Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 150 (SB 150) this week, a bill which will now require one
farmer per farm operation to be certified to apply fertilizer.
The bill was introduced on June 25, 2013 by senators Cliff Hite, who is also chair of the Senate
Agriculture Committee, and Bob Peterson. The sponsors and agencies willingly worked with the Ohio Corn
& Wheat Growers Association (OCWGA), the Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) and other agricultural
groups as the bill underwent several drafts during the committee hearing process in the Senate.
"No one has a clear understanding of how exactly phosphorus is moving through the soil profile, or
can explain why there are algae blooms in areas that don’t have agricultural activity near them,"
said Brent Hostetler, OCWGA president.
For this reason, the Ohio Soybean Council, the Ohio Corn Marketing Program, the Ohio Small Grains
Marketing Program, and many others are supporting a $2 million research project with more than $1
million coming from Ohio farmers and other agricultural companies, that will measure edge-of-field
phosphorus runoff and will show how phosphorus is used in agriculture, how it leaves farm fields and how
much of it is actually entering Ohio’s waterways.
"Ohio farmers continue their focus on best management practices and doing their part in improving
our waterways," said Jerry Bambauer, OSA president. "Many farmers are implementing
nutrient-management plans that reduce the need for nutrient application, positively impacting the
environment."