In all, MCGA Field Managers collected roughly 300 samples from those sites, located in the Smithville and Mark Twain watersheds. We are very pleased with the outcome of this first year of collection. Thus far the project is progressing just as MCGA organizers had hoped. The goal is to collect five years of sound information then make production suggestions based on that sound science to Missouri corn producers. Implementation of those suggestions will hopefully increase the producer's profit line while still protecting the environment.
Water quality remains as one of the public's primary environmental concerns.
These water samples are then analyzed at the University of Missouri. Collection sites are located near the Smithville Reservoir watershed in northwest Missouri and near the Mark Twain watershed in the northeast part of the state. In the coming years, the project will branch to other watersheds mentioned as possible trouble areas by the Clean Water Act. The BMPs will deter soil erosion and water runoff from the fields, which will, in turn, increase water quality. We will be collecting massive amounts of data so that policy decisions can be made on sound facts, not speculation.