The American Soybean Association (ASA) announced a series of water quality forums that will establish a communication link for grower leaders and state government agencies engaged in the process of implementing Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements. The effort is designed to enable grower leaders in five states to guide implementation of programs affecting cropland.

ASA and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) received a two-year grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct the program.

Leaders of the South Dakota Soybean Growers Association met with representatives of the state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Association of Conservation Districts, Department of Agriculture, and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Pierre, S.D., on Wednesday.

"State governments are developing and implementing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements that will have significant impacts on agricultural practices," said ASA President Mike Yost, a soybean and corn farmer from Murdock, Minn. "Because of this, growers must be at the table early on in the process, looking for cooperative approaches that can be taken to meet CWA responsibilities," he said.

The forums will allow participating growers and their state associations to better understand the TMDL concept, and the approach that will be taken in those states in allocating pollution control responsibilities within impaired watersheds, Yost said.

"Soybean growers are seeking an interactive strategy to address water quality issues in their states, and these forums will help us shape that strategy," Yost said.

South Dakota Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Nettie Myers, applauded ASA and NCGA for initiating the water quality discussions.

"Our goal is to work in partnership with farmers across the state to improve our water quality, and this project will help us reach that goal," Myers said.

Forums will also be established in Iowa and Minnesota this year. Two more states will be selected for participation next year.