92 



The Results 



Sixty percent of all assessments conducted in this 

 project indicated one or more farmstead practices as 

 posing a risk to groundwater. The most common 

 areas identifying at least one high risk activity were 

 petroleum products storage, household wastewater 

 treatment, pesticide storage and handling and drink- 

 ing water well condition (chart below), information 

 on the chart covers results from the first six 

 worksheets of the series. Data are still being analyzed 

 for those farmers with livestock. The identification of 

 one high risk factor does not indicate an inuiiediate 

 threat to groundwater but does indicate an area 

 where there is room for improvement and/or special 

 management precautions should be followed. In the 

 petroleum products storage area, for example, the 

 factors commonly identified as high risk were the 

 absence of any spill and tank overfill protection and 

 the lack of secondary contairunent for aboveground 

 tanks. 



Accompanying each worksheet used in the initial 

 assessment was a brochure/fact sheet providing 

 more detailed information about specific improper 

 practices that may adversely affect groundwater 



quality. A series of questions were included to assess 

 the usehilness of these fact sheets. Nearly a third of 

 the respondents did not read the fact sheets. Those 

 that did viewed them positively with the information 

 both understandable and useful. Eight-eight percent 

 incLcated that suggestions included in the fact sheets 

 to address the problems found in the worksheets 

 were practical and useful. 



Participants were asked to rate the overall usefulness 

 of the program. Most respondents found the system 

 to be moderately usehil. Additionally, 887o indicated 

 that they would recommend the program to other 

 farmers. 



When asked whether they had completed or planned 

 to implement changes based on the program, 24% 

 said they had akeady made changes while another 

 297o said they planned to in the future. Since time 

 from completion of the assessment varied from 3 to 7 

 months, this is a good indication that the program 

 can have significant impact on changing attitudes 

 and practices. 



The Future 



The Minnesota Extension Ser\'ice will continue to 

 offer programs to address the impacts of farmsteads 

 and farming systems on water quaUty. For addi- 

 tional information on these programs or to obtain 

 sample materials, contact the Water Quality Leader- 

 ship Team at (612) 625-2282. The Water Quality 

 Leadership Team member responsible for coordinat- 

 ing information on FARM*A*SYST systems is: 



Jim Anderson 

 University of Minnesota 

 Department of Soil Science 

 439 Borlaug Hall 

 1991 Upper Buford Circle 

 St. Paul, MN 55108-6028 

 Phone: (612)625-8209 



Also contributing to this Impact Statement were Fred 

 Bergsrud, Water Quality Coordinator, and Teresa 

 Ahles, former graduate research assistant, VoTech 

 Education. 



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