What’s in your water?
Nitrate testing offered at South Dakota field days.
South Dakota producers have a new resource to help them learn if they’re losing nutrients with runoff water.
South Dakota State University Extension and others are offering free nitrate sampling at four field days this month.
Those behind the pilot project are hoping it will raise awareness about nitrogen loss and the water pollution it can cause.
In many cases, farmers are trying to apply fertilizers judiciously and they don’t realize how frequently those nutrients wander out, Gilbertson said.
The East Dakota Water district and Extension are the project’s sponsors, along with the South Dakota Corn Growers Association and two other water development districts for the James River and the Vermillion Basin.
This year’s dead zone is expected to grow to about the size of New Jersey – 8,185 square miles.
It would be the third largest dead zone recorded, according to a news release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The geological survey monitors thousands of stream gauges throughout 31 states that drain into the Mississippi watershed.