Governor Proclaims North Carolina Phosphorus Week

North Carolina Phosphorus Week

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, phosphorus is an essential element for life and critical to crop growth in the state of North Carolina as a vital nutrient in fertilizer; and

Whereas, in 2024, North Carolina was home to one of the ten phosphate rock mines in the United States, producing $250 million in economic value; and

Whereas, agriculture and agribusiness are key industries in our state’s economy, contributing a $111.1 billion economic impact in 2023; and

Whereas, North Carolinians purchased approximately 300 million pounds of fertilizer in 2017; and

Whereas, system inefficiencies and the chemical nature of phosphorus lead to run-off resulting in water pollution in surrounding water bodies, and thus management interventions, like those taken by the state in the Jordan Lake Watershed, are needed to reduce the environmental impact of phosphorus; and

Whereas, through cooperation of NC State University, regional stakeholders, and partner institutions, the Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center advances the phosphorus sustainability vision: a 25 percent reduction in human dependency on mined phosphate and a 25 percent reduction in loss from sources of phosphorus within 25 years; and,

Whereas, Phosphorus Week, the 15th week of the year, is a week to highlight the critical role the 15^th element plays in the economy, food supply, recreational enjoyment, and health of our state;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim April 7-12, 2025, as “North Carolina Phosphorus Week” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-fifth day of March in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.