Educational Programs

A ten-year USDA/USEPA study into the effectiveness of BMPs to reduce non-pointsource pollution discovered that education may be the most cost-effective way to decrease pollutant levels. A lack of information about the various BMPs available prevents some farmers from voluntarily implementing these practices. Significant, quantifiable drops in non pointsource pollution have been documented as a result of voluntary BMP compliance through education. The establishment of a nationwide producer education program is one example of a potentially effective information-based policy available to the Congress.