For a number of years, there’s been a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico that is caused by nitrogen runoff flowing from farms down the Mississippi River into the Gulf.

As increased levels of dissolved phosphorus are identified as a major concern dealing with the increased algal blooms found in Lake Erie, some folks have been pointing a finger at no-till as the cause. Yet the facts regarding phosphorus runoff in the Western Lake Erie Basin watershed near Toledo, Ohio, don't back up that argument.