P Index As a P Awareness Tool: Documented P Use Reductions In NYS.

In 1999, New York State, then ranked 3rd in the US for milk production, introduced its first Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) permit. This was followed by the release of the New York State Phosphorus runoff index (NY-PI) in 2001 supported by intensive field-based training of planners and crop advisors. In the year in which the NY-PI was introduced, the average P fertilizer sales for farm use amounted to 15,953 tons of P with a P to N fertilizer sales ratio of 0.24). Since the release of the NY-PI, all farm fields under CAFO permits or state or federal programs must be managed according to the NY-PI. The increase in awareness of the importance of P management and the restrictions imposed by the NY-PI motivated producers and their advisors to ask questions about P fertilizer use across farm fields. At that time, recognizing the importance of better balancing of P loadings to agricultural land, especially where livestock operations are involved, statewide projects were initiated to (1) evaluate the need for starter P fertilizer for corn, an important forage crop for dairies in the state and a crop where much of the P fertilizer was applied, and (2) to increase producer awareness of cattle dietary P needs. We will report on the various extension and applied research efforts utilized to raise industry awareness of P management needs and to support changes in farm management that led to a P fertilizer sale of 8,132 tons of P in 2009 (almost half of the sales reported in 2001), a P to N fertilizer sales ratio of 0.17, reduced P excretion rates, and a statewide balance for P in New York State.