Organic fertilizers can pack a punch and trigger debate
growers wanted something stronger than compost,” said TimStemwedel, president ofCaliforniaOrganicFertilizers. “My focus from the beginning on the fertilizer side hasbeennitrogen, becausenitrogen isour most limiting nutrient.” Commercial conventional growerswho came to organics were accustomed to fer- tilizers that deliver substantial amounts of nitrogen to their crops by employing syn- thetic fertilizers thatwereeconomical until prices spiked. Some fertilizer companies have de- veloped organic materials that pack a
nitrogen punch far greater than compost and cover crops. “One company is producing biological ammonia,”saidStemwedel,whodiscussed the latest developments in organic inputs during a panel discussion at the Organic GrowerSummit inMonterey inDecember. “Wecan takeamanurematerial andsepa- rate out the phosphorous.” While organic ammonia can take avail- ablenitrogenandyields tonewlevels, there is controversy overwhether it is consistent
ByBob Johnson As organic agriculture has entered the mainstream, the number of fertilizers
For certain, the use of organic fertil- izers has undergone dramatic changes over the years. The organic pioneers tended to be small farmers serving local markets who eschewed many fertilizers and relied on composts and cover crops to supply nu- trients, especially nitrogen. “When organic got big, commercial
ava i l ab l e ha s inc reased . So have controver- sies over which of them should
See FERTILIZER, Page 11
be considered organic.
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February 16, 2022 Ag Alert 9
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