COMPLEXITY OF AGRICULTURAL AND HUMAN INTERACTIONS ON WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA

Scientific evidence shows that the long-term cumulative degradation of the environment due to the current agricultural paradigm is inconsistent with the goals of sustainable agriculture; sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Three examples are presented where agricultural management decisions, made at three different levels (local, regional, and global) adversely affect water quality and quantity in unintended ways in the Delta of northwestern Mississippi. In the first example, the lack of regulation of groundwater use for irrigation has caused declines in groundwater levels which have resulted in loss of baseflow to streams and thus threatens future water supply. In the second example, Federal policy, which subsidizes corn for use in biofuel generation, has encouraged many farmers to switch from cotton to corn production. Compared to cotton, corn needs more inputs of nutrients (fertilizer) and more water. This comes at a time when there is already tremendous interest in an effort being expended to reduce nutrient loads to the Gulf of Mexico and the Delta's groundwater levels are in decline. The third example is the wholesale adoption of a system for weed control that relies on a single mode of action through the use of genetically-modified crops in conjunction with the herbicide glyphosate. This system promised many benefits such as fewer applications of herbicides, improved water quality, and less toxicity. Many of the promised benefits were met early on, but eventually the system has led to multiple applications of herbicides, degradation of the water resources of the Delta, and a weed control system near collapse due to widespread resistance to glyphosate. Although these examples are specific to the Mississippi Delta, analogous situations are replicated throughout the world and point to the need for change in how we grow our food, fuel, and fiber, manage our soil and water resources, and prepare for the future.