Ed Kee: Iowa & California Agriculture

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Delaware’s former secretary of Ag, Ed Kee, lectured about the two leading states in agricultural production and value. California ranks number one with Iowa a close second.

Iowa

Leading Agricultural Crops: Corn, Soybeans, Meat

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Iowa Agriculture is particularly interesting, according to Ed Kee what makes Iowa so successful is their location- river transportation, moisture-holding capacity, rainfall, not super hot during the growing season, silt and clay soils, and naturally fertile soils.

Although Iowa is second overall in agricultural professional it is first in:

  • Corn Production
  • Soybean Production
  • Ethanol Production
  • Table Eggs
  • Pork/Hog Production

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California Agriculture 

Leading industries: Horticulture, Milk and Cream & Cotton Agricultural: Milk and Cream, Almonds & Grapes

Although California agriculture is successful, they face a major challenge, water.

On average,  California farmers irrigate more than 9 million acres and use about 40 percent of Californias available water. Farmers in California pay for water using roughly 34 million acre-feet of water typically diverted from surface water,  rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.

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  • Exports 26% of its Ag production
  • The minimum wage for farm laborers was increased to $15/hour & over 40 hours = time and a half
  • 95% of tomato products in the U.S comes from California

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