Developing Conservation Targets for Nutrients and Sediments in
Cropland Planning: A Working Session
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
1:30-5:30 pm
at the
Soil and Water Conservation Society, Annual Conference
Dearborn Michigan, July 11-15, 2009
http://www.swcs.org/
Proceedings from the first session in this series in February 2009
The tradition of soil and water conservation is as ancient as agriculture itself. While the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project is teaching us about where and how we've made progress, over 40% of U.S. waters remain impaired for their designated uses. Water quality problems like the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico as well as local water quality problems are leading to the adoption of nutrient criteria for water bodies. However, there are currently few places where these nutrient criteria are translated into field or farm-level management of soil, water, and nutrient resources, making it difficult for local conservation professionals to make recommendations to farmers that meet both water resource management and agricultural goals. This symposium will present what we know about conservation impacts from CEAP, examine the biophysical and social information around setting sustainable conservation targets for off-field nutrient and sediment losses derived from farming practices, and provide a forum for researchers and conservation professionals to discuss developing an adaptive framework of conservation targets in cropland and watershed planning.
