The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing next Wednesday on “Farmers and Fresh Water: Voluntary Conservation to Protect our Land and Waters,'”Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has announced.

The hearing will examine different ways farmers and ranchers can help improve water quality in our lakes and rivers through voluntary conservation practices, Stabenow said. Healthy lakes and rivers are vital to recreation, tourism, and wildlife habitat, she noted.

Witnesses will include:

• Agriculture Department Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Jason Weller Toledo Mayor Michael Collins
• Marty Matlock, the executive director of the University of Arkansas Office for Sustainability
• Sean McMahon, executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance
• Kristin Weeks Duncanson, owner of Duncanson Growers, Mapleton, Minn.
• Trudy Fisher, former executive director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality