Ottawa, Ontario-The Canadian Fertilizer Institute (CFI) has established an Urban Fertilizer Council to communicate the importance of responsible nutrient use to companies that supply lawn and garden fertilizers. CFI’s website emphasizes that effective use of fertilizers for lawn and garden care needs to be proactively communicated to the media and urban consumers, and that municipal officials need to know the facts about fertilizers and ways that homeowners can use fertilizer while at the same time protecting lakes and rivers. For starters, CFI suggests getting gardeners to carefully follow the directions on fertilizer bags to reduce the impact on the environment. Information is also provided in other areas, such as contributions of nitrogen and phosphorus to surface and groundwater from a Kentucky Bluegrass lawn; determining nutrient loading rates; fertilizer source effect on ground and surface water; healthy turf development through responsible application; limiting lawn fertilizers; mowing practices that reduce runoff from turf; phosphorus runoff losses from lawns; responsible fertilizer practices for lawns; and University of Nebraska-Lincoln environmental concerns.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain