A state-of-the-art tool is helping researchers in Indiana better understand the effectiveness of soil-conservation practices. A small device, known as a "super gauge," gathers data around-the-clock on water quality in the Wabash River in New Harmony. Ray McCormick, a farmer in Knox County, explained the Wabash is a primary source of nitrogen and phosphorus flowing into the Mississippi River, and on to the Gulf of Mexico. "The Wabash is the biggest contributor, as a percentage per acre, to the Gulf hypoxia zone," McCormick shared. "The Wabash River is very pristine, and it's quite the asset for our state, but the watershed that goes into the Wabash has been highly degraded."