Understanding Regulations on Agricultural Fertilizer Application to Reduce Waste and Protect Water
Agricultural fertilizer waste represents a massive unregulated pollution source, with 40-80% of applied nutrients never reaching crops while driving costly eutrophication. Unlike other polluting industries, agriculture has escaped federal fertilizer application regulations, creating a policy gap that stems from the absence of scientifically rigorous standards to distinguish necessary from wasteful applications. In this project, we seek to understand policy implementation pathways for science-based fertilizer management. Through comprehensive analysis of past regulatory attempts, stakeholder interviews with farmers and policymakers, and assessment of implementation barriers, we will investigate three critical questions: What governmental approaches have been tried and how successful were they? What practical and political barriers exist to fertilizer regulation? Are economic incentives sufficient for adoption, or are additional policy interventions required? The resulting policy digest will provide actionable implementation strategies that account for both scientific limitations on nutrient delivery and political realities.
This grant is made possible by the Goldsmith Research Fund, a gift from Carl H. Goldsmith (W ‘88).
Samantha McBride
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, SEASSamantha McBride is the William K. Gemmill Term Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania.
