Improving Water Quality From the Ground Up
A primer on agricultural conservation practices — and why they make a difference
From Minnesota's headwaters to the Mississippi River's mouth in Louisiana, farmers, ranchers and ag retailers are taking action to protect water quality every day. Across the agricultural landscape, conservation practices are improving soil health, reducing nutrient runoff and keeping rivers and lakes cleaner without compromising productivity. These practices result from people doing the right thing, often supported by local initiatives, peer networks and trusted advisors.
Here’s a closer look at some common agricultural practices in use today: what they are, how they work and the benefits they deliver to our waterways and communities.
For farmers, conservation begins in the field
Farmers know that healthy soil means healthy crops. They also know that their stewardship can extend far beyond their fencelines. Field by field, they’re putting proven conservation tools in place to protect soil, manage nutrients and reduce runoff — benefiting both their bottom line and their neighbors downstream.
Planting cover crops
Rather than leaving fields bare in the off-season, many farmers plant cover crops like cereal rye, clover or radishes to protect and enrich the soil. These plants aren’t harvested but instead serve a critical conservation role.
By keeping soil covered year-round, cover crops prevent erosion, reduce compaction and help absorb leftover nutrients before they can leach into waterways. They also improve soil structure and organic matter as they break down, creating stronger yields in the next crop cycle.
2. Reducing tillage (no-till and strip-till)
Farmers are turning to no-till and strip-till practices instead of disturbing the soil through plowing or full-field tillage, which minimize soil disruption and leave plant residues in place.
This approach helps limit soil movement during heavy rains and snowmelt, reducing erosion and the movement of nutrients off the field. It also enhances soil health and water-holding capacity over time, resulting in better resilience during droughts and storms.
3. Installing grassed waterways
Grassed waterways provide a protected path for areas where water naturally runs across a field. These gently sloped, grass-covered channels slow the water movement and stabilize the soil, avoiding the ditches and ruts that might otherwise occur.
By managing runoff in a controlled, vegetated area, these waterways significantly reduce erosion and filter out sediment and nutrients before they reach streams or drainage systems.
4. Installing edge-of-field practices
Farmers work with drainage professionals to design and install bioreactors and saturated buffers — technologies that treat tile drainage before it reaches streams.
These systems remove nitrogen from water, improving local and downstream quality.
5. Creating riparian buffers
Along streams and drainage ditches, farmers are planting strips of native vegetation — grasses, shrubs and trees — that serve as buffers between farm fields and waterways.
These vegetated areas filter out nutrients and sediment carried by runoff, protect streambanks from erosion and provide valuable habitat for wildlife and pollinators. The buffers also absorb excess water, helping reduce downstream flooding.
6. Restoring wetlands
Some farmers are bringing wetlands back to life, especially in low-lying or marginal areas poorly suited for crop production. These restored wetlands act like sponges on the landscape.
They absorb excess water during storms and filter out nutrients and sediments before that water enters larger bodies. Wetlands also recharge groundwater and provide vital habitats for birds, amphibians and other wildlife.
7. Building two-stage ditches
Where artificial ditches are needed to manage drainage, some farmers are adopting two-stage designs. These ditches are built to include vegetated benches that function like mini floodplains.
By slowing water flow and creating space for sediment to settle, two-stage ditches reduce erosion and nutrient movement to downstream waters, especially in tiled or heavily drained landscapes.
For ranchers, well-planned grazing systems support water quality
Ranchers manage large expanses of pasture and rangeland, often near creeks, streams or wetlands. Through thoughtful management, they’re protecting water quality while enhancing their operations' productivity.
Practicing prescribed grazing
By rotating livestock through different paddocks at carefully planned intervals, ranchers can protect pasture plants from overgrazing and soil from compaction.
This managed grazing allows grasses to recover, increases plant diversity and improves the soil’s ability to absorb water. As a result, there’s less runoff and better filtering of nutrients and sediment.
2. Using cross-fencing for rotational grazing
A type of prescribed grazing, called rotational grazing, divides pastures into smaller sections with fencing to allow livestock to graze one area while others recover.
This system not only increases pasture productivity but also protects waterways. Healthier root systems and vegetation cover reduce erosion and help hold nutrients in place.
3. Providing off-stream watering sources
Instead of letting cattle drink directly from creeks or ponds, ranchers are installing troughs, tanks or automated waterers fed by pipelines.
These watering methods keep livestock out of sensitive areas, reducing streambank erosion, limiting contamination and protecting aquatic life.
4. Implementing silvopasture systems
Some ranchers are incorporating trees into grazing lands — a practice known as silvopasture — providing shade and shelter while also supporting conservation.
The tree canopy helps slow water, reduce erosion and improve nutrient cycling, while livestock benefit from cooler temperatures and better forage availability.
5. Composting manure
By composting manure instead of applying it raw, ranchers can stabilize nutrients and eliminate pathogens.
This practice creates a more consistent, safe fertilizer product and dramatically reduces the risk of nutrient runoff into nearby waterways.
For retailers, smart advising is the key to sustainability
Retailers, agronomists and crop advisors are a critical link in the sustainable practices chain. They help farmers choose the right practices, interpret data and implement nutrient management plans that protect yields and water.
Promoting the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship
Retailers champion the 4R approach — using the Right fertilizer source at the Right rate, Right time and Right place.
This helps maximize nutrient efficiency, supporting both productivity and environmental goals.
2. Supporting precision agriculture
Through technologies such as GPS-guided applications and grid soil sampling, retailers help fine-tune nutrient plans for each part of a field.
The result is fewer excess nutrients, better yields and less risk of runoff or leaching into groundwater.
3. Employing conservation agronomists
Some retailers offer specialized advisors who focus on conservation planning alongside traditional agronomy.
These experts help farmers access cost-share funding, implement practices effectively and measure outcomes, all contributing to water protection.
4. Leveraging sustainability platforms
Digital tools can offer farmers insights into how their practices affect soil and water and how they can improve.
They also open doors to sustainability markets and incentive programs that reward environmental outcomes.
A continuing culture of good stewardship
Whether managing a cornfield in Iowa, a cattle ranch in Mississippi or a retail agronomy business in Indiana, the people behind American agriculture are stepping up for clean water. Their conservation practices are practical, science-based and often voluntary, the result of a love for the land and a hope for the future. From protecting the soil to filtering runoff, these efforts are building a healthier, more resilient watershed, one acre at a time.
Brought to you by America's soybean farmers.