Healthy Soil and Clean Water: The Nutrient Connection
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Date and Time:
Tue, Oct 20, 2026; 7:00 PM
(Central)
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10/20/2026 7:00 PM
America/Chicago
Healthy Soil and Clean Water: The Nutrient Connection
This webinar will explore how the two most common agricultural fertilizer nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus, become harmful when they move into natural waterways at excessive levels. Topics will include factors that influence nutrient release from farmland, legacy phosphorus stored in agricultural soils, and conditions under which no-till farming can increase nutrient runoff. The presentation will also examine biochar as a sustainable nutrient management tool and discuss practical soil health strategies for reducing nutrient losses that contribute to harmful algal blooms.
Webinar URL: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87864871795
Gloria Charland
gtcharland@gmail.com
MM/DD/yyyy
amOUuwqNAzpGSXwtHmnd12740
Organized By: Harmful Algal Blooms Subteam
Location: Virtual
Event Organizers:
Gloria Charland
gtcharland@gmail.com
8472390582
Bonnie Blessing
bonnie.blessing@gmail.com
Debbie Neustadt
debbieneustadt@gmail.com
Karen Stine
karenestine@gmail.com
Lois Nowak
loisnowak@gmail.com
Phyllis Farrell
phyllisfarrell681@hotmail.com
Nutrients get a bad rap—but here's the thing: they're not the villains. Nitrogen and phosphorus are the very ingredients that feed our crops and keep farms productive. The trouble starts when too much of a good thing slips off the field and into our rivers, lakes, and streams—where excess nutrients can fuel harmful algal blooms that turn healthy waters green, murky, and often dangerous.
In this webinar, agronomist Gus Plamann untangles the surprisingly fascinating journey of nutrients through soil and water. We'll start with the basics of nutrient cycles (and why nutrients aren't always the bad guys), then dig into the real-world factors that send them wandering—from soils that flood again and again, to "legacy" phosphorus that's been quietly banking up in farm fields for decades. You'll learn why even no-till farming, a practice celebrated for protecting soil, can sometimes crank up phosphorus runoff. And we'll explore one of the more exciting tools in the toolkit: biochar, and how it can help lock nutrients where they belong.
Whether you're a farmer, a scientist, or just someone who cares about healthy soil and clean water, you'll walk away with practical soil health strategies—and a fresh appreciation for the delicate balance beneath our feet.
About the speaker:
Gus Plamann is a technical agronomist steeped in regenerative agriculture, agroecology, and soil health. As Agronomy Operations Lead for Tidal Grow AgriScience—a company that cleverly upcycles seafood waste into sustainable crop nutrition products—he's on the front lines of farming in harmony with nature. Gus also serves on the board of the Florida Soil Health Coalition, connecting farmers, ranchers, scientists, and conservationists across the state. He holds an MS in Agriculture and Environmental Science from the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley and a BS in Natural Resource Conservation from the University of Florida. With family roots in Midwest farming and a lifelong curiosity about the natural world, Gus loves exploring where agronomy and ecosystem science meet.