Report proposes tighter controls on fertilizer applications

by MATT MCINTOSH

If recommendations from a recent report are adopted, farmers in southwestern Ontario could face higher costs and more paperwork when spreading manure and other fertilizers.

The report, "Lake Erie Ecosystem Priority: Scientific Findings and Policy Recommendations to Reduce Nutrient Loadings and Harmful Algal Blooms" issued by the International Joint Commission, analyzes how exceedingly high levels of phosphorus have affected Lake Erie’s ecosystem and implicates both farms and urban centers in the lake’s phosphorous woes. According to the Commission, fertilizer runoff is the reason Lake Erie has seen a resurgence of dangerous algae blooms and hypoxia (also known as "dead zones") over the past decade.

Legislation that would require farmers to have a nutrient management plan is one of 15 policy recommendations made in the report. It argues that such a step would drastically reduce the amount of runoff from farms.

Currently, the Ontario government requires only commercial many livestock farmers to have a nutrient management plan. But the report suggests that might not be sufficient, despite fertilizer restrictions already present in Ontario's Nutrient Management Act.

Richard Reid, a cash crop farmer near Leamington in Essex County, objects to the idea of legislation to enforce compliance.

“I don’t need any more paperwork, and I don’t want to have to spend more money than I have to,” he says. “It's important to have flexible policies, and to make sure there are programs available to help us develop a soil management plan.”  

Another recommendation calls for governments to shift the focus of agricultural incentive programs to beneficial management practices, such as using precision application techniques, or biologically treating manure.

Such steps will, the report says, reduce the leaching of excess phosphorous, and help farmers adapt to more stringent legislation.

The report also calls for all jurisdictions to adopt a ban on the spreading of manure on frozen and snow-covered ground. For Ontario farmers, however this might not mean much.

"The practice of spreading manure on frozen or snow covered ground is already prohibited under [section 52.4 of] the Ontario Nutrient Management Act," says Chris Attema, Water Quality Specialist for the Ontario Cattlemen's Association. "If there are discrepancies between these recommendations and the Act, farmers ultimately have to listen to the Act, so you have to keep that in mind."

For urban centers, the report says taking steps like eliminating phosphorous based lawn fertilizers, and encouraging the adoption of "green infrastructure" -such as pervious pavement and engineered wetlands- will help reduce the amount of phosphorus that drains into the lake.

The IJC also references how the United States and Canada began a successful -and rather famous- lake wide clean up in the 1970s and 1980s. Consequently, the organization is hoping for a similar response from governments on both sides, suggesting a collective effort to reduce phosphorus runoff could again save the lake.

The report took a year to complete, and was a joint effort by scientists in both Canada and the United States. It is up for public debate until October 5, at which point the IJC will review its recommendations. Afterwards, a final draft will be submitted to the governments involved.

Those interested in this issue can read the IJC's report, or attend the final public hearing at Ohio's Rocky River Nature Center on October 2. BF