, causing great stress in farm country.

This crunch is particularly tough on those who grow corn, which accounts for half of U.S. nitrogen fertilizer use.

The National Corn Growers Association predicts that its members will spend 80% more in 2022 on synthetic fertilizers than they did in 2021. A recent study estimates that on average, this will represent $128,000 in added costs per farm.

In response, the Biden administration announced a new grant program on March 11, “to support innovative American-made fertilizer to give U.S. farmers more choices in the marketplace.”

[big snip]

Excerpt:

Rethinking how to grow crops

I see an opportunity for the Biden administration to take a fresh look at biological products as substitutes for synthetic fertilizers. This category includes biofertilizers and bionutrients — natural materials that provide crop nutrition.

Examples include microorganisms that extract nitrogen from the air and convert it into forms that plants can use, and fertilizers converted from manure, food and other plant and wood wastes.

Another category, biostimulants, comprises natural materials that enhance the uptake of plant nutrients, reduce crop stress and increase crop growth and quality.

Examples include algae and other plant extracts, microorganisms and humic acids — complex molecules produced naturally in soil when organic material breaks down.

In the past, critics dismissed natural products like these as “snake oil,” with little scientific evidence to show that they worked. Now, however, most experts believe that while much remains to be learned, current biofertilizers “offer huge potential in terms of new and more sustainable crop management practices.”

Full article:

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/chemical-fertilizers-algae-blooms-dead-zones/

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