The face of American farming is undergoing quite a facelift.

Bill Northey, Iowa secretary of agriculture, discussed future technologies in Iowa agriculture in a sustainable agriculture colloquium Wednesday in Room 1130 in the National Swine Research and Information Center.

Northey spoke about emerging technologies in agriculture today that could possibly help the upcoming water shortage crisis, the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico and the future of ethanol. Northey spoke about advances in watershed technologies, storm sewers, ethanol production and tiling.

“We may think that we have precision agriculture, but we don’t,” Northey said. “And we can have technology to learn those things that we don’t.”

Northey, who owns a 1,200-acre farm by Spirit Lake, spoke about how the local, state and federal agencies work together, or separate from each other, on matters concerning agriculture.

Northey said the separation can be can good or a bad thing, as in the example of how a local conservation agency can start a watershed project with some local support and or an independent group of farmers can start their own watershed project, independent of state regulations.

“Every district is different, and that is one of their strengths,” he said. “Sometimes we find out that they can work together and sometimes they can’t.”

Northey used the example of an independent group in Hewitt Creek that started its own watershed project, and using local funding, the group was able to try different things and not follow the state’s guidelines, which Northey said can be cost effective. He also said situations like this means there is still a lot of competition in the agriculture business.

“They can have more changes in the watershed for lower money than the districts can,” he said. “There still is a lot of competition out there. But number one is that the water’s better off.”

Northey said watershed projects have benefited from new technologies, such as light detection and ranging, or LIDAR, software that uses optics and lasers to map out the elevations and water flow of particular area, up to 18 inches from the surface.

Northey said drainage pipes in urban areas can also benefit from water consciousness.

“First off, we don’t put it in the water,” he said. “But it’s not just agriculture’s fault, and it’s not urban’s fault. It’s all our faults.”

Northey said advancements in ethanol production are promising, as Iowa is situated to become one of the leading producers of the alternative fuel.

He said because ethanol technology is relatively new, it constantly changing.