Erosion-control practices and drought-resistant crop hybrids are just two examples of ways in which modern agriculture attempts to mitigate the impacts of severe drought.

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Mark Smolinski, in charge of predicting and preventing disease and drought, knew Brilliant while he was at the Center for Disease Control, and more recently ran research in biological weapons programs at Ted Turner's Nuclear Threat Initiative.

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In an effort to tackle the drought which was parching the rivers and their adjacent wetlands, it took control of the basin's water from the states and gave it to the newly established Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

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The real problems are blight control, which are long term problems, trying to reduce chemical input into the crop, drought and water management.

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Concerns about quality control also apply: Weather patterns affect crops differently year to year, and major events like drought or flooding can cause the prices of raw materials to spike.

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