The so-called “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico increased this year, after excessive spring flooding throughout the Mississippi River basin. That flooding wiped out farmers’ best efforts to minimize nitrogen runoff from their fields. Opponents of modern agriculture may be quick to point a finger at farmers and ranchers, but Don Parrish, senior director of regulatory relations at AFBF, explained in Thursday’s Newsline (August 03, 2017), that weather is to blame.  

“We are doing everything possible to spoon-feed our crops only the amount of nutrients they need,” Parrish said. “But, in the spring of 2017, we had just a horrendous amount of rain in the Midwest and significant flooding. And, no matter what we do to bring technology, science and our best stewardship forward, weather can just overwhelm those efforts.”