Wisconsin State Farmer: Refining nutrient management for cold climates

As Wisconsin State Farmer reports:

When it comes to soil health and protecting the environment, farmers need to look at the big picture.

Dr. Don Flaten, professor of Soil Science at the University of Manitoba, Canada, told about 200 people attending the Discovery Farms conference in Wisconsin Dells that in the quest for continual improvement in phosphorus management, it is important to diagnose the cause before selecting a solution. He stressed that there is no “one-size-fits-all” way to deal with the issue.

“Everyone — small farmers, big farmers, city people — are contributors to environmental problems, Flaten said. “There is a lot of finger pointing but we need to look at the big picture.”

He commended the Discovery Farms program for their work on real farms with real-life situations.

“Models don’t always work,” he said. “They must be validated in real-life situations and on real farms.”