SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Expanding the 4Rs Nutrient reduction program is gaining partners across the state
“Healthy soil and water are connected,” says Kent. “Practices that increase soil health, lead to healthier water supplies for people, plants, fish and other wildlife.” 4R nutrient stewardship also helps improve agricultural productivity and the farmer’s bottom line. “Optimizing nutrient management can help increase farmers’ crop yields and decrease operational costs by improving fertilizer efficiency,” says Kent. “These practices also allow farmers to grow more on less land while reducing the amount of harmful nutrients that escape into the environment as pollution.” TNC recently completed 4R pilot projects in the Elk River and Spring Creek watersheds in southwestern Missouri. Plans to further expand the program within the state are underway —specifically in northeast Missouri and into the Osage Plains region of the state. “TNC’s 2025 goal is to have 250,000 acres 4R verified, or meeting the 4R principles, in the state of Missouri,” says Kent. “Although we are not there yet, there is great momentum that can lead to this goal being achieved though the private and public partnerships that continue to form.”
When the 4R program was launched in Missouri in 2018, it brought together a diverse group of partners—the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board, Missouri Agribusiness Association, Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, and The Nature Conservancy. 4R focuses on nutrient, or fertilizer, management and conservation practices to improve soil health and limit the amount of harmful runoff into our rivers and streams. The 4Rs refer to the right fertilizer source, at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place. TNC is working with MFA, Inc.—a Missouri-based agricultural cooperative retailer—on this effort. “MFA has a very comprehensive Nutri-Track program that aligns well
with the 4R principles and goals,” says Kent Wamsley, TNC’s grasslands and sustainable agriculture strategy manager in Missouri. “Our goal is to work with ag retailers, such as MFA, who can utilize their own nutrient management systems and interlink them with the 4R principles.” To begin, landowners work with their ag retailers to analyze baseline soil samples which informs them of their current soil conditions. They then work together to make management decisions so the right fertilizer (source) can go on the land in the right place, at the right time, and at the right rate. This process not only ensures they are protecting their soil and water resources, but are also being responsible managers of the land and the crop production they want to maximize.
LEARN MORE about TNC’s 4R program in Missouri at nature.org/Missouri4R
10 MISSOURI : ACTION AND IMPACT
THIS PAGE Soybean harvest in northwest Missouri © Dan Videtich
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