Annapolis-The Maryland Department of Agriculture and the Maryland Farm Bureau are opposed to a move in the state legislature to reduce even further – this time to a half percent – the allowable amount of phosphorus in lawn fertilizer. With the reduction approved last year – to 5 percent – scheduled to go into effect April 1, 2011, a Frederick lawmaker now has introduced a bill to reduce the level to .5 percent. Neither measure would affect fertilizers used for agricultural purposes or by licensed landscape contractors. The sponsor, Delegate Galen Clagett of Frederick, said his bill is designed to deal with the problem of excess phosphorus getting into the Chesapeake Bay. “Farmers have said that lawn fertilizers are a part of the problem of excess phosphorous in the Chesapeake Bay,” he told the press. “If we cut out all the lawn fertilizers, and the input into the bay doesn’t come down, then we know it is agriculture. If it does come down, then we know to what extent it’s lawn versus agriculture.” State agriculture officials have advised legislators that implementing Clagett’s bill would mean a significant fiscal cost to the department. “In addition, there may be confusion among registrants who are just being notified about the requirements of last year’s bill,” the department warned the House environmental matters committee, where the bill is being considered. “There is also concern in the scientific community about mandating a level that may be too low for certain turf crops, resulting in poor lawn conditions, and the unintended potential for bare ground and increased runoff.” In its statement, the Maryland Farm Bureau warned that reducing phosphorus would make fertilizer less effective and contribute to soil erosion as homeowners would be unable to properly care for their lawns.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain