Modern industrial agricultural practices are a primary source of nutrient pollution in the Great Lakes. Heavy use of chemical fertilizers for exportable commodity crops such as corn and soybeans, and continued use of leaching-prone practices, along with livestock-polluted wastes from animal feeding operations, produce excess nutrients that are carried into the Great Lakes system with rain and snowmelt. 

 

Nutrient pollution feeds harmful algae, including toxic forms that can damage drinking water supplies. Meanwhile, responsible farmers are caught in an economic vise, as they face relentless financial pressure to enlarge their operations and maximize production at all costs to maintain financial viability. For the past fifty years, the US and Canada have sought to address agricultural nutrient pollution through a variety of voluntary programs.

 

While some farmers have demonstrated responsible stewardship of the environment under these programs, the overall situation has not been dealt with effectively and the pollution problems have gotten worse. It is time to re-think the way agriculture is organized and practiced in both countries so that we can achieve healthy Great Lakes, develop an appropriate scale and type of agriculture in the region, and provide for the economic viability of responsible farming.