{"id":5096,"date":"2009-11-12T22:54:52","date_gmt":"2009-11-13T04:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=5096"},"modified":"2009-11-12T22:54:52","modified_gmt":"2009-11-13T04:54:52","slug":"why-organic-fertilizers-are-not-the-solution-to-the-dead-zone-in-the-gulf-of-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/why-organic-fertilizers-are-not-the-solution-to-the-dead-zone-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Why “Organic” Fertilizers are Not the Solution to the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Spreading<\/a><\/p>\n

[social_buttons]<\/p>\n

From the comment streams and emails I’ve been getting about recent posts, it is clear that many people believe things that are not actually true about the environmental profile of organic fertilizers. \u00a0I don’t mean to minimize the challenge we face when it comes to fertilizers, particularly nitrogen fertilizers. \u00a0They take energy to make, have the potential to generate the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, and can lead to the pollution of ground and surface waters. \u00a0With a “rap-sheet” like that I understand why people are concerned, but there is a catch – without fertilizers we don’t eat much.<\/p>\n

Still, there is a widespread belief that “Organic” fertilizers are the solution. \u00a0I’ve already blogged about why organic fertilizers are dramatically worse from a greenhouse gas point of view<\/a>. \u00a0Today I want to talk about the water pollution issues and why “Organic” fertilizers are actually a much worse problem from that perspective as well.<\/p>\n

Why Nitrogen Fertilizers Can Pollute<\/h3>\n

The reason that ALL nitrogen fertilizers (synthetic and Organic) are a water pollution threat is that they at some point convert to the nitrate ion<\/a> (NO3-). \u00a0That particular form of nitrogen is very water soluble so the nitrate can move down into ground water or sideways into surface water. \u00a0The “Dead Zone<\/a>” or “Hypoxia zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is driven in some large part by nitrate coming from farms. \u00a0 There are ways to manage this issue<\/a>, but first I need to talk about the fundemental challenge of crop fertilization.
\n<\/p>\n

The Fertilization Challenge<\/h3>\n

As a crop grows it starts off with a limited need for nitrogen because the plants are small and they are getting some which was stored in the seed itself. \u00a0Then they go into a period of very rapid growth where they need quite a bit of nitrogen (and other nutrients). \u00a0During the period of “grain fill” there is very high demand for nutrients. \u00a0After that, the plant does not really need or take up nutrients over weeks prior to harvest. \u00a0The challenge is to supply as much nutrient mix as the plant can use during those periods of peak demand. \u00a0A farmer has a built-in incentive to try to match demand and supply as closely as possible, particularly when fertilizer prices are high (they are tightly tied to energy price). \u00a0The ideal system is where the nutrients are supplied through the irrigation system. \u00a0They can be “spoon-fed” to almost exactly fit the need. \u00a0This is only something that can be done in irrigated crops which are mostly high value (fruits, vegetables, row crops in certain areas). \u00a0It is no wonder that Organic growers of these crops were motivated to use the supposedly Organic liquid fertilizers that could be delivered in this spoon feeding mode that turned out to be spiked<\/a> with “synthetic” nitrogen for many years over much of “organic” production.<\/p>\n

Ways to Optimize Fertilization<\/h3>\n

For the hundreds of millions of acres of row crops that are “rain-fed,” the spoon feeding approach is not feasible. \u00a0Instead a grower has economic incentive to try to match the nutrient supply with the nutrient demand<\/a> as well as possible. \u00a0For the “conventional” grower there are a lot of options to do that. \u00a0The fertilizer can be precisely placed where the crops roots will be growing at key times in the season. \u00a0The fertilizer rate can be varied across a field based on soil and yield maps (via GPS systems). \u00a0There are nitrogen stabilization products that can be used. \u00a0The farmer can use “split applications” to better time the nutrient availability. \u00a0The grower can use no-till methods so that erosion is almost eliminated (and with it the movement of nitrate into surface water). \u00a0The farmer can plant a winter “cover crop<\/a>” to scavenge the nitrate<\/a> that is still in the field after harvest. (Fortunately there is a sort of\u00a0Renaissance\u00a0of cover cropping starting in ag today and more growers would like to use them<\/a> if they had the time).<\/p>\n

Issues with Organic Fertilizers<\/h3>\n

Organic growers do tend to plant cover crops which helps, but the other solutions described above are mostly not options for the Organic grower because of the Organic rules. \u00a0Organic farmers are limited to “natural” fertilizers which for non-legume, large acreage, crops boils down to manure or composted manure (Organic growers are not the only ones that use manure, but the problems occur for all). Some of the nitrogen molecules in an “organic” fertilizer are exactly the same chemicals as in “synthetic” fertilizers – urea and ammonia. \u00a0Some of it is in more complex biologically formed molecules like amino acids, nucleic acids and a variety of intermediate metabolites and structural molecules. \u00a0That is why organic fertilizers are “slow release” forms of nitrogen. \u00a0Over time, soil microbes convert those more complex forms into exactly the same nitrate ion that comes from a synthetic fertilizer – \u00a0the nitrate that plants can use (and which can become a pollutant of the water or atmosphere). \u00a0The problem is that the conversion process does not match the crop demand. \u00a0To achieve good yields, Organic growers need to apply very high amounts of total nitrogen<\/a> so that enough is available when the crop needs it. \u00a0Much of this nitrogen continues to be turned into nitrate well after the crop is using it and so it is well documented that this form of fertilization leads to water pollution issues. \u00a0This is why farmers around the Chesapeake Bay<\/a> are being payed<\/a> to truck manure<\/a> far away from the waterways that drain into the bay. \u00a0Slow-release nitrogen sounds a lot better than it is.<\/p>\n

Organic fertilizers also have the problem that they contain more phosphorus than is needed if they are used at the rates that make sense from a nitrogen point of view. \u00a0Growers using manure or compost pick rates based on nitrogen, but that means that\u00a0phosphorus\u00a0is over-supplied<\/a>. \u00a0This too leads to water pollution.<\/p>\n

Fortunately only around 5% of US cropland is being fertilized with “organic” fertilizers (and little of that is USDA Organic). \u00a0I’d like to see that number go to nearly zero and instead see that manure being turned into energy. \u00a0Hypoxia in the gulf is a very real and important issue. \u00a0There are solutions, but they don’t involve the use of organic fertilizers.<\/p>\n

You are welcome to comment on this site or to email me at feedback.sdsavage@gmail.com<\/p>\n

Manure spreading image by brianforbes37<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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