The 1992 National Resources Inventory revealed that Missouri's annual rate of soil erosion on cultivated cropland was nearly 11 tons per acre, the second-worst rate in the United States.

That rate was more than twice the recognized tolerable rate at which long-term agricultural production of crops can be sustained.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Soil and Water Conservation Program

University of Missouri

Agricultural Commodity Groups

Other USDA agencies

Probably no partnership in the United States has done as much to reduce soil erosion and protect water quality as the partnership that Missouri NRCS has with the state's woil and water conservation districts.

In 1984 Missouri voters approved a one-tenth-cent sales tax to provide funds for soil and water conservation. Since then, Missouri's soil erosion rate has dropped more than any other state. In 2002 it was estimated at 5.3 tons per acre, which represents a more than 50 percent reduction in the last 20 years.

This reduction in soil erosion is largely the result of the assistance that NRCS receives from Missouri's soil and water conservation districts. The revenue from the state's one-tenth-cent sales tax is divided equally to assist state parks and soil conservation. It provides about $35 million annually to support each initiative.

Much of the $35 million earmarked for soil and water conservation is made available to Missouri landowners as cost-share through 114 soil and water conservation district offices. It also supports 320 SWCD employees, most of whom work in NRCS offices and assist NRCS with its mission of helping people conserve, maintain and improve natural resources and the environment.

The district employees support state soil and water conservation programs that are similar to federal programs. But they also help NRCS and its other partners implement programs such as technical assistance, Wetlands Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Wildlife Incentives Program and the Cooperative Soil Survey Program.