Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators: Nutrient Use and Management
Stan Daberkow, Harold Taylor, and Wen-yuan Huang
No. (AH722) ,
September 2000
Nutrients, which need to be applied to most fields to maintain high crop yields, have been associated with air and water quality impairment. While exceptions occur in some areas of the country, most nutrients applied in the U.S. are from commercial fertilizers. Commercial fertilizer use exceeded 20 million nutrient tons per year since 1990 and rose to over 22 million tons during the 1996-98 fertilizer years because of increased area planted. Fertilizer prices paid by farmers were stable from 1989 to 1993, rose dramatically in 1994 and 1995, and, for most nitrogen products, declined to below 1993 levels between 1996 and 1999. Many improved practices are available to reduce nutrient losses to the environment, with varying degrees of adoption by farmers. To improve nutrient management, farmers need to understand the link between agricultural production and the environment, and public policies need to encourage farmers to adopt resource-conserving practices.
Keywords: nutrient management, fertilizer, manure, animal waste, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, ers, usda
In this series ... Reports are
in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
Chapter 4.4: Nutrient Use and Management, 462 kb.
Contents
- Role of Plant Nutrients
- Why Manage Nutrients
- Nutrient Sources
- Commercial Fertilizer Use and Product Change, 1960-98
- Nutrient Balances—An Alternative Measure of Nutrient Use
- Nutrient Management Practices
- Improving Nutrient Management
- Glossary of Fertilizer Terms
- Glossary of Nutrient Management Terms
- References
See other chapters in the Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators series.
Updated date: September 25, 2000
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