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Ground Level Blog
Dave Peters

Changes farmers have made to clear the water

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One of the fronts in environmental debates these days is agriculture's impact on water. How much river and lake pollution are farmers responsible for? How much are the consumers who demand the products of agriculture responsible for? What are farmers doing on their land to make things better?

As our Ground Level project continues exploring Minnesota water issues, we tapped into MPR News' Public Insight Network to put that last question to farmers and others familiar with farming and here's what we heard. (Click on the balloons for more detail.)

Some farmers have created grassy buffer zones to reduce runoff to streams. Others are installing new tile systems that actually slow the drainage of water from the land. Some have built ponds to retain water.

Is it enough? What's the role of the consumer? We'd love to see your comments and if you want to fill out the questionnaire we put to farmers, go here.