SALISBURY -- The amount of phosphorus escaping into the Chesapeake Bay has been a concern of environmental advocacy groups and elected officials for years and efforts to curb the amount of it entering the bay's watershed through regulation has met with some resistance from farmers.
Wednesday, farmers from Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties met with agriculture experts to discussed several issues facing farmers today, including the level of phosphorus in their soils and nutrient management plans.
The event was part of Lower Shore Agronomy Day, which has taken place for nearly two decades as a way for area farmers to earn continuing credits and find out about the best ways to protect their farms.
During the day-long symposium about 100 farmers learned about new research, how to manage field crop diseases and how to manage high phosphorus soils.
Frank Coale, a professor in the University of Maryland's Department of Environment Science and Technology, spoke during the event about the high levels of phosphorus in soil throughout the region.
"Anywhere you've had an intense animal production industry regardless of where you are in the country, you have an accumulation of phosphorus in those areas," said Coale. "It's going to take generations for those levels to naturally decline with regular cropping patterns."
Coale said one of the main reasons phosphorus levels on Delmarva are so high is because for generations farmers have applied chicken litter at rates that supply more phosphorus than crops can use.
He said while some elected officials may want to impose one range of phosphorus levels for all farmers to meet, evaluating farms on site-specific assessments is the best option.
"Right now Maryland has probably some of the strongest nutrient management regulations in the country," said Coale. "Those regulations require if you have a soil test for phosphorus above 150 parts per million, which is above agronomic need, then you have to assess the site for the likelihood phosphorus could get off the field and into adjacent water bodies."
During this year's Maryland General Assembly, Coale believes there will be additional regulations proposed for the quantity of phosphorus on farms and how much of that area watersheds can handle.
While he doesn't believe all of the regulations will pass, he believes those that do will further restrict the amount of phosphorus that can enter the waterways of the Lower Shore.
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