Page:Update on water quality- Progress update (IA CAT10556197004).pdf/4

 ;Objectives The Midwest/Mid-Continent Initiative will evaluate the influence of farming practices and systems on groundwater quality and assess the economic and social characteristics of various farming systems needed for enhancement of water quality. As with any research, the ultimate goal is technology transfer. Consequently, the nationwide network of water quality demonstration projects, special projects, and hydrologic unit areas will provide further testing grounds and points of technology transfer for systems tested on the MSEA’sMSEAs [sic].

Technology transfer is built into the MSEA’sMSEAs [sic]. The Cooperative Extension System and the Soil Conservation Service are involved in program planning, and they are developing education and action programs that will tie in with the MSEA’sMSEAs [sic].

The Midwest Initiative is only part of ongoing USDA research on water quality. The USDA Water Quality Research Plan, published in January 1989, calls for two distinct kinds of research. Geographically focused systems research includes regional initiatives such as the Midwest Initiative.
 * Other Research

The second kind of research, called Priority components research, includes: Priority components research at State Agricultural Experiment Stations (supported by CSRS Special Grants) and in ARS is investigating sources and prevention of contamination; breakdown and transport of agricultural chemicals; remediation; socioeconomic implications of changing farming practices; and agricultural management and water quality. Additionally, ongoing research in the Economic Research Service and in the States is addressing the economic implications of various farming and policy alternatives at farm, regional, and national scales.
 * Obtaining information on the basic physical, chemical, and biological processes that determine movement of contaminants through soil into groundwater;
 * Developing new farm management practices;
 * Identifying the climatic, soil, and hydrogeologic variables that affect groundwater contamination from agricultural practices.