Lake Erie farmers urged to cut fertilizer runoff
The Columbus Dispatch - October 17, 2011 04:26 PM
Farmers in northwest Ohio who take extra steps to cut fertilizer runoff from the fields could help reduce the massive blooms of toxic, blue green algae that spread across Lake Erie's western basin each summer.
The directors of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the state Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Natural Resources offered that message this afternoon during a meeting at Maumee Bay State Park. The directors urged farmers to adopt the 4R Nutrient Stewardship guidelines to help cut the flow of phosphorus, a key ingredient in fertilizers from their fields.
Blue-green algae are common denizens of most Ohio lakes, but grow thick feeding on phosphorus that rains wash into streams. The phosphorus can come from fertilizers, manure and untreated sewage.
Scientists monitoring Lake Erie said this year's bloom was the worst recorded since 2002.
(Photo credit: NOAA)