There is a way to reduce or eliminate the Nitrogen runoff. It's called marshes and estuaries that naturally filter out all sorts of pollutants. A great example of this would be the original Everglades, the "Sea of Grass". But "progress", government, Army corps of Engineers and sugar cane growers have nearly destroyed this natural filter. Now we are spending billions of dollars to come up with a renovation to restore the natural flow of water through the Everglades.
The destruction of our precious natural resource will continue as long as real estate demand for lake or shore front property keeps prices sky high. The Mississippi delta, while huge, is being exploited in the same manner.
I worked around the farming community for ten years. Their costs of doing business are high and their profits low. Machinery costs, to plant and harvest crops, are outrageous. Statistics prove in a ten year period the farmer would have two profitable years, five mediocre years and three years of going in the hole. Not a good way to make a living. There's lots more that goes into the equation but if it weren't for the dedication of the farmer this country would be in dire straits.
Yes I know, if it weren't for the government's meddling into our daily lives trying to solve our every problem with subsides, we'd probably be better off financially, too. It's not an easy thing to do, keeping 260 million people safe, feed, housed, clothed, educated and happy, but America is still the land of freedom and opportunity.
Wow, OK, I'll get down off my soap box now.
Dick