The H2Ohio Program announced plans to pay farmers 170 million dollars to adopt 10 conservation best management practices (BMPs) to reduce phosphorus, sediment, and harmful algal blooms in streams, rivers, and lakes. These BMPs include the following: 1. soil testing (which soil nutrients are high or lacking), 2. variable-rate fertilizing (apply fertilizer where needed), 3. subsurface nutrient application, 4. manure incorporation, 5. crop rotation, 6. cover crops, 7. drainage water management (controlled drainage), 8. two-stage ditch construction, 9. edge-of-field buffers, and 10. wetlands. The goal is to keep fertilizers, manure, pesticides and other soluble nutrients from leaving a farm field, often caused by water erosion during a rain event. While all the BMPs may be helpful, are these the right BMPs to solve the problem? What is the #1 pollutant, by weight, in most streams? Sediment or topsoil. The average USA soil erosion rate is 7.6 tons of topsoil lost/acre/year or 15,200 pounds....