Minnesota Pollution Reduction and Economics Test with NTT

This Minnesota Pollution Reduction and Economics Test with NTT project was designed to professionally validate and demonstrate the Nutrient Tracking Tool (NTT), to evaluate land management scenarios and provide measurable outcomes for conservation practices designed to reduce non-point source pollution. The NTT, being developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Texas Institute for Applied Environment Research, compares agricultural management scenarios to calculate a change in nitrogen, phosphorous, volume of runoff, sediment loss potential and crop yield. A farm economic component was incorporated into this project to understand the economic bottom line related to productive land management. The NTT can be used for farm management planning; market based programs, as well as calculating measurable outcomes for conservation practices. In addition, the NTT estimates nitrogen delivered in the shallow aquifer at field edge.