On Wednesday September 26th, 2018 we had another guest lecture from Ed Kee this time on Iowa and California agriculture. It was really interesting to learn about what other states are good at growing and the different variables that they have to deal with. I already knew that California had a water problem since it was talked about a lot in the news about their drought they were in. I was surprised to learn that the way they water their crops are by using aqueducts. I have never seen or heard of this practice since I have only been on the east coast of the US. I also found it interesting that California produces 95% of tomatoes that are used for tomato products. This makes these aqueducts very important since California is ranked first in the production of tomatoes, strawberries, lettuce and a few more crops. It was also interesting to learn more about Iowa. I knew they had a good soil structure from some of my previous classes in soil science where we had talked about the difference in soil types of the US. I was surprised that they only receive 24-36 inches of rainfall but due to the water holding capacity of the soil this isn’t an issue for farmers. I also found it interesting that they produce 25% of the nation’s ethanol. It was a very interesting speech from Ed Kee and it allowed me to learn more about California and Iowa’s agriculture. It made me more aware of the differences in challenges that each area faces and what each area is good at due to soil structure and weather.
