Should America's Farmers Care About Gulf Hypoxia?

The hypoxia zone in the Gulf of Mexico is an upcoming issue facing agriculture.  Josh Trenary at Indiana Pork recently wrote a good article about the hypoxia issue:

The Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force was created in 1997 to address issues caused by excess nutrients in the Missippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). Excess nutrients (called eutrophication) stimulate too much algae growth in a body of water. This can lead to a condition known as hypoxia. Hypoxia occurs when the excess algae removes too much oxygen from an area of water, forcing animals to move out of that area until the correct amount of oxygen is restored.
 
First documented in 1972, excess nutrients in the MARB have created a hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico that appears every summer and continues to increase in size. In recent years, the movement to decrease the amounts of excess nutrients from entering the water throughout the MARB has been gaining momentum. As part of these efforts, the Missippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force has developed an action plan. One component of this action plan was to develop state-led nutrient reduction strategies.
 
The Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force has many members from different federal and state agencies. Indiana, for example, is participating via the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. This means that Indiana will be one of the states developing state specific nutrient reduction strategies.

Continue reading after the jump: Gulf Hypoxia Overview