Iowa and California Agriculture with Ed Kee

On September 26, Ed Kee, former Secretary of Agriculture for the state of Delaware visited University of Delaware’s Newark campus to speak to AGRI 130 students about the agricultural wonders of Iowa and California. Iowa is the top producer of corn in the United States. The success of Iowa corn production is attributed to fertile soil, an optimal climate, and good land management practices. Iowa has a large amount of topsoil that is mixed with loess (wind blown deposits of silt and clay). The presence of loess increases the quality of the soil and decreases the cost of crop production. Iowa is also known for their soybean, egg, pork, and beef production.  California is a state that is known for milk, almond, grape, lettuce, strawberry, tomato, walnut, hay, and ornamental flower production. The state gets an average of only 10 inches of rain in a year, so water is valuable and expensive. To combat the water issue, man-made aqueducts were constructed to deliver water to farms and citizens. Despite the agricultural challenges of California, the state is the 10th largest general economy in the world and it generates a larger gross domestic product than some countries. Both states covered in the lecture have made a positive contribution to American agriculture.

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