Osmond Deanna L, Hoag Dana L K, Luloff Al E, Meals Donald W, Neas Kathy
J Environ Qual. 2015 Mar;44(2):382-90. doi: 10.2134/jeq2014.02.0091.
Nutrient enrichment of water resources has degraded coastal waters throughout the world, including in the United States (e.g., Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, and Neuse Estuary). Agricultural nonpoint sources have significant impacts on water resources. As a result, nutrient management planning is the primary tool recommended to reduce nutrient losses from agricultural fields. Its effectiveness requires nutrient management plans be used by farmers. There is little literature describing nutrient management decision-making. Here, two case studies are described that address this gap: (i) a synthesis of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Conservation Effects Assessment Project, and (ii) field surveys from three nutrient-impaired river basins/watersheds in North Carolina (Neuse, Tar-Pamlico, and Jordan Lake drainage areas). Results indicate farmers generally did not fully apply nutrient management plans or follow basic soil test recommendations even when they had them. Farmers were found to be hesitant to apply N at university-recommended rates because they did not trust the recommendations, viewed abundant N as insurance, or used recommendations made by fertilizer dealers. Exceptions were noted when watershed education, technical support, and funding resources focused on nutrient management that included easing management demands, actively and consistently working directly with a small group of farmers, and providing significant resource allocations to fund agency personnel and cost-share funds to farmers. Without better dialogue with farmers and meaningful investment in strategies that reward farmers for taking what they perceive as risks relative to nutrient reduction, little progress in true adoption of nutrient management will be made.
水资源的养分富集已使世界各地的沿海水域退化，包括美国（如切萨皮克湾、墨西哥湾和纽斯河口）。农业面源对水资源有重大影响。因此，养分管理规划是推荐用于减少农田养分流失的主要工具。其有效性要求农民使用养分管理计划。关于养分管理决策的文献很少。在此，描述了两个案例研究以填补这一空白：（i）美国国家粮食和农业研究所、保护效果评估项目的综合研究，以及（ii）对北卡罗来纳州三个养分受损流域/集水区（纽斯河、塔尔-帕姆利科河和乔丹湖排水区）的实地调查。结果表明，即使农民有养分管理计划，他们通常也没有完全实施这些计划或遵循基本的土壤测试建议。发现农民对按照大学推荐的施氮量施肥犹豫不决，因为他们不信任这些建议，将充足的氮视为一种保障，或者采用肥料经销商给出的建议。当流域教育、技术支持和资金资源聚焦于养分管理时出现了例外情况，这些措施包括减轻管理要求、积极且持续地直接与一小部分农民合作，以及为资助机构人员和向农民提供成本分摊资金提供大量资源分配。如果不与农民进行更好的对话，不对奖励农民承担他们认为与养分减少相关的风险的策略进行有意义的投资，在真正采用养分管理方面几乎不会取得进展。
