College Putting Emphasis on Water Quality, Implications for Farming, Society

LONDON, Ohio -- Bruce McPheron, vice president for agricultural administration and dean of Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, sees the glass as half full. But he's also concerned about the quality of the water in that glass.

Speaking at Ohio State's annual Farm Science Review agricultural show yesterday (9/17) in London, Ohio, McPheron said water quality research will be one of the priorities of the college he began leading just last year.

"Water is really a global issue," said McPheron, who hosted the first Vice President's Luncheon of his tenure at this year's Review. "It's part of the conversation everywhere in the world."

In the United States, he said, people west of the Mississippi River are generally worried about how much water is available to them, while to the east, people are more concerned about the quality of their water.

"In Ohio, water quality is an issue of great importance both to the public and to agricultural producers," McPheron said. "It's also an issue for food processors, all of whom rely on pristine water quality. And it's an issue for the fishing and recreation industry in Lake Erie, which contributes millions of dollars to the state’s economy."

McPheron said one of the key challenges regarding water quality is that it is a complicated issue.

"That's why we need new science to address the complexity of water quality concerns today," he said. "And that's exactly what scientists in our college are doing: coming up with innovative ways to address this issue."

For example, McPheron mentioned research by Warren Dick, a soil biochemist in the college's School of Environment and Natural Resources. Dick has determined that applying gypsum from coal-fired power plants on farm fields can keep soluble phosphorus, the main nutrient feeding harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, from getting washed from the soil by heavy rains, then running off into streams and rivers and eventually into the lake.

Long used as a soil amendment and fertilizer, gypsum can also improve soil quality and crop productivity, providing both environmental and agronomic benefits.

"Our innovative research needs to translate into effective practices that agricultural producers can implement," McPheron said. "And then our job in the college is to get that information to farmers and to folks like crop consultants who work with producers so that we can maximize the impact of our research."

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