Soil Moisture Sensors and U.S. Makes Strong Case for GMO Corn
**Water conservation agencies and University of California Extension farm advisors are advocating adding soil-moisture sensors to create precision irrigation management in drought-prone agricultural areas.
They say the technology has come a long way in the past 50 years and continues to evolve with Wi-Fi connectivity and digital readings.
Currently, the Ventura County Resource Conservation District is making the technology available for regional avocado, strawberry and vegetable growers.
**The U.S. made a strong case under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in the dispute with Mexico over genetically engineered corn.
Doug McKalip, chief ag negotiator for the U.S. Trade
Representative’s Office, says it’s critically important not just for corn growers, but farmers of all kinds, adding if they can do this with corn, they can do it with anything.
McKalip says the U.S. cannot allow its trading partners to play “fast and loose” with the science.
**Last week, witnesses before the House Ag Committee, including producers, lenders, input suppliers, and Extension economists, warned of the dire outlook facing our agricultural supply chain.
They urged policy makers to "head off the economic hemorrhaging" and substantially correct the farm safety net through enactment of enhanced risk management tools.
House Ag Committee Chair GT Thompson says the testimony painted a dark picture of the American farm economy and should be a wake-up call.
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