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Wednesday, September 03, 2014

Tool Would Significantly Cut Phosphorus Runoff In MD

Maryland’s proposed, but controversial, Phosphorus Management Tool would help achieve significant nutrient reductions from the state’s agricultural lands if implemented, according to an analysis by the Bay Program.

The phosphorus tool, which was proposed by the state Department of Agriculture last year, uses information about phosphorus concentrations in soil and other site-specific conditions to determine the likelihood that the nutrient would run off fields and into waterways. Farmers could be prohibited from applying additional phosphorus to fields that score too high.

But the tool has been controversial because it could make large amounts of Eastern Shore cropland off-limits for additional applications of litter produced by Delmarva’s poultry farms.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It seems to me, the proper way to clean up the bay is to dredge the Dam in Pennsylvania so the pollution never gets to enter the Chesapeake.

Anonymous said...

11:00 am
No we can't do that, we have to keep blaming the farmers on the lower part of the state.

Anonymous said...

1113-No coincidence that the most polluted river in Maryland is the Wicomico....But keep wearing those blinders!

Anonymous said...

1:33 That's not from the city, right? Must be those farmers. Sheep

Anonymous said...

1:33 Categorically false. According to the Chesapeake Bay program the healthiest rivers leading to the bay are the Choptank, Chester, Wicomic, Pocomoke, and Nanticoke. The lowest scores came from the Potomac, Patapsco, Patuxent and Susquehana. The bay program results seem to show that people are the problem not poultry or farms, but thats not pc to report.