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Researchers look to solve food production challenges due to climate change
Loss of topsoil, drought, wildfires and other issues are putting farms at risk. The effects could land on your table.
and last updated 2021-05-04 11:22:47-04
YUMA, AZ â Researchers say climate change is posing significant challenges for farmers across the country and could have an impact on food production in years to come.
Former Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan says at the local level, drought and wildfires are the most significant threats to Arizona ranchers.
âWe were trying to do soil samples to see how their soil is on their ranch and theyâre like, well you know, half of our ranch was destroyed by fire, â she said. âWeâve had people severely impacted by that.â
Yuma County is among the worst-hit communities by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The County’s COVID-19 positivity test rate of 20 percent, compared to the state’s average of 14 percent, is an indicator of how much the virus is spreading.
The University of Arizona’s Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture, and state and local authorities, launched a wastewater testing project to try to get ahead of virus outbreaks.
Wastewater testing can identify COVID-19 infection spikes in a community up to a week before laboratory testing.
Paul Brierley, Executive Director of the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture says data collected from wastewater testing can be used to mobilize public health officials early.
Yuma County will begin testing wastewater as part of an early COVID-19 detection program, the first countywide wastewater detection project in Arizona.
The program will collect wastewater samples twice a week in various locations across the county.
University of Arizona s Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture will then analyze the samples and share data with public health officials.
“It gives a head start warning, advanced warning, because people shed the virus in their stool about a week before they show any symptoms, so it alerts you to people who don’t even know they’re sick.” said Paul Brierly, the executive director of the YCEDA.
As the page is turned on 2020 and some hope exists with respect to a COVID-19 vaccine, Arizona finds itself with the dubious distinction of leading the nation in COVID-19 cases per.