AgroPages-The Nature Conservancy, CF Industries to partner on 4R Plus campaign in North America-Agricultural news

A new partnership between The Nature Conservancy and CF Industries Holdings, Inc., is launching a campaign, "4R Plus," which is designed to give farmers various conservation practices, cover crops, bioreactors and oxbow wetlands to help improve the state's water sources. The conservation practices will include the 4R fertilizer application principles of applying the right source of fertilizer at the right rate, at the right time and in the right place.

Nutrient runoff from agricultural production is impacting North America’s salt and fresh water systems, putting communities, ecosystems and economies at risk. Iowa is among the top states contributing nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in the annual “dead zone” — an area of low oxygen caused by excess nutrients, making it difficult for marine life to survive. The nutrient reduction work in Iowa is part of a comprehensive national plan to reduce the Gulf dead zone and improve water quality in the Upper Mississippi Basin.

With the multi-year grant from CF, the Conservancy will hire an agricultural program manager to partner and work closely with the Conservation Districts of Iowa and other agricultural groups to advance the overall goal of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy — a 45 percent reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into the state’s waters.

The CF grant will enable the Conservancy and its partners to achieve a more significant and lasting impact by developing a campaign to reach the 90,000 farmers influencing 23 million acres of row crops statewide, while building a sustainable agriculture blueprint that can be applied to other states through the Conservancy’s North America Agriculture and Upper Mississippi River Basin programs.