Bloomington, Ill.-Illinois farmers probably won’t have to make any changes in their fertilizer practices because of the state’s efforts to cut down on greenhouse gases. The Illinois Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change recently decided the pain wouldn’t be worth the gain if farmers were required to cut down on nitrous oxide emissions by reducing nitrogen applications or revising their management practices, according to the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association (IFCA). Jean Payne, president, told Green Markets that data provided by IFCA convinced the task force that the emissions from the nitrogen applied for agriculture purposes are so insignificant it wouldn’t warrant requiring “an important segment of the state’s economy to make such far-reaching changes.” Payne said IFCA convinced the task force that the growing of millions of acres of crops actually serves to sequester greenhouse gases as well as produce feedstock for manufacturing ethanol production, both of which are environmental advantages which outweigh the minimal gains that would have been achieved by reductions in fertilizer usage. Gov. Rod Blagojevich formed the advisory group, headed by Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott, to develop strategies for all segments of the economy to roll back emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The panel was charged to complete its work by late June and submit recommendations in late July. Staff member Richard Breckenridge, IEPA agriculture and rural affairs adviser, remarked that nitrogen ranked high on the list because of the nitrous oxides factor, but there are plenty of others that are being looked at, including power and concrete plants, transportation operations, and others with the potential to have an impact on greenhouse emissions.
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