Phosphorus from agricultural lands poses a problem to North Carolina's water resources. In fiscal year 2003, over 48% of soil samples submitted to the NCDA&CS soil testing laboratory from around the state, tested very high in soil P (>100 P-Index). This result is a concern because as soil test P increases, the risk for off-site losses of P increases, either through erosion, soluble P runoff or leaching. When soils test above a high soil test P level (P-Index = 50-100), no yield response from fertilizer additions is expected. Therefore, yield should not be negatively affected by excluding starter-P on soils having excessive P. Studies in New York, Delaware, and Iowa have shown this assessment to be true. However, there has been no study of the effects of starter-P fertilizer on soils with very high P-status in North Carolina. Therefore, we undertook a study to determine if the use of starter-P fertilizer would affect the growth of corn and cotton on different soils in North Carolina having very high soil test P. If farmers do not need to apply starter-P, the amount of excess agricultural P that is vulnerable to loss can potentially be reduced. The results indicate that yield of either crop is not statistically different regardless of starter fertilizer type (N only or N+P). Analyzing by physiographic region (Coastal Plain, Piedmont, or Mountains) produced inconsistent results, with no treatment differences in corn, and with the ‘N Only' treatment being greater than the ‘N + P' treatment in two cotton parameters. Economic analysis indicates that there is a slight increase in profit by adding N+P starter for corn, but negative profits for cotton. Generally, starter-P fertilizer is not warranted on fields with very high soil test P values.