According to an article in Nature magazine regarding sustainability and intensive production practices, “the increase of agriculture has caused an increase in the loss of natural ecosystems and has added environmentally detrimental amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus to terrestrial ecosystems.” Some farmers in Minnesota have acknowledged this growing problem and have implemented conservation farming techniques in their fields. Along with our partner, the National Park Service’s Mississippi National River Recreation Area (MNRRA), we created the Minnesota FarmWise program to use these experienced farmers as ambassadors with other farmers to secure commitments to implement conservation farming techniques and reduce soil loss and nutrient runoff in particularly vulnerable areas in the the Minnesota Valley. Minnesota FarmWise will also link farmers to existing incentive programs, and will pair them up with researchers from local colleges and universities to gather detailed data on the impact of these new practices. Not only will reducing sediment and nutrient pollution benefit communities along the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, but the agricultural community will benefit by addressing a water quality problem that has escalated over the past decade.