Retired The Andersons Executive Receives Nutrient Stewardship Award
February 18, 2016 Doug Busdeker, recently retired senior manager of Northern Farm Centers at The Andersons, Inc., received the Nutrient Stewardship Council’s Distinguished Service Award during its “4R Farming 4 Sustainability” event in Fort Wayne, IN, February 12.
More than 150 growers, nutrient service providers, NGO employees, government-related representatives and others gathered in Fort Wayne to learn the latest about nutrient management practices and the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program during the event.
The voluntary certification program is a concentrated effort by the agriculture industry to significantly reduce and prevent applied nutrients from running off fields, which has contributed to algal blooms in Lake Erie, such as the one responsible for the shutdown of Toledo’s water supply in August 2014.
“Doug has been instrumental in the early success of and a strong advocate for the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program,” said Andrew Allman, executive director of the Nutrient Stewardship Council.
Busdeker has served on multiple committees and boards focused on nutrient management, water quality and the 4Rs, including the 4R Program Advisory Committee. He is past chair of the Ohio Grain and Feed Association, Ohio Fertilizer and Pesticide Association, International Joint Commission Water Quality Board and the National Center for Water Quality Research Advisory board. In September 2015, he gave a presentation about the certification program and other water quality efforts in the Western Lake Erie Basin to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Presentations at the Fort Wayne event focused on the research and use of the 4Rs in everyday practices and operations in the Western Lake Erie Basin, an overview of details and impacts of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program, and the next steps for the agriculture community and the certification program.
The program certifies nutrient service providers in the Western Lake Erie Basin that apply nutrients or make nutrient recommendations in accordance with 4R Nutrient Stewardship principles – which refers to using the Right Source of Nutrients at the Right Rate and Right Time in the Right Place. Program participants must go through an independent, third-party audit and demonstrate they not only understand 4R principles, but also follow them.
Presenters included members of the Nutrient Stewardship Council; certification program participants and consultants; researchers; agricultural associations; and keynote speaker Rick McLellan, of The Mosaic Company.
Subscribe Today For
