Federal and state wildland fire experts jointly respond to Southern California Wildfires

"I spoke with Governor Schwarzenegger yesterday and I am pleased that we can help California by lending our firefighters, equipment and aircraft which are the backbone for combating devastating wildfires," said Conner. "Our thoughts are with all of those affected by this disaster and we will continue to dedicate all available resources to contain these fires."

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Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner today announced that additional Incident Management Teams are en route to Southern California to assist with containing the rapidly spreading wildfires. These teams are comprised of specialists from eight state and federal agencies who routinely work together in responding to disaster and wildfire emergencies.

More than 2,000 members of the interagency wildland firefighting community mobilized through the National Interagency Coordination Center are engaged in a wide range of wildfire response efforts to several fires in Southern California. Requests for assistance through the National Interagency Fire Center began on Oct. 21 and firefighters and incident management teams were mobilized from across the country. These professionals come from across the spectrum of federal, state and local wildland fire organizations.

"California's tremendous firefighters are not alone in fighting these fires," said Kempthorne. "The federal government, through the National Interagency Fire Center, has responded to all requests for assistance made by the State of California. Last night, I assured Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Feinstein and other California leaders that the federal family stands ready to offer additional assistance if requested."

Jason Berkes

www.jasonberkes.com/usda

Monsanto shows how high-tech farming has become

The Monsanto agricultural company brought its seed genetics know-how to the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition in a display on a tractor-trailer rig.

The research done on the major crops also can be used to help develop and make improvements to smaller crops, Burton said. Its work is designed to improve the genetic buildup of crops while still keeping the look, feel and taste of them the same.

Burton said the company spends about $2 million each day on seed research, and introducing new products takes anywhere from eight to 10 years of research. Unlike other companies who also work to develop better seeds, Monsanto’s only project is agriculture, he said.

“Monsanto is focused only on agriculture,” Burton said. “Our success is dependent on farmer’s success.”

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Major developments Monsanto has been able to introduce in recent years are seeds and plants that are more resistant to insects, Burton said. Using products such as Bollgard II cotton seeds, farmers have gone from having to spray pesticides as many as 14 times per year some 12 years ago to spraying only two or three times per year now. Reduced spraying, of course, adds to the profit line.

Seed development is a continuing goal to improve farmers’ yields and better plant production, Burton said. Monsanto is about four years away from being able to bring drought-resistant corn to the market, he added.

Jason Berkes

www.jasonberkes.com/usda