Washington-The position of Nutrients for Life Foundation Professor of Soil and Food Crop Nutrition has been created at Oklahoma State University. The position, which is being funded in part by the Nutrients for Life Foundation, The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), and the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), will explore the linkages between fertilizer use and the nutritional quality of food. “It is our hope that this professorship will encourage the expansion of an untapped and important area in academic research,” said Foundation Executive Director Harriet Wegmeyer. “If, as predicted, a correlation between fertilizer and healthier foods is established, imagine the impact. An increasingly health-conscious public will finally regard fertilizers for what they truly are … nutritious – for both plants and, in turn, people. We are pleased to be working with OSU on this exciting initiative.” The industry pooled its resources to donate $250,000 to OSU. Through a rare matching program made available from oil and gas executive and OSU alum T. Boone Pickens and the state of Oklahoma, the fertilizer industry’s $250,000 will translate to $1 million to fund a professorship in perpetuity. This position brings the strengths of three organizations together to address fertilizer’s affect on food nutritional quality. The gift will create the Nutrients for Life Foundation Professor of Soil and Food Nutrition position, located within the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. The cross-disciplinary position will work closely with the college’s plant and soil sciences department and the Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center. OSU hopes to have the position filled in 2009.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain