A coordinated effort to assess and improve farmers contributions to better water quality across the nation is now expanding into an information gathering juggernaut. Professional staff members representing 11 Corn Grower Associations met in St. Louis this week to discuss ongoing efforts in their states to improve water quality through changes in farming practices. “One of the more interesting developments from this process is our contention that farmers were already doing a lot to farm smarter, this is turning into real-world data,” said Rachel Orf, National Corn Growers Association director of stewardship and sustainability. “We are gaining a better understanding of all of the work that is continuing independently in the states, and the resulting collaboration is speeding improvements as well as documenting the significant contributions farmers have already made with the environment in mind.” The series of water quality meetings, dating back to 2015, has been very focused on sharing and education related to what is going on at the state level, according to Travis Deppe, Illinois Corn Growers Association’s nutrient loss manager, because so much work is being done locally. But the sharing of projects and programs, successes and failures, with other states is eliminating redundancy and accelerating progress. Participating states include Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Virginia. “Our main concern is that our members stay profitable and stay on the farm,” Deppe said. “But we also want to make growers more aware of these issues and some of the farming practices they might want to consider adopting.”