A6 Friday, December 6, 2019
| INDIANA AGRINEWS | www.agrinews-pubs.com
REGIONAL WEATHER
Outlook for Dec. 6 - Dec. 12
Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Friday’s highs and Friday night’s lows.
Rock Island 41/24
Chicago 39/25
©2019; forecasts and graphics provided by
SUNRISE/SUNSET Rise 7:05 a.m. 7:06 a.m. 7:07 a.m. 7:08 a.m. 7:08 a.m. 7:09 a.m. 7:10 a.m.
Decatur 44/25
Quincy 42/26
Springfield Date Dec. 6 Dec. 7 Dec. 8 Dec. 9 Dec. 10 Dec. 11 Dec. 12
Peoria 43/26
Set 4:34 p.m. 4:34 p.m. 4:34 p.m. 4:34 p.m. 4:34 p.m. 4:34 p.m. 4:34 p.m.
Gary 40/28
Champaign 43/24 Lafayette 42/25
Springfield 44/26 Mt. Vernon 49/28
Fort Wayne 41/25
Muncie 44/27
First
Dec 4
Full
Last
Evansville 50/30
PRECIPITATION New
Dec 11 Dec 18 Dec 25
GROWING DEGREE DAYS Illinois Week ending Dec. 2 Month through Dec. 2 Season through Dec. 2 Normal month to date Normal season to date
0 0 3825 0 3333
Indiana Week ending Dec. 2 Month through Dec. 2 Season through Dec. 2 Normal month to date Normal season to date
Southern Illinois: Friday: clouds and sun. Winds north 6-12 mph. Expect three to six hours of sun with fair drying conditions and average relative humidity 70%. Saturday: times of clouds and sun. Winds east-southeast 4-8 mph.
Vevay 46/27
MOON PHASES
0 0 3464 0 2898
Anna 50/32
Today Hi/Lo/W 43/24/pc 39/25/pc 44/25/pc 49/31/pc 40/28/pc 42/22/pc 49/28/c 43/26/pc 42/26/pc 39/23/pc 41/24/pc 44/26/pc
Tom. Hi/Lo/W 43/34/pc 40/36/pc 44/35/pc 49/43/pc 41/38/pc 41/35/pc 47/36/pc 42/37/pc 46/39/pc 40/34/pc 41/38/pc 46/38/pc
Sun. Hi/Lo/W 50/38/c 47/36/c 51/38/c 57/41/c 48/37/c 48/38/c 53/44/c 50/36/c 50/35/c 46/33/c 49/33/c 51/38/c
Indiana Bloomington Carmel Evansville Fishers Fort Wayne Gary Lafayette Indianapolis Muncie South Bend Terre Haute Vevay
Today Hi/Lo/W 45/27/c 42/23/c 50/30/c 42/24/c 41/25/c 40/28/c 42/25/c 43/26/c 44/27/c 40/26/c 45/25/c 46/27/c
Tom. Hi/Lo/W 45/35/s 42/34/s 48/39/pc 41/32/s 41/31/s 42/36/pc 43/33/s 42/34/s 43/34/s 41/33/pc 44/34/s 44/33/pc
Northern Indiana: Friday: low clouds. Winds north-northwest 7-14 mph. Expect less than two hours of sunshine with poor drying conditions and average relative humidity 65%. Saturday: partly sunny; however, sunnier in the south. Central Indiana: Friday: mostly cloudy. Winds north-northwest at 7-14 mph. Expect less than two hours of sunshine with poor drying conditions and average relative humidity 85%.
For 24-hour weather updates, check out www.agrinews-pubs.com Illinois Champaign Chicago Decatur E. St. Louis Evanston Joliet Mt. Vernon Peoria Quincy Rockford Rock Island Springfield
Northern Illinois: Friday: partly sunny. Winds north-northwest 6-12 mph. Expect 4-8 hours of sunshine with fair drying conditions and average relative humidity 65%. Saturday: partly sunny. Winds south at 8-16 mph. Central Illinois: Friday: clouds and sun. Winds north-northwest 8-16 mph. Expect three to six hours of sunshine with fair drying conditions and average relative humidity 65%. Saturday: clouds and sun.
Indianapolis 43/26 Terre Haute 45/25
East St. Louis 49/31
TEMPERATURES
Evanston 40/28 South Bend 40/26
Rockford 39/23
AGRICULTURE FORECASTS
Sun. Hi/Lo/W 50/44/c 49/44/c 53/46/c 50/41/c 49/39/c 49/39/c 49/42/c 50/44/c 51/45/c 49/38/c 50/44/c 52/44/c
Southern Indiana: Friday: mostly cloudy; a shower during the morning in the west. Winds north-northwest at 6-12 mph. Expect two to four hours of sunshine with poor drying conditions and average relative humidity 70%.
SOUTH AMERICA A front will lead to showers and thunderstorms from Minas Gerais to Mato Grosso from Friday into early next week. Largely drier than normal farther south in Brazil into northern Argentina.
Weather (W): s–sunny, pc–partly cloudy, c–cloudy, sh–showers, t–thunderstorms, r–rain, sf–snow flurries, sn–snow, i–ice
Reducing Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms Researchers study options COLUMBUS, Ohio — Several research teams, led by The Ohio State University, have concluded a three-year study evaluating the ability of agricultural management practices to reduce phosphorus causing harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. In 2012, the United States and Canada set the goal of reducing phosphorus entering the lake by 40%. Now, researchers have a better understanding of what management practices need to be implemented, and what research still needs to be done to meet these goals by 2025. The majority of phosphorus entering Lake Erie originates from the
Maumee River watershed. More than 85% of the phosphorus entering the lake comes from agricultural sources such as fertilizer runoff. To address this, researchers are evaluating what agricultural management practices have potential to reduce this phosphorus, while supporting farmers to maintain profitability. “There’s a lot of edge-offield work going on that identifies successful practices in single fields. But when we scale up and ask how many of those practices need to be adopted over a wide area like the Maumee River watershed, that’s where we turn to our models,” said Jay Martin, project co-leader for the recent study and professor in Ohio State’s Department of Food, Agricultural and
Biological Engineering. The study, which was funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative, used five watershed models to help researchers determine the most effective approaches to combat algal blooms. Just as your local news uses models to forecast the weather, researchers use watershed models to project how different management techniques impact phosphorus entering Lake Erie. By layering five separate models over these practices, researchers are able to narrow in on the best solutions. Solutions are aimed at meeting reduction targets for two forms of phosphorus: total phosphorus and dissolved reactive phosphorus. Each spring, levels
of total phosphorus and dissolved reactive phosphorus affect the magnitude of harmful algal growth. Year-round levels of total phosphorus, which includes dissolved reactive phosphorus, lower oxygen levels in the lake and result in the annual dead zone in the central basin of Lake Erie. Resea rchers worked with a team of stakeholders to determine what management practices to analyze with the models. The stakeholder group had wide representation from agricultural groups, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and environmental groups. Together with researchers, these stakeholders helped determine what management practices and
adoption rates were most likely to be feasible solutions to model. “In this study, we wanted to be able to show policy makers a range of expectations if we implement certain conservation strategies,” said Margaret Kalcic, project co-leader and assistant professor in FABE. “Multiple models help us address uncertainty and gain confidence in our practices.” Results from the study showed progress in reducing phosphorus that is required to decrease harmful algal growth. However, none of the modeled scenarios met the reduction goals for dissolved reactive phosphorus. These results point to the need to further increase adoption of existing practices and research
alternative management practices, which is where researchers expect to focus their efforts next. “With the types of practices available to the farming community, we can make stronger strides reducing total phosphorus than with dissolved reactive phosphorus,” Martin said. “In the future, we need to develop management processes that are more effective at managing dissolved reactive phosphorus-processes that hold back or filter water.” The most promising scenarios called for a mix of in-field management like cover crops and subsurface fertilizer placement and the use of buffer strips to help filter field runoff. One mix of these practices met the reduction goal for total phosphorus.
Findings in Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy report By Tom C. Doran
AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The 179-page Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy Biennial Report provided a summary of efforts being conducted by partners and measurable findings for 2017-2018. Nitrate and total phosphorous yields for the eight major rivers draining Illinois were estimated. Here are some of the key findings: Q Annual statewide total phosphorous loads from point sources have been reduced by 4.3 million pounds when comparing 2018 discharges with 2011 baseline year levels. This represents at 24% reduction in phosphorus from point sources. Q For the five-year period of 2013-2017, the statewide water flow, nitrate-nitrogen loads and total phosphorous loads were estimated to be 13%, 7% and 26%, respectively, above the 1980-1996 baseline period. Much of the increase in nitrate load occurred in the Rock River, while much of the increase in total phosphorous load occurred in the Illinois River. Q Illinois EPA provided point source discharge of total nitrogen and total phosphorous for 2017. The statewide point source total nitrogen discharge was about 75 million pounds per year or about 14% less than the 2011 estimate. Point source total phosphorous discharge in 2017 was estimated to be 14 million pounds per year or about 22% less than the 2011 estimate of 18.1 million pounds per year. Q In general, 2012-2017 nitrate-nitrogen yields were similar to values calculated for 1997-2011.
Q For watersheds with nitrate-nitrogen yield greater than 11 pounds of nitrate-nitrogen per acre per year, changes in nitrate yield were correlated with change in water yield. Q For three watersheds in northwest Illinois — Mackinaw River, Spoon River and FlintHenderson — saw some reduction in nitrate-nitrogen yield that appears to be independent of water yield changes. Q Changes in estimation methods used for the Lower Illinois River and Lower Sangamon River resulted in lower estimates of nitrate-nitrogen loads for these watersheds. Q Reductions in total phosphorus yield in Chicago and Des Plaines River watersheds of between 15% and 27% corresponded to reductions in point source discharges in those watersheds. Q Conversely, increases in total phosphorus yield were calculated for the Upper Sangamon River, Macoupin Creek and several other watersheds. Q A survey found producers used the Maximum Return to Nitrogen strategy on corn acres in 2017 to help determine the amount of nitrogen to apply. In addition, producers used other industry-recommended techniques on 69% of their corn acres. In 2017, many producers considered two or more strategies before applying nitrogen to some corn acres; therefore, the sum of those percentages is greater than 100. Tom C. Doran can be reached at 815-780-7894 or tdoran@agrinews-pubs. com. Follow him on Twitter at: @AgNews_Doran.
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