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Nitrate is Quietly Polluting Rural Drinking Wells. How Researchers are Working to Help

(4/21/26) Harvest Public Media reports that across the Midwest and Great Plains, large-scale fertilizer application and livestock facilities have increased the pace of nitrate contamination accumulating in groundwater. Highlights:

• Scientists have tested more than 200 private wells across nine counties in south-central Kansas. About half of the sites turned out to contain more nitrate than the federal government considers safe to drink. Many of the others were not far from crossing that point.“In another year or two, you could be above it,” said Matthew Kirk, a geology professor at Kansas State University.
• In south-central Kansas, chemical analysis indicates most of the nitrate in the region’s aquifer comes from commercial fertilizer applied to cropland. The increases in nitrate over the past four decades in this region rank as some of the biggest nationally compared to data gathered in a national long-term study.
• In Kansas, communities are discussing how to fertilize crops more carefully. In Iowa, economists are trying to pin down the costs of polluted groundwater. In Minnesota, well owners and environmental groups are suing for stricter fertilizer and manure regulations.
• Installing equipment to remove nitrates can cost a household hundreds or thousands of dollars, depending on the treatment system and how comprehensive it is. “Brita filters aren’t going to do it,” said Gabriel Lade, an economist at Ohio State University.

The Minnesota Senate recently hosted a special oversight hearing on nitrate pollution. Check out LSP’s report on the hearing here.

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Iowa has a fever. We’re about to throw out the thermometer.

(4/23/26) In a commentary for the Des Moines Register, three row crop farmers calling themselves “The Lobe Rangers” call for full public funding of an extensive stream monitoring system in Iowa so that further action can be taken to keep nitrates and other pollutants out of the water. Highlights:

• The Iowa Legislature has diverted funds from the Iowa Water Quality Information System, which measures nitrate levels and other indicators every 15 minutes. Unless new funding is produced, the sensors will go dark in July.
• The state senator who sponsored the bill defunding the program has direct family connections to a large beef operation that recently produced a downstream nitrate reading of 49.3 milligrams per liter (the federal drinking water standard for nitrates is 10 milligrams per liter).
• The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy calls for roughly 12.5 million acres of cover crops to hit reduction goals for nitrates. Iowa currently has roughly 4 million acres of cover-cropped land.
• After more than a decade of voluntary efforts to reduce nitrate pollution, Iowa State University modeling shows pollution leaving the state has actually increased.
• “Fund the sensors,” write the farmers. “Then have the harder conversation about why the numbers aren’t moving in the right direction, and what accountability-based state policies it will take to change that.”

For more on “The Lobe Rangers” and their call for healing the schism between agriculture and water quality, check out LSP’s recent blog: “Water, White Torpedoes & The Lobe Ranger Way.”

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Farm Bureau Survey Reveals Real Impact of Fertilizer Availability and Price

(4/14/26) Rising input costs tied to the conflict in the Middle East are adding strain to an already challenging farm economy, according to a “Fertilizer Availability Survey” of 5,700 farmers. The survey was conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation in early April. Highlights:

•  Around 70% of respondents report being unable to afford all the fertilizer they need.
• Farm diesel prices have increased 46% since the end of February, raising costs for fieldwork, fertilizer transport, and irrigation during both planting and growing seasons.
• Nearly six in 10 farmers report worsening finances, reflecting rising fertilizer and fuel costs during spring planting.

Looking for information on how to reduce your farm’s reliance on commercial fertilizer? Join LSP’s Soil Builders’ Network today.

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Fertilizer Crunch Prompts Trump Admin to Consider Biden-era Program

(4/23/26) Politico reports that as a result of skyrocketing fertilizer prices, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is considering reviving a Biden-era program that was designed to shore up domestic fertilizer production. Highlights:

•  The Biden administration committed $900 million to the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program — which funneled money to small and mid-sized fertilizer production facilities through five-year grants as part of a sweeping effort to spur competition, bring down agricultural production costs, and build more resilient supply chains. The program, which was funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation, also helped boost production of non-fossil-fuel-derived fertilizers, such as chicken litter and compost.
• Critics of FPEP have argued that even a nearly $1 billion program isn’t enough to make a dent in the highly consolidated U.S. fertilizer market. But the Biden administration insisted that it would eventually lead to new, innovative fertilizer sources that are close to farmers.
• The Trump administration launched a Justice Department probe into potentially anticompetitive practices of fertilizer companies, signed an executive order addressing agricultural and food monopolies, and issued a memorandum of understanding between USDA and DOJ to scrutinize agricultural materials like fertilizer and pesticides.

In episode 389 of LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast, Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Odette talks about why it’s important for farmers and other rural residents to document and report possible examples of unfair marketing practices and antitrust violations.

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Bill Aims to Toughen Review for Minnesota Livestock Operations Looking to Exceed 10K Animals

(4/16/26) Agweek reports that Minnesota livestock operations planning to expand beyond 10,000 head would be mandated to complete an environmental impact statement (EIS) under a bill brought to the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee. Highlights:

• HF 3940, was authored by Rep. Kristi Pursell, DFL-Northfield. She compared a proposed large dairy expansion near Morris, Minn., seeking to hold about 26,000 animal units, to a hyper-scale data center. She said the two are major water users and both should require more stringent review.
• The timing of the bill comes as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is reviewing feedlot rules, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is reviewing its groundwater protection rule, and the MPCA has extended the comment period for what would be the state’s largest dairy operation, Riverview LLP’s West River Dairy.
• Testifying in support of the bill was Laura Schreiber, government relations director for the Land Stewardship Project. Schreiber said the EIS is a tool that can be used to better understand the potential impacts of a project, considering a variety of factors. Schreiber pointed out that of the 18,000 registered feedlots in Minnesota, just 6% are 1,000 animal units or more. A 10,000-head operation is very rare.

LSP is calling on the MPCA to order that an environmental impact statement be completed for a proposal by Riverview LLP to create the largest livestock operation in the state. The public has until May 7 to comment on the proposal. For details on how to make your voice heard, check out this action alert. On April 23, LSP released a white paper, “Flooding the Market: How Dairy Consolidation is Drowning Minnesota’s Farmers & Rural Communities,” which outlines how the growth of mega-operations like those owned by Riverview is threatening dairy farmers, rural communities, and the land. Details are here.

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MAHA’s Hopes for Healthier School Lunches Collide With Trump’s Spending Cuts

(4/22/26) The Tump administration is soon expected to demand that schools upgrade the quality of their meals, but such an order would come after 15 months of chipping away at the funding and programs schools have relied on to put that food on the table, according to Bloomberg. Highlights:

• Sometime this spring the USDA is expected to publish regulations for the 95,000 schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program. Requirements will likely include more food cooked from scratch (although not necessarily on-site) and fewer ultraprocessed options, along with significantly less sugar, more protein, and more whole grains. The regulations will govern the 4.9 billion lunches and 2.6 billion breakfasts served to 30 million students each year, accounting for more than $24 billion in federal spending.
• Shortly after Trump returned to the White House last year, the USDA cut about $660 million for schools to buy food from nearby farms. The agency recently announced $20 million for farm to school programs, calling it “record-breaking” despite the $640 million gap compared to what was cut last year. As of April 1, the department is no longer funding the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition, which trained school staffers in cooking fresh and healthy meals that kids will actually eat.
• After more than a decade of handing out tens of millions of dollars in equipment grants for schools each year, in 2025 the USDA distributed none. It has said the grants for 2026 will total $20 million. The President’s proposed budget for 2027 eliminates them entirely.

During the 2026 session of the Minnesota Legislature, LSP is working with our allies to push for increased support of farm to school programs. Details are here. LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast recently featured interviews with food service directors at two rural schools who are integrating locally produced foods into their cafeterias. Check the podcasts out here and here. LSP has collaborated on a report that shows the potential farm to school programs hold for getting healthier food to students while supporting local farmers. You can read “Building the Farm to School Network in West Central Minnesota” here.

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Oat Growers Optimistic About Future of the Industry

(4/6/26) KEYC-TV broadcast a story featuring Andy Linder, a southern Minnesota farmer who has integrated oats into his row-cropping operation. Linder is excited about the potential to access the food grade market for oats. Highlights:

• Linder is one of dozens of farmers investing in a new oat mill in Albert Lea, Minn., which hopes to create a new market for food grade oats in the state. Between himself and his father, Linder says his family farm has 2,400 acres of corn, soybeans and canned crops, but over the past 10 years he has begun planting around 80 to 200 acres of oats depending on the market demand.
• Linder said if there is an economic incentive for it he could see a lot of benefit to farmers adopting the crop across the state due to the benefits it could have as part of a three-crop rotation and the potential it has to reduce nitrate pollution.
• Jochum Wiersma, a University of Minnesota Extension small grains agronomist, said for food grade crops he expects growers will have to compete with Canadian supplies, which means there will have to be a heavy emphasis on quality and growing conditions.

Looking for information on diversifying out of an input-intensive row crop rotation? Check out LSP’s Small Grains web page. Recent LSP podcasts have discussed the role oats can play in diversifying our cropping systems.

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