The House Agriculture Committee recently held a hearing focused on realizing the conservation benefits of precision agriculture. Vice President and General Manager of TerraNova Ranch, Don Cameron spoke to the committee on behalf of the California Farm Bureau Federation highlighting some of conservation practices his operation has implemented over the years.
“Our on-farm practices include building infrastructure to implement on-farm groundwater recharge, installation of pressurized irrigation systems, installation of solar generation systems, and irrigation technologies for energy efficiency,” said Cameron. “Our diversified farming practices encourage our biological systems to be productive, beneficial, and diverse.”
Noting that not all precision agriculture practices can be applied evenly throughout the entire agricultural industry, Cameron spoke to the willingness of farmers to adopt new technologies. Farmers require flexibility when it comes to implementing new methods of production, which can sometimes be a risky endeavor.
“The adoption of processes can be extremely costly and time consuming,” said Cameron. “It is critical that they are readily available, scientifically trialed and affordable to the operation.”
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