URBANDALE, Iowa - The National Research Council of the National Academies (NRC) released a report today on the health of the Mississippi River. The report, Mississippi River Quality and the Clean Water Act, says that the quality and condition of the Mississippi River will continue to deteriorate unless Midwestern farmers become significantly more effective at soil and water protection.

The report asserts that “seventy years of Farm Bills and other agricultural programs have had a tremendous influence on Mississippi River basin land uses, creating problems with runoff patterns and water quality.” The NRC goes on to say that the expansion of the bio-energy economy and the rising commodity markets could encourage producers to intensify crop production across the upper Mississippi River basin, and that increases in nutrient and sediment runoff from agricultural land may result.

The NRC report refers to the Iowa Soybean Association’s environmental work, saying that the programs demonstrate the “many linkages among agriculture and water quality at different spatial scales, and how collaborative efforts among farmers and water quality experts can produce additional benefits for both agriculture and water quality.”

Curt Sindergard, President of the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) and a farmer from Rolfe, Iowa, says that the NRC report identifies key concerns of farmers. “We’re looking for a win-win solution, where farmers can both care for our natural resources and increase farm incomes by taking advantage of the opportunities in front of us. As farmers, we realize that the long-term future of farming ultimately depends upon the protection of our soil and water resources.”

Sindergard says that ISA has implemented its own environmental programs to help farmers continually evaluate and improve their nutrient management. ISA's agronomic and environmental programs address whole farming systems, including nutrient management and pest control in corn and soybean production, integration of livestock and manure management in crop production, tillage practices, and energy management.

The timing of the NRC report coincides with Congressional work on the 2007 Farm Bill, as the Senate Ag Committee makes it final Farm Bill decisions in the next few days. According to Sindergard, the next Farm Bill will have an impact on the environment, “What we hope to see in the Farm Bill is a strong investment in helping farmers protect soil and water. In the past, conservation programs have been under-funded — two out of three farmers have been willing to take action to improve the environment but they have been turned down due to lack of funds. Potential investments in conservation like the Discovery Watersheds demonstration program and the Regional Water Enhancement Program (RWEP) are critical to making progress on the issue of water quality.”

The Discovery Watershed program Sindergard mentions will create conservation projects in at least 30 small watersheds in the Upper Mississippi River basin, and will identify and promote the most cost-effective and efficient approaches to reducing the loss of nutrients to surface waters. RWEP supports watershed-based, coordinated water quality and water conservation initiatives and the use of multiple conservation tools in key project areas.

Sindergard says he wants to encourage Iowans to get in touch with the Iowa Congressional delegation and support language authorizing the Discovery Watersheds and RWEP in the Conservation Title of the Farm Bill. “These programs are different and they’re essential. No existing USDA programs focus on water quality by emphasizing the development of projects in consultation with participating farmers. Nor do any other existing programs measure results by monitoring and evaluating the impact its projects have on the environment. Funding them would introduce a new environmental paradigm in the Farm Bill.”

A summary of the NRC report is available at: www.nationalacademies.org, and the National Research Council of the National Academies can be contacted through the Office of News and Public Information, 202-334-2138.