Thinking nationally, working locally

A couple of years ago I was asked to be one of the speakers at the international conference in St. Louis on Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Hypoxia is a condition where the oxygen level in the water gets so low that plants and animals and marine life cannot be sustained.

Brian Andrews

Why would anyone want a farmer from east central Illinois to talk about a condition in the Gulf of Mexico? Observers believe that excess nitrogen in the Mississippi River water flowing into the gulf is a big part of the problem. It is also believed some, maybe much, of that nitrogen comes from agriculture land in the Midwest. Enter the farmer, the person who decides how much nitrogen is applied.

I was part of a proactive group of farmers to start a water-testing program in 1993 through the Vermilion County Farm Bureau. The group evolved into the Lake Vermilion Water Quality Coalition. Our coalition is very broad-based and diversified with one common goal, cleaner water in the watershed we live in and serve.

Our base membership consists of the Vermilion County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Vermilion County Health Department, Farm Bureau, county board, University of Illinois Extension, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, city of Danville, Consumers Illinois Water Company, Vermilion Service Company, Terra International Service Company, Farm Services Agency and several individuals.

The watershed is approximately 192,000 acres in the north-east quarter of the county above the city of Danville. Approximately one-third of the watershed is located in Indiana and we have no control or jurisdiction of that area.

The coalition focuses on reducing nitrates, urban and rural chemicals and sediment in the lake. The coalition also provides education and technical assistance to the farmers and rural and urban residents in the watershed.

The main objectives of the coalition are to:

1. Determine land-use areas and nitrate or sediment levels in the river and lake,

2. Demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of alternative practices,

3. Reduce contamination of surface water resources by increased adoption of pest and nutrient management plans, and

4. Increase awareness of rural and urban resource management systems available to protect the watershed.

Through the efforts of the coalition and its partners, thousands of acres have been enrolled in filter strips, waterways, nutrient management plans and conservation tillage practices. All our goals have not been achieved, but many have. Through our continued nitrogen reduction plots, tile and open water monitoring, education programs, fall plot tours and media contacts, we hope to continue to increase awareness and to reduce contaminants.

In my presentations, I like to equate the water-quality problem to the litter problem. It takes a lot of us to make the problem. It will take all of us to correct the problem. We are all responsible for our own portion, large or small. If we each do our own individual part, then the entire project of clean safe water is attainable.

For our part, my wife Norma and I look at conservation not as a goal or project, but as a way of life.

Brian Andrews is a fourth-generation farmer from east central Illinois. Raised on a grain and livestock farm, he is fulfilling a lifelong desire to preserve the land and the communities surrounding it. He is currently president of the Vermilion County Farm Bureau, past chair of the Farm Bureau Water Quality Committee, and presently chair and co-founder of the Lake Vermilion Water Quality Coalition. Brian and his wife Norma live and operate a 1200-acre farm near Rossville.

4   ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING APRIL 1999