Farmers Committed to Keeping Chemicals Out of Lake

COLUMBIA, MO, February 14, 2002 – In the mid 1990s, the lake that supplies most of the drinking water for Monroe City received a bad diagnosis: the level of the herbicide Atrazine in the Route J Reservoir exceeded the 3 parts per billion (ppb) maximum established by Missouri’s Clean Water Commission. Atrazine levels were spiking as high as 12 ppb in May, June and July, an indication that spring rains were carrying Atrazine applied to corn acres in the watershed into the reservoir.

Monroe City installed a carbon-filtering system at its water treatment plant to remove Atrazine from drinking water. But, state and local officials wanted the raw water in the lake to meet acceptable levels for Atrazine.

The problem was easy to identify. The 5,200-acre watershed contains 3,500 acres of cropland. In 1994, about 900 of those acres contained corn, the main Atrazine crop. In addition, the most prevalent soil types drain poorly and are highly erosive, making it difficult to keep chemicals on the fields.

NRCS Resource Conservationist Gary Noel says farmers were already doing a good job of using soil conservation practices such as terraces, waterways and grass filter strips. Therefore, he knew the solution would require changing rates and application of Atrazine.

Farmers already were applying Atrazine at recommended and allowable doses. But, Noel asked the farmers to cut their Atrazine rates in half. He also asked them to apply the Atrazine as a post-emergent herbicide instead of prior to planting to decrease runoff.

Since the farmers needed to apply a more-expensive, pre-emergent herbicide, their costs for chemicals and application would increase about $6 per acre. Funds from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Missouri Corn Growers’ Association, and NRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program helped offset those increased costs. However, there still was a risk that the management changes might reduce yields.

"Our goal was to get 75 percent participation, but we got over 90 percent," Noel says. "The idea was amazingly well received."

It was also successful. During the first two years – 1999 and 2000 – the Atrazine level in the Route J Reservoir never exceeded 3 ppb.

Noel says one key to the success of the plan was that he, NRCS pest management specialist Troy Huntley, University of Missouri integrated pest management specialist George Smith, and an NRCS Earth Team volunteer agreed to scout the fields.

"We got buy-in from the producers because they liked the scouting program," Noel says. "We were finding insect problems, disease, the whole nine yards." The scouting program allowed farmers to reduce chemical costs by applying them only where they were needed. In some cases it also reduced application costs because applicators were able to apply insecticides at the same time as the Atrazine.

Farmers continued with the plan in 2001, even though no funds were available to help with added costs. "That’s when you know that people understand the risks, and that they are committed to doing something about it," Noel says.

Since 1994, corn acreage in the watershed has increased nearly 60 percent, to about 1,400 acres. Therefore, if farmers had not changed their management practices, Atrazine levels in the reservoir probably would be a lot worse than they were in 1994.

"This is a local success story," says Bob Ball, NRCS assistant state conservationist. "We talk about projects being locally led. We preach that. This project is certainly locally led."

Noel credits the cooperation of NRCS, its conservation partners, the Missouri Corn Growers’ Association, University Extension, local agricultural businesses – and farmers.

"I can’t brag enough about how great the farmers have been to work with and their willingness to assume more expense and risk," he says. "We were able to sell this plan because the farmers wanted to improve the water quality of the Route J Reservoir."