WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new study released last week by the USDA shows the department’s conservation efforts are working.

“The Great Lakes Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) study confirms that good conservation planning and implementation have reduced loadings of sediment and nutrients to waterways throughout the region,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a statement issued with the study report last Thursday.

“The administration appreciates the actions of every farmer who is stepping up to implement conservation practices, protect vital farmlands and strengthen local economies. At the same time, we also see opportunities for even further progress.”

A teleconference last Thursday announced the study and helped explain what it is all about. Dave White, head of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), was there along with Lee Norfleet, a lead scientist for CEAP. White explained starting in 2003, the NRCS began putting together reports on its progress, as directed by Congress in the 2002 farm bill.

Altogether, there will be 14 reports. Three have been completed so far, including the one released last week.

The first CEAP study was on the Chesapeake Bay, the second on the Upper Mississippi and now the third, on the Great Lakes.

The study coverage area includes nearly all of Michigan, sections of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

It covers 174,000 square miles and doesn’t include anything on the Canadian side of the border. White said there were 1,400 sites in the coverage area used for the study.

The NRCS is familiar with soil conditions at these sites; farmers don’t know precisely where the sites are. Staff members from the USDA National Agricul-tural Statistics Service (NASS) do a thorough survey of farmers in the area around each site.

“We know the conservation practices that are being used on that point,” White said.

Data from the survey is introduced into a couple of computer models and the information is aggregated. What the NRCS found is because of farmers’ conservation practices, 36 percent less phosphorous and 37 percent less nitrogen is “lost” to runoff and, without the conservation practices, there would have been double the sediment buildup.

“We’re comfortable and confident that the conservation is working, but there’s no question that more needs to be done,” White said.

“If we could treat all the high and moderate acres … we could further reduce sediment by 64 percent from the current levels, nitrogen losses by another 42 percent, we could cut our subsurface nitrogen losses by another 38 percent and we could cut our phosphorous losses by another 36 percent. We could have some incredible results in the future.”

White said “systems” need to be used in order to have the most impact. He gave as an example the use of terraces. Terraces, he explained, hold erosion back but they also hold water back and can increase the amount of subsurface nitrogen in the soil.

“To fix this you can combine terraces with nutrient management,” he said. “That’s kind of the systems approach.”

Norfleet said farmers need to be more consistent with their conservation practices. He said they tend to equate nutrient management with “backing off a little bit” on how much fertilizer they put on.

“A lot of times putting on the right amounts at the wrong times can be worse than putting on a little too much at the right times,” he explained.

White said the USDA has signed an agreement with the fertilizer industry to do more training of farmers on nutrient management. “We’re hopeful we can get trained up, to increase their consistency on this issue,” he said.

White went on to say farmers are naturally reluctant to change their practices, because even a small adjustment can affect their income. In fact, he said it’s only been in recent years they have been well-off enough to put some of their own money into conservation.

Most programs require the farmer to put some of their own resources into a new effort, White said. The government doesn’t usually pay for it all.

When asked about the possibility dollars for conservation might be cut in the next farm bill, White said he puts a lot of faith in the key ag committee people serving in Congress right now to do the right thing.

“We can be smarter, we can be more effective in using whatever dollars we do get,” he said.