Water quality and agriculture: Mississippi experiences

AGRICULTURE and water quality are linked inseparably because of agriculture's requirements for land and water. In the principal farming and livestock sectors of the United States, agricultural land is a major source of sediments, nutrients, pesticides, and coliform bacteria. Although many problems are siteor region-specific, research conducted in the southern United States helps to focus on these basic water quality problems. Research shows that installation and maintenance of soil-conserving practices and animal waste treatment systems can curtail much of the pollution from agricultural activities now. Continuing research is needed to determine the best mix of agricultural practices and resource management and to develop new technology for managing agricultural pollution products and prevent their delivery to streams and lakes. Water quality conditions result from past and present large-scale uses of land and water. In some states, 75 percent of the land area and 80 percent of the total water is used in agricultural production. Because farming demands a larger share of the landscape and more water than most other uses, society has burdened agriculture with a proportionately greater responsibility for water …