Abstract

Agricultural runoff is surface water leaving farm fields as a result of receiving water in excess of the infiltration rate of the soil. Agricultural runoff is grouped into the category of non-point source pollution because the potential pollutants originate over large, diffuse areas and the exact point of entry into water bodies cannot be precisely identified. Non-point sources of pollution are particularly problematic in that it is difficult to capture and treat the polluted water before it enters a stream. Because of the non-point source nature of agricultural runoff, efforts to minimize or eliminate pollutants are, by necessity, focused on practices to be applied on or near farm fields themselves.