CLEARING THE CURRENT

Midwestern states have made progress in reducing runoff, but increased rainfall has made the task more difficult.

- Adrienne Held

As a sixth-generation farmer, Jeff O’Connor has seen his family farm change through the generations. The one common thread is a love of taking care of the land. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard my family say, ‘Take care of the land, and it’ll take care of you,’” the Kankakee, Illinois, farmer said. “It’s made it easier for me to look at different ways to take care of the land as we learn more about the science behind what goes on in the soil.”

Bringing science to actionable and practical insights to reduce nutrient runoff has been the task of a multi-state effort, developed in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan. The plan called for 12 states in the Mississippi, Atchafalaya, and Ohio River basins to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in their rivers making their way to the Gulf of Mexico, also known as the Gulf of America, where they contribute to the hypoxia or dead zone. “It’s a voluntary initiative,” explained Laura Gentry, director of water quality science at IL Corn. “States were given a couple of directives, but the main one was to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus losses by 45% by 2035.”

Nutrient loads in the water have impacts locally as well, said Matt Helmers, a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University (ISU). “Local water quality is a concern too,” he said. “Some communities have trouble meeting the drinking water standard for nitrate, and phosphorus can promote algae growth in our streams and lakes.”