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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

USDA-NASA Partnership Could Help Utah Farmers

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Monday, July 20, 2015   

SALT LAKE CITY - A partnership involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NASA could benefit farmers in Utah and elsewhere as the nation adjusts to the impact of climate change. U.S.D.A. Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden says the agreement will expand cooperation on space-borne remote sensing efforts to gather soil-moisture data to develop soil-moisture maps that can help farmers in the drought-ravaged Southwest.

"We know the climate is changing and we have to adapt, we have to mitigate," says Harden. "We want to give our producers all those tools to make sure they know as well in advance who is going to be impacted and when, so we can farm and ranch differently if we need to in certain parts of the country."

Harden adds, the NASA satellite images will also help Forest Service fire fighters and first responders better detect wildfires and predict their behavior.

Craig Gardner, a farmer near Honeyville, Utah, says knowing moisture levels could prove enormously helpful to farmers who continue to produce the nation's food supply through an historic drought.

"If we can find out how far down the moisture is in the ground," says Gardner. "For instance, when we're planting, if we know where the moisture is, we can plant a little deeper so that the crops will come up, or we plant shallower if we know the moisture is higher, so if we don't have extra water then we don't worry as much, but if we don't the have the water then we got to use every device we can to try and give us help."

According to the federal government's National Climate Assessment, as temperatures continue to rise, droughts in the Southwest will be longer, prompting even dryer conditions.


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