Category: In the News

PA Farmer Selected as 2020 4R Advocate

Posted on by Jenell Eck | Posted in 4Rs on the Farm, In the News
Photo Credit: Gates Rhodes for The Nature Conservancy

Delta, PA. (January 8, 2020) – Farmer Mike Kurek of Susquehanna Orchards in Delta, Pennsylvania and his agronomist, Tim Hushon of The Mill, were selected to be part of an elite group representing 4R Nutrient Stewardship as part of The Fertilizer Institute’s 4R Advocate Program. This program was established nine years ago to recognize farmers and retailers who go above and beyond to implement enhanced nutrient management practices. Kurek and Hushon join 44 other grower/advisor pairs that have been recognized since the program’s inception, and they are the first to receive the award from Pennsylvania.

The 4R Advocate program showcases growers that champion 4R Nutrient Stewardship—applying the Right nutrient source, at the Right rate, Right time, and Right place to maximize nutrient use efficiency for high-yielding crops and to protect water quality from nutrient losses. “We’re extremely proud to have Mike and Tim representing 4Rs and Pennsylvania with national recognition,” says Eric Rosenbaum, Executive Director for the Pennsylvania 4R Alliance.

Photo Credit: Gates Rhodes for The Nature Conservancy

Kurek, along with his wife, Trish, recognizes the value of 4R Nutrient Stewardship. As the parents of three children under the age of six, the Kureks want to preserve their land for future generations while ensuring sustainable business practices that provide for their family. The Kureks own and manage 315 acres in Delta, Pennsylvania where they produce corn, soybeans, peaches, apples, and pumpkins. The family also operates a popular on-farm store and pick-your-own operation. The farm is located just four miles north of the Conowingo Dam which signifies the head of the Chesapeake Bay.

Kurek originally started down the 4R path in his orchards. He saw improvements in yields as he implemented a spoon-feeding foliar fertilizer application system and minimized disturbance of soil within the orchard. He utilizes regular tissue sampling in the orchards to assess nutrient needs and, in many years, applies 100% of his nutrients through foliar application. “There aren’t many 4R programs available for orchards specifically, so I was forced to develop my own,” says Kurek.

Photo Credit: Gates Rhodes for The Nature Conservancy

In 2012-2013, Kurek began applying the 4R practices he had learned in the orchard to his row crops and turned to the Bel Air, Maryland-based agricultural retailer, The Mill, for the latest in agricultural technologies. Tim Hushon began advising Kurek and has been the gateway to 4Rs for Susquehanna Orchards. “Mike is very open-minded when it comes to trying new technologies,” says Tim. “When I learn about a new product or tool that The Mill can offer growers, I turn to Mike to help me test it out. We both love the challenge of maximizing yield through 4R Nutrient Stewardship.”

Active in the local and online communities, Kurek cares about sharing the message of the importance of agriculture and the good work being done by farmers. With his public-facing orchard, and now as a 4R Advocate, he has a great platform for sharing how nutrient management benefits water quality to school groups and parents that regularly visit the orchards.

Both Kurek and Hushon recognize the importance of sharing the message of Nutrient Stewardship and have actively engaged with the PA4R Alliance to provide education and outreach to farmers across the state. “I find it very important to get the 4R message out to more people,” Kurek said, “Compared to many of the older practices I’ve seen, there is really a better way of doing things now. It’s scary to take that leap, but through my partnership with Tim at The Mill, I’ve felt confident in moving our operation forward with 4Rs.” As part of this award, both Kurek and Hushon will be traveling to the Commodity Classic in San Antonio, TX in February to receive recognition on the national stage. They will also be engaged in field days, publications, and media events throughout 2020.

Congratulations on this achievement!

The PA 4R Alliance, a member of the Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association, is a non-profit organization comprised of agribusiness, government agencies and environmental groups whose mission is to promote 4R Nutrient Stewardship—applying the RIGHT nutrient sources for the crop, at the RIGHT rate to maximize crop yield, at the RIGHT time and the RIGHT place to maximize uptake and minimize nutrient loss. For more details on the Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association, and to learn more about other 4R events in Pennsylvania and throughout the region, click here or follow us on Facebook. For the full article on the 2020 4R Advocates, click here.

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MD Farmer Jonathan Quinn selected as 2019 4R Advocate

Posted on by 4RMidAtlantic | Posted in 4Rs on the Farm, In the News

It’s no surprise that one who leads a fifth-generation farm might also be an early adopter. Jonathan Quinn was one of the first in the Delmarva region to invest in a yield monitor. He also incorporated the 4Rs before they were so named. It comes naturally. His father was conducting annual soil tests in the 1960s. They still do. Little Bohemia Creek Farms now covers 2,350 acres in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and includes corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, and spinach, as well as a custom farming business.

Though Maryland law requires nutrient management plans be filed for every acre on the farm, they’re not new to Quinn. He and his crop advisor, Kenny Glenn with Southern States Cooperative in Middletown, Delaware, have used 4R strategies in the plans since the beginning. In fact, they’ve worked together for 20 years to continually improve the farm and community.

“Even when we voluntarily compiled nutrient management plans, we found we didn’t need all the nutrients we were applying,” Quinn says. “We’ve gotten better since.”

In addition to 4R practices, technology helps. GPS, autosteer, the yield monitor, a 16-row, variable-rate planter, 30’ air seeder, and variable-rate sprayer are supplemented by satellite field imagery and soil maps.

Pre-sidedress nitrate tests, tissue samples, and fall nitrate tests help guide in-season nitrogen applications. UAN is variable-rate injected, even in sidedress applications, and Avail phosphorous enhancer and NutrisphereN help ensure they’re available to the crop when needed. Cover crops help retain nutrients through winter.

It pays off. Corn and soybean yields are up five to 10 percent, while nutrient application remains optimal for soil and crop health. If these 4R practices work for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, they’ll work anywhere.

Best Practice Management
  • Annual grid and soil sampling guide nutrient management plan to focus only on what nutrients are needed.
  • Nutrient management plan determines how much N, P, and K are needed.
  • Pre-sidedress and fall nitrate tests help determine in-season nitrogen applications.
  • Injected UAN reduces volatilization.
  • Variable-rate nutrient application ensures crops get the right amount of nutrients.
  • GPS-precision nutrient applications helps soils that need additional nutrients get the right ones.
  • Variable-rate sprayer delivers the exact amount of product needed.
  • Cover crops retain nutrients.
  • Conservation practices include cover crops, no-till, grassed waterways, riparian buffers, wildlife habitat, an agricultural chemical handling facility, and a manure storage building.

Jonathan was also featured on the Chesapeake Bay Program’s website for his advanced nutrient management practices:

You can read about all of the 2019 4R Advocates at nutrientstewardship.org

Cover Crops and the 4Rs- Five Things to Know

Posted on by 4RMidAtlantic | Posted in In the NewsTagged , , , , , , ,
Rye cover crop emerging between corn stubble- image courtesy of Practical Farmers of Iowa

Dr. Ken Staver knows a lot about cover crops. In a recent interview with the hosts of From Cloud to Cab, the Associate Research Scientist and Acting Director of the Wye Research and Education Center talked about his 30 years of research and how cover crops relate to soil health and the 4Rs- using the right nutrient source, rate, timing and placement. Here are five takeaways from that conversation:

  • Delmarva’s water quality issues are unique. When Staver’s research began in the 1980s, erosion control was the focus of conservation efforts. When it became clear that nitrogen in shallow groundwater was a higher priority for our area, cover crops emerged as the right tool for the job. Cereal grains, like rye, were a good fit with our crop rotations to take up nitrogen left in the soil after harvest.
  • Cover crops & nitrogen- it’s complicated. Can we reduce nitrogen fertilizer after a cover crop? After all, if we’re taking up nitrogen with the cover crop, shouldn’t it be possible to account for that in our nutrient management? It turns out, it’s not that simple. “There’s a large pool of nitrogen in the soil that cover crops get absorbed into”, Staver said. “Cover crops take up nitrogen that’s significant from a water quality standpoint, but it’s noise within the total supply of soil organic nitrogen.” In other words, not enough nitrogen comes back into the system from a cereal cover crop to count toward the next crop.
  • No-till is key for building soil organic matter. Cereal cover crops do have some of the more persistent forms of organic carbon and so they can build soil organic matter over time. Tillage, though, will break down organic matter faster than cover crops can build it up. If your goal is to build soil organic matter, keep tillage to a minimum.
  • Manure is a great resource, but has its challenges. A locally-available, slow-release nutrient source, manure contains macro- and micronutrients that feed both crops and soil microbes. It can’t, however, be applied with the same precision with regard to rate and timing as inorganic fertilizers.
  • Take the long view. Planting cover crops consistently adds to soil carbon and nitrogen pools, and adopting practices that support a thriving soil microbial community will cycle those nutrients over time. In the long term, it might be possible to reduce the amount of nitrogen that’s added to the system. Decision support tools- Tissue Tests, PSNTs and Nitrogen Modeling- can help to fine-tune nitrogen applications by estimating crop needs and nitrogen supplied in a given season.

The full conversation is featured in an episode of From Cloud to Cab, a podcast series for Mid-Atlantic farmers. The series is hosted by Josh Bollinger with the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agroecology and Jennifer Nelson with Resource Smart LLC. Look for a new episode every other Wednesday- you can find it on Sound Cloud, iTunes and the Google Play Store.

Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association formation announced

Posted on by 4RMidAtlantic | Posted in In the News
Local 4R nutrient stewardship alliances including the Delaware Maryland 4R Alliance have announced the formation of a new association called the Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association. The new alliance will advance the groups’ existing missions of achieving cleaner waterways and healthy soils on farms while also improving farmers’ bottom lines by keeping applied nutrients on fields to grow crops and preventing nutrients from leaving the field into area waterways. This work will be funded in part by a new grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation aimed at assessing and accelerating the current levels of 4R engagement.

The 4R alliances are partnerships among agribusinesses, farmers, researchers, conservation organizations, and local, state, and federal agencies that encourage the application of the right fertilizers at the right time, the right rate and in the right place. This framework of nutrient management was first established by The Fertilizer Institute. The Chesapeake Bay Program has recognized this type of nutrient management as a critical foundation to successfully reducing nitrogen and phosphorus loss on farms.

“Keeping nutrients on farmers’ fields where they belong and out of our waterways is not only good for a farmer’s bottom line but good for the environment,” said Bill Angstadt, chair of the Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association. “That’s why agribusinesses have embraced the 4R approach, because finding solutions that are good for business while improving water quality, habitat, and healthy soils will be good for the agricultural community.”

By sharing knowledge, experience, new technology and techniques, 4R partners work together to help farmers more precisely apply nutrients to feed their crops so fewer nutrients leave the farm field. Partners also promote practices at the edges of fields that trap nutrients and sediment before they can enter local waterways. The key to the success of these partnerships is finding the right set of practices that also make economic sense to farmers through costs savings and/or increased yields to make the practices sustainable. In doing so, these farmers are going beyond the bare minimum required to comply with environmental regulations and play a crucial role in addressing agriculture’s environmental impact.

Mid-Atlantic 4R will help facilitate this knowledge sharing at the regional level, which will be supported in part by a recently awarded grant from NFWF with a goal to implement practices on 335,000 acres and reduce the loss of approximately 1,500,000 pounds of nitrogen and 90,000 pounds of phosphorus to the Chesapeake Bay. The grant will fund activities such as demonstration projects for new technology and techniques, and wide-scale surveys to track implementation of practices by farmers. The source of funds to NFWF includes the Environmental Protection Agency and the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction grants program. Matching funds are being provided by Growmark Foundation, Agrium, The Nature Conservancy and the Delaware Maryland Agribusiness Association.

The application of fertilizer is an essential part of successful crop cultivation, but when even relatively small amounts of nutrients get into local streams and rivers, they can degrade water quality, and harm rivers and bays. In the Chesapeake Bay, for example, elevated levels of nutrients cause large-scale algae blooms that block sunlight needed by oxygen-producing underwater plants and grasses, resulting in oxygen-starved dead zones and severely degraded habitat for other organisms. The recently documented resurgence of many underwater grasses in the bay has been attributed to successful, ongoing regional efforts to reduce nutrient runoff, of which efforts by local farmers and 4R alliances are an essential part.

“What makes the 4R approach so successful is that it brings a diverse range of partners together to work toward a common goal of a healthy environment and a thriving agricultural industry,” said Amy Jacobs, agriculture program director for The Nature Conservancy in Maryland. “Keeping nutrient pollution out of our waterways and the Chesapeake Bay is a goal we all have a role to play in, and the Mid-Atlantic 4R Association will help farmers, agribusiness, local agencies, and conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy make an even larger impact.”

For more information for farmers or other potential agribusiness partners looking to join a local 4R alliance, contact Nature Conservancy Agriculture Specialist Keiller Kyle at 315-730-7454 or keiller.kyle@tnc.org.