By RACHEL LANE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new water quality assessment will focus on compiling existing data about how agriculture impacts water quality.

The Agriculture Water Quality Practice Assessment is a partnership among the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Sand County Foundation, Noble Research Institute and Farm Foundation. Results of the research are expected to be released next February.

From on-farm research to surveys, billions of dollars have been spent to try to determine how agricultural practices impact water quality. With dozens of universities, government organizations and conservation groups involved, no one has a clear answer of the best practices farmers can use to protect water quality, said Alex Echols, special projects consultant for the Sand County Foundation.

"Data generated from this assessment will provide researchers and agricultural producers with the critical knowledge to make informed decisions," said Bill Buckner, president and CEO of the Noble Research Institute. "Informed decisions are better decisions, which result in improved practices, better conservation and quality land stewardship."

Echols said the assessment team is the result of a year of work to arrange money to fund the program, an advisory committee and a plan for what to do in the coming year. Some areas have been thoroughly studied, such as nutrients, sediment and pathogens, but there are gaps in the knowledge available.

The report will try to identify these gaps and suggest strategies to advance agricultural conservation adoption and effectiveness. The goal of the assessment is to provide economical conservation efforts farmers will use to help improve runoff water quality, by showing what has the greatest environmental impact for the investment.

Echols said he would also like the report to help drive more interest in investment from financial mechanisms. “We want to improve farm economic viability and water quality. If we don’t move the needle on water quality and economic viability … we would have failed."

Farmers are on the advisory committee. If more are needed for surveys, they will be contacted through trade associations or major farming publications. He said almost everyone on the advisory committee is ag-sympathetic, and no one on the team wants to interfere with farmers.

“Eighty percent of precipitation that falls in the continental U.S. falls on private lands. If you care about water quality, you need to positively engage the agriculture community,” Echols explained.

He said farmers decide how to use the water. They want to do things in a way that’s better for the environment, but not in a way that would negatively impact their families or businesses.

“Farmers produce something that people rely on every day, several times a day,” he said.

"Farmers and ranchers want practices that support stewardship of water and land resources, as well as the economic viability of their respective operations," added Farm Foundation President Constance Cullman.