This morning on Wednesday September 25th Ed Kee came and spoke again on how Iowa and California are Agricultural giants. California is number one and Iowa is number two. Did you know that 85% of Iowa’s lands are farmlands? They also have 87,500 farmers to till 30.5 million acres. This year, Iowa ranked 1st in soybean production. They had 9.8 million of acres. They were also ranked first in hog production with 20.9 million hogs raised annually. Lastly, they are the nation’s leading producer of eggs.
Iowa has perfect conditions to crow crops in the agricultural industry. There is about 24-36 inches of rain a year, not super hot during growing season, and it is very fertile. They also have a quarter of the nations ethanol plants which is crazy.
California is number one in agricultural sales with 47 million dollars. California has many great spots for grow lettuce, strawberries, broccoli, and other such greens because of the Pacific Ocean. Close to the ocean gives off a nice breeze which helps the crops. A bad thing about growing crops in California is water demand. The cost is quite high because the state is so large. Lastly California is ranked first in 9 commodities! Ed Kee really knew his stuff and showed us a very interesting and engaging PowerPoint. The former UD Secretary of Agriculture did a great job.