March 9, 2007

Under Secretary of Agriculture Gale Buchanan will open the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's fourth annual Water Law, Policy and Science conference next month.

The conference is March 26-27 at Lincoln's Embassy Suites.

"It is a great honor for the university to host Dr. Buchanan," said John Owens, UNL vice chancellor of the Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources and NU vice president. "He has extensive experience in agricultural research and extension education and we expect his talk to focus on agriculture and water, as well as on U.S. Department of Agriculture's expanding scientific research and other efforts to better meet national needs."

Buchanan is under secretary of agriculture for research, education and economics. His talk, "New Directions: Agriculture, Water and the USDA," will begin the conference that will examine the future of water use in agriculture.

Speakers ranging from economists and biofuels experts to lawyers and engineers, all focusing on the intersection of water and agricultural issues, will follow Buchanan's remarks. "With a new farm bill being developed, a rapidly growing biofuels industry and ongoing drought, having a top USDA official as our leadoff speaker is ideal," said UNL Water Center director Kyle Hoagland. The conference is open to the public and registration information and conference details are online at http://snr.unl.edu/waterconference or call the UNL Water Center at (402) 472-3305.