Madison, Wisc.-The industry isn’t 100 percent comfortable with a bill approved by the state legislature and expected to be signed by the governor to prohibit statewide phosphorus in fertilizer used for most lawn applications, according to the Wisconsin Agribusiness Council. CEO Ferron Havens told Green Markets that agriculture is excluded in the measure that passed unanimously in both the senate and the assembly and was sent for signature to Gov. Jim Doyle. A spokesman said Doyle supports the legislation. “We’re keeping an eye on it (the legislature) because at some point they may try to come back with something like not allowing phosphorus within 100 feet of a river,” Havens reported. He said the ban covers residential lawns, golf courses, and municipal parks, but phos can be used on any of those parcels if a soil test deems it necessary, or on new turf or an area being reseeded. Havens noted that one bothersome requirement that was opposed by the council requires retailers to keep phosphorus fertilizer behind their counters and post signs advising customers that it can be purchased, but only for the restricted use. John Mikalauski, nursery and design manager at Birchfield Nurseries in Rhinelander, doesn’t understand why farmland is excluded since soil in northern Wisconsin is already rich in phosphorus. He told the local press, “To be honest with you, that’s very confusing to me. I would definitely target the farmland, absolutely. That’s why and how it all started, I don’t get that.” State Rep. Spencer Black of Madison authored the bill because phosphorus runoff contributes to algae growth in the state’s waterways. Biosolid fertilizer, which usually contains all three primary nutrients, is not covered in the legislation.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain