FMR counters misleading ag opinion piece

Drain tiles that lead from farm fields into ditches and then into the Minnesota River contribute to the sediment now being deposited in Lake Pepin.

Photo: Brian Peterson, Star Tribune

June 1st, the Star Tribune published an FMR counterpoint to a misleading commercial agriculture opinion piece. Our counterpoint highlights the true role agricultural tile drainage plays in the excessive sedimentation of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers.

The counterpoint, "Industry misleads on tile drainage," also makes the industry's obstructionist role clear: Luckily, solutions to drain-tile erosion, such as conservation drainage practices and improved stream buffer protection, are proven strategies. But these strategies are doomed to fail if big agribusiness continues to peddle half-truths that obscure both the problem and the solutions.

The full counterpoint, "Industry misleads on tile drainage," is available from the Star Tribune site, as is the original Minnesota Soybean Growers Association op-ed.