The Feed

2017 4R Advocates, Joe Huebner, CHS, and Kyle Brase, Brase Farms, briefed members of the Congressional Fertilizer Caucus and other Congressional staff on 4R Nutrient Stewardship.

The event was attended by more than 65 staff members. Huebner and Brase were welcomed by Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), a third-generation farmer who served as the director of Washington state’s Department of Agriculture prior to being elected to Congress in 2014.

Research and experience tell us there is a delicate balance between sufficient fertilizer to make a crop and excess fertilizer resulting in environmental loss. The complexities of managing a system with biological, physical and chemical properties are confounding. And water “aka rain” - whether too little, just right or too much – creates even more consternation. We can’t let these challenges be excuses for inaction.

When most people think about fertilizer (if they even think about fertilizer), they probably imagine lush green lawns, mulch, tractors spraying fields, and quite possibly even manure.

Science never even enters that picture. However, the truth is, without science agriculture wouldn’t be as productive as it is today. Technological advances have allowed us to produce the modern fertilizers that are responsible for 50 percent of the food grown in the world today.