TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s new strategy to combat the toxic algae plaguing Lake Erie will focus on reducing agriculture runoff that feeds the yearly outbreaks by offering farmers financial incentives to change their practices, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday.

The plan is the first time the state has taken such a comprehensive approach, he said, and will take on the main sources of the pollution by relying on years of research.

Farmers won’t be forced to adopt any of the changes, but DeWine thinks they will buy in because of the incentives and some of the new practices that will save them money.

The Republican governor said that a new strategy is needed because the state’s attempts to reduce the phosphorus that fuels the algae has not shown any improvement since 2014 — the year toxins from a bloom contaminated the water supply for more than 400,000 people in the Toledo area.

“The results have not been what we wanted,” he said, mainly because the state has only spent a fraction of the money targeted for water quality on reducing farm fertilizer runoff, the biggest contributor to the algae in western Lake Erie.

Just months after taking office this year, DeWine proposed putting nearly $1 billion on water quality projects over the next decade.

State lawmakers this summer approved spending $172 million during the next two years for such work.

DeWine’s broad plan didn’t specify how much money will go toward incentives for farmers or other projects. But he said all farmers need to make some adjustments in their operations.

He said the incentives are necessary because without them it’s unlikely the farm community would be able to pay for the changes that are needed.

“We can’t expect farmers to do things that will drive them out of business,” he said. “We need to help them along.”

Several environmentalist groups have said that the state’s reliance on largely voluntary efforts aren’t working.