Addressing soil health and changing a few land-management practices can often have a substantial impact on reducing nutrient runoff from fields. Upper Midwest farmers are being asked to significantly reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from their fields. Some experts say the solution isn’t really all that complicated.
On the national level, the Federal Clean Water Act regulates pollution flowing out of pipes, known as point source pollution. But contaminants flowing off of farm fields — non-point source pollution — are exempt from regulations. With little authority to compel farmers to adopt clean water practices, state and federal agencies rely on a voluntary approach. As a result, farming practices can be dramatically different from one field to the next.
Read more at http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/05/17/water-buffalo-red-river-agriculture-erosion
After all the rain we’ve had…Sauvie Island Organics reports that the cover crops they planted kept their soil and plants in place through it all! And that was
17 inches of rain since December first!