Data Shows Farmers Produce More Corn With Less Fertilizer

Farmers have doubled the output of corn while using less fertilizer to nourish the crop, according to an announcement by The Fertilizer Institute. Based on data released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, farmers grew 6.64 billion bushels of corn using 3.9 pounds of fertilizer per bushel in 1980. By 2010, producers grew 12.45 billion bushels using 1.6 pounds of nutrients per bushel. The numbers show that producers can increase food production while protecting the watersheds leading to the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico. Read more (Western Farm Press).