Raleigh, NC—The STEPS Center is pleased to announce that three states have proclaimed the 15th week of the year “Phosphorus Week.” Governor Josh Stein of North Carolina, Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin all officially recognize Phosphorus Week as a week of economic, agricultural, and environmental significance for their states. 

North Carolina is home to one of only 10 phosphate rock mines in the United States, and the state’s agricultural industries contributed over $111 billion to the state’s economy in 2023. In Illinois, agriculture is the state’s leading economic industry, while water recreation in its many lakes contribute more than $3 billion annually to the state’s economy. Wisconsin declared Phosphorus Week as part of its commitment to protecting the state’s navigational and recreational waters and to help Wisconsinites to learn about phosphorus and strategies for using it more sustainably. 

View the proclamations

The STEPS Center leads Phosphorus Week, an international week to recognize the critical role of the 15th element, during the 15th week each year in conjunction with the Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance. North Carolina is home to the STEPS Center’s headquarter institution, NC State University. STEPS has partner institutions in Illinois (University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign) and Wisconsin (Marquette University).

Why phosphorus?

STEPS Scholar Lily Kile, a PhD candidate in crop and soil sciences at NC State University, explains why we are so passionate about phosphorus!

This post was originally published in STEPS News.