A Global Framework Connects Fertilizer Management, Science, and Crop Advisers.

Society has high expectations for best management practices (BMPs) as a means of making progress on issues of environmental stewardship, sustainability, and adequate supply of safe nutritious food. Application of scientific principles to the development of BMPs often relies on subjective professional judgment that is not necessarily applied in a systematic manner. The fertilizer industry has produced a framework to describe the necessary components of a systematic approach to BMP development which can be adopted globally. The framework describes scientific principles essential to the development, verification, validation and adaptation of BMPs for fertilizer use.

Specific principles apply to crop management in general and to the four components of fertilizer management: the right source, rate, timing, and placement. Those applicable to all crop management practices include: seeking practical measured validation; defining and using performance indicators; recognizing and adapting to risks; and ensuring two-way feedback between research and practical farm levels.

Practical measured validation requires peer-reviewed published scientific data documenting impact on the four management objectives of crop producers: productivity, profitability, sustainability of the cropping system, and health of the surrounding environment. Performance indicators reflect progress toward these objectives. The risks that must be recognized and adapted to include those arising from the biophysical environment (weather) and those related to changing market conditions. Two-way feedback implies that information flows not only from research scientist to producer, but in both directions. The crop adviser can and should facilitate this two-way information flow. This presentation will provide and analyze examples of crop adviser participation in the process of fertilizer BMP development in North America.