Pollution prevention in agriculture is widely recognized as one of the most effective approaches undertaken to reduce the amount of waste generated, stored, transported, treated, or released to the environment. It is, however, frequently difficult to establish a direct cause and effect relationship between the implementation of agricultural pollution prevention activities and measures of improved environmental health. Surrogate environmental information and trends, such as those identified through the analysis of chemical loadings to the environment, may be used as indicators of environmental protection progress made from the implementation of agricultural pollution prevention activities and programs. Additionally, the amount of participation in agricultural pollution prevention activities and programs can be quantified to provide an indirect measure on environmental quality improvements. Where such quantitative analyses can be made, they will be useful in assessing whether resources are being allocated effectively, in identifying other areas that may need attention, and in evaluating the overall success of this implementation plan.

Action Items:

1. Strengthen existing and develop new measuring tools and capabilities to generate, collect, and analyze agricultural pollution prevention information. Lead: MDEQ/MDA.
2. Benchmark existing activities, identify possible agricultural pollution prevention opportunities for technology transfer, and measure progress through current environmental reporting requirements, survey results, literature reviews, conferences, and other sources. Lead: MDEQ/MDA.