(NEBRASKA TV) Nebraska TV quotes “Arnie Hinkson isn't afraid to go
against conventional wisdom.
Thirty years ago he worked with the Central Platte Natural
Resources District on some test strips, where he learned more isn't always
better when it comes to fertilizer.
He said, "Early days of nitrogen, if some was good, more was
better. And then the NRD started figuring out a lot of our nitrate problems
were commercial."
Dr. Richard Ferguson, Nebraska Extension soil
specialist, says he can't fault farmers for what they did.
"If I would've been a farmer, I would've done the exact same
thing," he said. "Cost was not great, and we did not yet see
environmental impact or see how that would happen."
But rising nitrate levels reached unsafe levels in some
communities and forced natural resources districts to implement new
regulations and work with farmers to get more efficient.
Dean Krull is a University of Nebraska employee who works at the
Central Platte NRD office.”
