A34-LvM*Bt»r Fanning, Saturday. April 11,1998
Phosphorus Conference
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Fanning Staff
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) A three-day conference
on agricultural phosphorus in the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed was
held this week at the Penn Stater
Conference Center in State
College.
Jointly sponsored by the Chesa
peake Bay Program's Scientific
and Technical Advisory Commit
tee and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Agricultural
Research Service, the conference
was attended by a varied audience
representing a range of interest,
educational background, and prac
tical experience regarding plant
nutrients.
Overall, the conference was
mostly attended by those with a
working interest in nutrient man
agement, soil science, agricultural
operations and the nutrient
phosphorus.
Represented were those
involved with commercial fertiliz
er businesses, integrated livestock
operations, feed companies, man
ure application and nutrient man
agement businesses, state enviom
mental and resource conservation
agencies, environmental aware
ness and support groups, and, of
course, university and government
research and Extension services.
The conference objectives were
clearly stated in the conference
program. There were four listed:
Delaware Valley
College Students
Present A-Day
DOYLESTOWN (Bucks Co.) The stu
dents of Delaware Valley College will present
the 50th “A-Day” celebration April 25 and 26
(rain or shine), 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the Col
lege’s campus, 700 East Butter Avenue (Route
202).
Started in 1949 by a group erf students to pro
mote agriculture, “A-Day” has become one of
the area’s largest events. To reflect its broad
ened educational program, the meaning of the
“A” in “A-Day” has evolved to symbolize “all”
all activities from all programs offered by
the College. More than 50,000 area residents
attended the two-day event in 1997.
Open to the public, “A-Day” is a student-run
event that benefits student clubs and organiza
tions at Delaware Valley College. There is a $5
per car parking fee, which includes a souvenir
program book. For the safety of visitors to the
campus, your cooperation in using only the de
signated “A-Day” parking lots along New Bri
tain Road will be appreciated. There is no indi
vidual admission charge.
'Hie A-Day program includes a variety of ex
hibits and demonstrations designed to acquaint
the public with the educational experiences
students enjoy at Delaware Valley College.
During the weekend, the students will present
agricultural and horticultural exhibitions, an
equine show, livestock judging contest, a dairy
show, tree climbing demonstrations, a hay ride
that includes a tour of the College’s farms and
orchards, science exhibits, and educational dis
plays. In addition, a variety of food is offered,
as well as a craft show, plant and shrubbery
sales, games for children, pony rides, a mule
drawn carousel, a petting zoo, face painting,
sand art and much, much more.
Delaware Valley College, located in Doyles
town, in the heart of Bucks County, is a com
prehensive four-year institution of higher
learning with over 1,400 men and women en
rolled full time in more than 35 academic pro
grams, ranging from agricultural, biological,
and physical sciences, to business administra
tion and computer information systems. In ad
dition, 670 students are enrolled on a part-time
basis in Del Val’s Evening and Weekend Col
leges, working to advance their careers.
For more information about the 50th “A-
Day,” please call (215) 489-2496.
• Determine the inputs of pho
sphorus to the Chesapeake Bay
watershed and assess the current
status of phosphorus in agricultur-
al soils;
• Establish the relative impact
and location of source areas;
• Identify and delineate what
processes control the critical sour
ces and pathways of phosphorus
export over a range of scales in the
Bay Watershed; and
• Discuss and prioritize future
trends for phosphorus manage
ment in the Chesapeake Bay
Watershed.
There is not enough space not
time to report the details of all the
speakers at the conference.
There were 12 speakers making
half-hour to hour-long or mere
presentations during the first two
days, and on Wednesday, a panel
of four people with practical nutri
ent management experience dis
cussed their practices and con
cerns. That was followed by parti
cipants breaking out into four
working groups to discuss soil
phosphorus testing, nutrient tnan
agment planning, and develop
ment of best management
practices.
The proceedings of the confer
ence are to be published later this
year, after speakers follow up with
formal submissions of their pre
sentations, according to Dr.
Andrew Sharpley, a soil scientist
working for the USD A Agricultur-
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al Research Service at its Pasture
Systems and Watershed Manage
ment Research Laboratory in Uni
versity Park.
Sharpley is considered to be one
of the most knowledgeable people
at the Penn State Main Campus
with regards to phosphorus and its
activity in soils. Though a USDA
employee, he works with staff of
the Penn State College of Agricul
tural Sciences Department of
Agronomy in conducting research
and in sharing information.
One of the main discussion lead
ers, Sharpley also served as one of
several chairpeoplc responsible for
portions of the program.
While the technical aspects of
the conference were extensive, and
are to be available in the published
proceedings, some speakers
expressed opinions, based on tech
nical work, as to why phosphorus
has become such a concern in the
Chesapeake Bay (as well as other
areas with high density livestock
operations and water bodies suf
fering from eutrophic symptoms).
The personal interpretation of
the issues varied from speaker to
speaker, depending upon
background.
Information was presented tty,
and shared with, representatives of
the other states involved with the
Chesapeake Bay restoration effort,
but for Pennsylvania agricultural
ists the information presented sug
gested that nutrient management
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Till<
from 20-50 HP
t Dr
& Di
here will likely not become an
“cithcr/or” priority cxcercise.
More likely, practical nutrient
management will be expanded in
scope to go beyond focusing upon
balancing nitrogen application
levels with crop yield needs and
existing soil levels.
From research demonstrating
that agricultural phosphorus enter
ing waterways comes from a small
portion of a watershed, and in most
cases from spot areas on a farm
(generally along a stream or in a
flood plain), it was suggested that
perhaps the most reasonable
approach would be to identify
those “source’* areas on the farm as
part of the existing nutrient man
agement plan and manage them for
the phosphorus levels (meaning
withholding phosphorus heavy
manures from those areas, and
using commercial nitrogen sup
plies until the area is suitable to
again receive manure).
As currently practiced, a Pen
nsylvania nutrient management
plan is an exercise in accounting
for nitrogen available for applica
tion to land and crop needs, a
description of the pathways for
nutrient flow, and management
practices.
Of course they are more compli
cated than that, but essentially it is
a farm business plan that takes into
account all the major characteris
tics, factors and products and
describes how they ate to be man-
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aged so as to prevent pollution.
The plans also should provide
an accounting of the other tvfo
nutrients of concern
phosphorus and potassium but
manure spreading decisions are
not yet required to be made based
upon nutrients other than nitrogen.
However, in Pennsylvania’s
Nutrient Management Act, which
targets agricultural nutrients
(because they were thought at the
time to be the major non-point
source of nutrient pollution to the
waters of the Chesapeake) there is
language that directs the state
Department of Environmental Pro
tection to conduct research into
other potential sources of non
point nutrients, and make further
recommendations as to the impor
tance of other nutrients and man
agement practices to remediate
their environmental effects.
For years many farmers dis
counted the nutrients in manures,
especially nitrogen in manure, as
being especially important to com
mercial crop production. Instead
most farmers relied on known
amounts of chemical fertilizers
applied to start plants, and to pro
vide nutrients during later growth
stages (side dress).
However, the discovery of high
groundwater nitrate levels in high
animal agricultural areas, such as
Lancaster County, stirred concern
for human health, and led to public
(Turn to Pag* A 35)
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