Chloe Johnson, Minneapolis Star Tribune

3M has agreed to widespread water testing and treatment for people living near its Cordova, Ill., factory after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that contamination from PFAS may pose a threat to drinking water supplies.

A changing climate is transforming farm country in the Mississippi River watershed, causing rain to fall in harder bursts that push back planting seasons and drown crops. Meanwhile, farming practices such as installing underground drainage tiles and leaving fields bare after harvest are further changing how water moves across the landscape and into waterways. How communities adapt to all this water will shape the future of their farms.

Minnesota has struggled to reduce the farm pollution that runs into the Mississippi River watershed. So crop breeders at the University of Minnesota are working on new perennial and winter annual crops to suck up that pollution before it escapes. Food scientists and marketers are trying to develop uses for these crops that could also provide new revenue for farmers.