Testing for Soil Nitrogen and Phosphorus for Environmental Pollution Monitoring

Supports EQIP including CNMP

Nutrient management is an important part of NRCS conservation planning, particularly in the development of Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMP) for livestock operations. Farmers can obtain cost-share funding through the EQIP program to implement these plans, in accordance with the NRCS Nutrient Management Standard (590) and ensure that manure and other nutrients are applied in a manner that benefits crop production without degrading natural resources or increasing water pollution risks.

Appropriate soil sampling and analysis to evaluate the current nutrient status is a fundamental part of all nutrient management planning. However, typical soil sampling protocols are designed to assess soil nutrient levels for plant growth, not for environmental purposes. To address this limitation, NRCS Hawaii staff in cooperation with University of Hawaii faculty developed soil sampling guidelines specifically for environmental pollution monitoring. These have been published as a CES publication: Testing for Soil Nitrogen and Phosphorus for Environmental Pollution Monitoring and are included in the eFOTG as an NRCS Tech Note.

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