Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)

About the organization
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy. Our mission is to create environmentally and economically sustainable communities and regions through sound agriculture and trade policy. The Environment and Agriculture Program of IATP strives to maximize the productivity of the rural landscape while minimizing environmental damage.

Respondent: Heather Schoonover, program associate, Environment and Agriculture Program

What can homeowners do to make their land and property more river friendly? What can farmers do? Business owners?
Homeowners, farmers and business owners must realize that what they do on their land can impact rivers and other bodies of water that might be miles away.

Homeowners and business owners can reduce the amount of fertilizers, chemicals, wastes and other materials that might run off their land and reach water supplies.

On a small scale, farmers can reduce their impacts on rivers by improving nutrient management practices, maintaining wetlands and buffer strips on their land, planting cover crops and altering drainage systems to slow water flow. For example, recent modeling studies from Illinois have indicated that a small reduction in fertilizer or manure use, on the order of ten to 15 percent, would not affect yield but may reduce nitrate output from row crops by as much as 30 percent. Creative approaches that couple education with economic incentives are needed to encourage farmers to implement such practices. (Examples of incentives can be found in our publication "Innovative Financial Mechanisms for Promoting Conservation"). On a larger scale, shifting production away from corn and soybean row crops and toward a more diversified agriculture would do much to increase the health of both rivers and rural communities. Diversified agriculture includes not only crops but also the use of farms for such things as alternative energy production and agri-tourism. Changes in farm policy (see below) are key to encouraging farmers to manage their land in a way that is environmentally, economically and socially beneficial.

What are policymakers doing to enhance the current and future health of Minnesota's rivers? What should they be doing?
Farm policy is a critical factor in the health of Minnesota's rivers. The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) has taken thousands of acres out of production in the Minnesota River basin for buffer strips. The new Conservation Security Program, included in the recently passed farm bill, will provide financial incentives for farmers to incorporate many water-protecting practices. However, many changes in farm policy are needed to protect the health of the nation's rivers, lands and people. The increased nitrogen concentration in the Mississippi River is largely the result of current Midwestern farming systems. Alleviating problems such as increased nutrient loads in rivers will require significant changes in Midwest farming practices. Current farm policies provide government support and reduced financial risk for only a few "program" crops. Row crops such as corn and soybean dominate the Midwestern landscape and have displaced perennial crops and wetlands that reduce the amount of nutrient runoff reaching our rivers. We need to promote policies that shift the focus to a diversified agricultural system. Farmers need profitable, alternative crops with accessible markets. If opportunities are available farmers will take advantage of them. The priority of farm policy should be to foster an agriculture that protects natural resources, creates healthy food systems, and revitalizes rural communities and family farms.

River policymakers must address diverse and often competing elements such as the environment, commerce, flood control, recreation, and land use—but from your point of view, what overarching values should guide how we use, treat, and manage rivers?
Rivers are a public resource and must be managed in a way that benefits society as a whole — they must be used and managed in a way that is environmentally, economically and socially sustainable. The various uses of rivers must be balanced so that the needs of all users are met.

How can we manage the conflict of private land use and the best management practices for our rivers?
How can we manage the conflict of private land use and the best management practices for our rivers?: Raising citizen awareness about the impacts of land use on rivers and the benefits of good management practices is a first step toward getting landowners to change their behavior. Providing incentives for landowners to implement best management practices is also key. For example, landowners should be compensated not only for the food, fiber and other products that their lands produce, but also for the many services provided by these lands, including wildlife habitat and water filtration.

We must take a "working landscapes" approach to land management. Our concept of a working landscape is one in which agriculture, forestry, community development and rural-urban relationships are conducted in harmony with the environment, sustaining families, communities and ecosystems while providing multiple benefits to society. "Working landscapes" goes beyond our nation's current land conservation strategy that focuses primarily on private land acquisition and regulation and instead looks at ways to couple voluntary, incentive-based policies with landowner innovation and private enterprise. The vision of working landscapes recognizes that to successfully renew the countryside, the focus must not remain on individual land-use, but must shift to include community-level, watershed-level and bioregion-level awareness and action. (More information about working landscapes can be found at www.workinglandscapes.org).