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<br />.;:.. <br />.;:.. <br />CJl <br />en <br /> <br />A significant component of technology transfer will be the <br />education and training of field office personnel to deliver <br />expanded water quality programs, including the analysis of <br />results and the refinement of technical procedures. ES and <br />SCS will publish informational material to provide technical <br />guidance on the environmentally responsible management of <br />pesticides, nutrients, and waste products for use by farmers, <br />foresters, farm .advisors, agribusiness, and local, county, and <br />State agencies. Detailed field guides and organized <br />professional training on new concepts and technologies <br />pertaining fo agricultural chemicai and waste product <br />management and related environmental stewardship will be <br />developed to enhance that delivery capacity. <br /> <br />Data Base Development <br /> <br />Data base development and sottware development to <br />integrate National Resources Inventory (NRI) information. <br />agrichemical data, and soil survey data are essential to the <br />analysis of farm program policy. Enhancement of the soils <br />data base and development of the climatological data base <br />will support development and implementation of conservation <br />practices to reduce agricultural nonpoint source pollution. <br />Specific data base efforts under this 5-year plan will involve <br />but will not be limited to: <br /> <br />. Soils-pesticide interaction characteristics <br /> <br />. NRI data <br /> <br />. National climatological data <br /> <br />. Soil survey data base for modeling <br /> <br />. Plant materials data base <br /> <br />GIS's are becoming an important resource planning tool. <br />Federal and State resource management agencies are <br />rapidly developing data bases to use in GIS's. The layering of <br />data base information in a GIS provides an opportunity to <br />rapidly evaluate different resource management scenarios. <br /> <br />Many Federal agencies currently have or are planning <br />activities to compile and distribute descriptive national data <br />sets. A few relevant examples include: the collection of data <br />on soil properties through SCS and the National Cooperative <br />Soil Survey Program; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric <br />Administration's (NOAA) extensive records of weather and <br />climate data; the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) <br />national well water survey; the U.S. Geological Survey's <br />(USGS) compilation of the characteristics of the Nation's <br />hydrologic systems; and ASCS farm and program <br />participation records and the Conservation Reporting and <br />Evaluation System (eRES). <br /> <br />The Education and Technical Assistance data base activities <br />will be coordinated with the efforts of USDA's Economic <br />Research Service (ERS) and National Agricultural Statistics <br />Service (NASS). A digitized GIS for agriculture and water <br />quaiity will be developed to link nationwide data and <br />statistical information on agricultural productivity, land use, <br />agrichemical use, physical attributes of the land and <br />surrounding watersheds, climate, and water quality. The data <br />will be used to support a variety of policy and program <br />decisions by a number of Federal and State agencies. <br /> <br />Interagency Coordination <br /> <br />Coordination between agencies and organizatior;'ls at all levels <br />is essential to an effective program for reducing nonpoint <br />source pollution. To ensure coordin,ation, SCS and ES chair <br />the Water Quality Education anq Technical Assistance <br />Committee. comprising some USDA agencies, EPA, USGS, <br />NOAA, the National Association of Conservation Districts <br />(NACD), and the National Association of State Conservation <br />Agencies (NASCA). This committee will review and coordinate <br />water qualit~ objectives, the selection and implementation of <br />hydrologic ~nits, demonstration projects, and assessment <br />activities. <br /> <br />At the local level, SCS and ES State and local offices will <br />initiate coordination eftorts with other Federal. State. and local <br />agencies including local soil and water conservation districts <br />and with appropriate conservation organizations. The 1890 <br />iand-grant universities and Tuskegee University will be invited <br />to cooperate in determining the effects of water quality <br />conditions -and programs on limited-resource, small-scale, and <br />minority farms. <br /> <br />Water Quality Activity Assessment <br /> <br />Onfarm Assessments-Onfarm assessments of water quality <br />practice effects or resource management plans will include <br />such values as reduction in nutrients and chemicals applied, <br />reduction in irrigation tailwater discharge and deep <br />percolation, volume of animal waste managed, and soil <br />erosion reduced. Additional onfarm assessments will include <br />the exterit to which management plans are installed for such <br />items as fertilizers, pesticides, animal waste, farmstead <br />chemicals and fuels, and irrigation water. <br /> <br />Onfarm assessments will be made by SCS and ES using <br />practice reporting systems, field staff interviews. and voluntary <br />operator reporting. Limited onfarm measurements will be <br />made of surface- and ground-water chemistry. <br /> <br />11 <br /> <br />Ii <br />