Ed Kee came back to talk to us about agriculture in Iowa and California. Did you know California and Iowa are the most valuable states in agriculture? Just the state of California its self has one of the top economies in the world. California and Iowa are different in many ways. Iowa, we learned, has some of the best growing conditions in the world. Iowa has very rich soils and almost perfect climate. The soil called “loess” has been blown into Iowa and is light and fluffy. It’s made from wind erosion of silt and clay making very small particles. The great soil and climate means farmers don’t need to irrigate which means crop production is cheaper.

California grows vegetables and lots of them. 95% of U.S.A. tomatoes were grown in California. When you think of California you probably think of the beaches or the desert, you aren’t thinking of rain. Water management is a big part of California agriculture. Because California is so dry they’ve had to build aqua duct bring water from the north part of the state south. Even with water problems California ranks first in milk & cream, almonds, grapes, lettuce, and strawberries just to name a few.