Even with a non-regulatory approach, getting farmers to participate in water pollution control campaigns in Oregon is proving difficult.

"MT. ANGEL -- Last year, Marion County's soil and water conservation district decided to upgrade water quality along Zollner Creek. It wasn't a hard call.

Zollner, a skimpy stream that putters through prime Willamette Valley farmland, has registered high levels of pesticide and fertilizer since the mid-1990s. The district's plan: Persuade farmers to plant streamside trees and shrubs, buffering against erosion and the pollution that runs with it.

Notices went to 75 landowners. Five responded. Two eventually agreed to soil testing, but nothing more.

'Because of a lack of access on private land and interest by landowners,' the district reported to the state in July, 'efforts would be better spent on other projects.'"

Scott Learn reports for the Portland Oregonian October 13, 2012. [2]