Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance
@sustainablep.bsky.social
We envision a food system that manages phosphorus more sustainably to provide abundant, nutritious food while protecting the health of rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Missed our latest newsletter? You can find it in all of its glory here: mailchi.mp/0c44ced245a0...
Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance Newsletter
Every quarter, we put together a newsletter to share upcoming events, webinars, working groups, the newest published P-articles and other cool P-information.
mailchi.mp
We're pleased to announce that S&F Agritech, a contract research organization that evaluates biostimulants, has joined the membership of the Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance. Their CEO, George Fountas, will also serve on our Board of Directors. You can learn more about their work here: sfagritech.com
Geopolitical events continue to bedevil phosphate markets. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/08/sulf...
Sulfur and Increasing Phosphate Fertilizer Prices - farmdoc daily
Nick Paulson, Gary Schnitkey, Carl Zulauf, and Aayush Dhakal - Fertilizer price increases associated with the conflict in Iran seem likely to result in higher fertility costs for farmers for the 2027 ...
farmdocdaily.illinois.edu
We're looking forward to working our new strategic partner, the Center for Agriculture and National Security, as we study phosphate supply chain resiliency through the lens of national security. Director Alicia Ellis has joined us as a faculty affiliate. shows.acast.com/revolution-i...
Professor Alicia Ellis - the Intersection of Agriculture and National Security | Revolution in Military Affairs
shows.acast.com
States need to protect against and remediate anthropogenic N & P in eutrophic freshwaters to achieve greenhouse gas footprint reductions. California's reservoir monitoring is a good first step, though natural lakes should be included www.latimes.com/environment/...
Tons of planet-warming gases are bubbling up from reservoirs. California is going to keep track
California's Air Resources Board will start tracking estimates of the climate-warming methane that bubbles up from the state's dams and reservoirs.
latimes.com
If you're interested in the critical minerals designation for phosphates (who isn't?) then we have the webinar for you on August 25. asu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
"The effects on the ecosystem as a whole are still emerging, so we can’t yet say how phosphorus fertilisation will change total forest carbon storage, but we can see that there are significant shifts in what’s happening below ground.” www.westernsydney.edu.au/news-centre/...
New study reveals how phosphorus changes the way eucalypt forests respond to rising CO₂
Western Sydney University researchers have led an international team in the first ecosystem-scale study to investigate how phosphorus availability affects the response of a mature ...
westernsydney.edu.au
We landed a BIG grant renewal yesterday that will help fund our STEPS research center on phosphorus sustainability for the next several years. Read all about the good news here. research.ncsu.edu/national-sci...
National Science Foundation Renews Support for STEPS Center
The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded more than $22 million in follow-on funding to the Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center, which is headquartered at NC S...
research.ncsu.edu
How can isotopes be used to track the source of nutrient pollution? Find out more here www.udel.edu/udaily/2026/...
Phosphorus detective | UDaily
UD's Deb Jaisi innovates how to trace environmental contaminant
udel.edu
Nutrient pollution of the Illinois River has sparked a long and contentious battle, which has been legally addressed with this settlement. oklahoma.gov/oag/news/new...
Drummond reaches nearly $44M settlement resolving 21-year poultry litter pollution lawsuit
Attorney General Gentner Drummond today announced a nearly $44 million settlement resolving the State's 21-year lawsuit against six companies over poultry litter pollution in the Illinois River Waters...
oklahoma.gov
The low cost of virgin phosphates continues to bedevil recycling efforts: "There's really no value in recycling iron phosphate, unfortunately" www.npr.org/2026/07/13/n...
EV battery recycling has a math problem
For some electric vehicle batteries, it costs more to recycle them than they're worth. That creates all kinds of problems, which a new Colorado law aims to solve.
npr.org
Carbon markets can be leveraged to allow utilities to trade nutrient pollution credits with farmers and others who implement more cost effective nutrient loss reduction practices than equivalent reductions obtained from building costly and carbon-intensive infrastructure.
Did you miss our newsletter? You can find it here, but don't tell anyone. mailchi.mp/c7f989b475cf...
STEPS Center postdoc Dr. Alison Deviney writes here about our recent T2PM workshop on aqueous P load mitigation. Included is a link to the full workshop report. phosphorusalliance.org/2026/06/30/c...
Closing the Lab to Landscape Gap on P Mitigation Tech - Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance
By Alison Deviney, postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University It’s not that we don’t know how to remove phosphorus from water. Indeed, the science of phosphorus removal from municipal
phosphorusalliance.org
The Trump administration has just lifted countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate imports to the US in an emergency declaration. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Declaration of Emergency and Authorization for Temporary Duty Free Importation of Phosphate Fertilizer Morocco
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION 1. Fertilizers are an essential component of agriculture and food production. Producers Every child deserves a safe and nurturing home...
whitehouse.gov
Microplastic contamination plagues food waste (and phosphorus) recycling. Mechanical depackaging is being used to increase recycling of packaged foods, but can lead to increased microplastic contamination. Here's how states are coping www.biocycle.net/food-waste-d...
Depackaging Is Scaling Fast And Regulation Isn’t Keeping Up | BioCycle
Food waste depackaging is scaling rapidly across the U.S., but regulation and microplastics measurement are lagging, raising concerns for compost and digestate quality.
biocycle.net
Nice piece on some of the regulatory challenges facing wastewater utilities who try to extract value from their waste streams, including for gas generation and nutrient recycling. law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/...
Wastewater to Wealth – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog
law.marquette.edu
Our Director, Jim Elser, was quoted in this Vox piece on the causes of the algae growth in the reflecting pool at the Capitol www.vox.com/climate/4929...
Why Trump is losing his war against algae
4 scientists explain why the Reflecting Pool may be green instead of blue on July 4.
vox.com
The case for composting organic waste (and hopefully recycling nutrients) builds in the US NE as landfill capacity dwindles. www.biocycle.net/newmoa-north...
Northeast Waste Disposal Capacity Is Shrinking. Here's What the Data Shows. | BioCycle
A new NEWMOA report finds 26 of every 100 tons of Northeast waste is already exported out of the region, with significant landfill capacity losses projected before 2030.
biocycle.net
If you like this post before June 13, 2026, we'll give you $1M.
Improving water quality in our agricultural headwaters is key to improving freshwater quality and biodiversity.
You could read Hemmingway again this summer, but why would you when our STEPS Center has produced over 130 academic publications spanning all dimensions of phosphorus sustainability? steps-center.org/steps-public...
STEPS Center Publications
steps-center.org
How is the war in Iran impacting fertilizer supplies and prices?
Thoughts about risk perception, conservation funding, and cover cropping from our STEPS (Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability) Center colleague Jonathan Coppess and team. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/05/cons...
Conservation & Risk, Part 1: Introduction and Hypothesis - farmdoc daily
Jonathan Coppess, Kaiyu Guan, and Emily Judith Diaz-Vallejo - It is possible that the conceptualization of agricultural conservation, as reflected in federal policy, is insufficient, incomplete, or to...
farmdocdaily.illinois.edu
IL farmers are paying more for fertilizer since the start of the Iran war, but many pre-purchased or applied prior to escalating prices. Next year may be a different story. One way to offset coming price increases is to apply N&P only at recommended rates. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/05/fert...
Fertilizer Cost Increases Resulting from the Iran Conflict - farmdoc daily
Gary Schnitkey, Carl Zulauf, and Nick Paulson - Fertilizer costs in central Illinois have risen significantly following the onset of conflict involving Iran. Based on April pricing compared to the six...
farmdocdaily.illinois.edu
There are phosphates in your food and some products (soft drinks, processed meats) can contain a lot. It's not labeled in the US, though the National Kidney Foundation has pushed the FDA to do so for people with kidney issues. A new paper argues that lowering P intake may protect healthy people too.
No need to pull your hair and gnash your teeth. If you missed today's webinar on P and water management on the farm, it's available on our YouTube channel. Subscribe to keep up. youtu.be/nrfg1KjI_cg?...
Phosphorus and Water Management on the Farm
YouTube video by Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance
youtu.be
Our Earth Day celebration included hosting a Florida workshop that brought together regulators, growers, technology providers and academics to discuss ways to prevent & remediate P overloads in freshwaters. A great turnout w/talks & breakouts that built important new connections & insights.
