A Great Lakes state is reporting positive results from a program designed to keep a major cause of water pollution out of water supplies. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Transcript
A Great Lakes State is reporting positive results from a program designed to keep a major cause of water pollution out of water supplies. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Each fall, many farmers apply nitrogen-based fertilizers to their fields. If the chemicals are used when it is still warm, they can convert into nitrates that can contaminate rivers, lakes, and water supplies. The Illinois Farm Bureau launched an educational campaign this year to teach farmers when to apply such fertilizers to keep pollutants out of the water. Bob Hoeft is an agronomist with the University of Illinois. He says the program made a real difference with farmers:
“They either didn’t know or hadn’t really thought about the potential for this loss to occur. We’ve had this information out there for a long time, but obviously didn’t reach as many people as we did this year.”
Hoeft says statewide, there was only one report of early application of nitrogen fertilizers. He says other states have already contacted him to find out more about Illinois’ campaign. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jonathan Ahl.