Just A Rumor & Biofuels Grant

Just A Rumor & Biofuels Grant

Just A Rumor & Biofuels Grant plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

There is a rumor going around in the northwest that the Department of Natural Resources has released a large number of yellow jackets as biological control agents to kill forest pests. There does seems to be a very large number of the small wasps this year but the DNR says it's just a rumor. The last time that forest pest control insects were intentionally released in eastern Washington was in the 1960s. So then why are there so many of the little stingers? It may be related to the cool, spring conditions that boosted the population of aphids, a popular food source for yellow jackets.

Washington State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been awarded a $40-million dollar grant to research and develop aviation biofuels. The grant is intended to create a Center of Excellence where WSU and MIT will lead a group of other universities including the University of Washington and Oregon along with 12 others to develop research in a variety of areas ranging from new alternative aviation fuels to studying the wear the new fuels might put on aircraft engines. Boeing, Alaska Airlines, United and other aerospace and fuel companies have been experimenting with alternative fuels.

Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray.

I've said it before and I will say it again, fall is my absolute favorite time of year, for numerous reasons. A cool wave of air sweeps in in the early evening hours and sticks around through mid-morning the next day, when the sun warms things up a bit, making the day neither too hot, nor too cold. It is also apple picking time. Growing up in the Midwest I used to love going with my Grandparents to pick up several bushels of our family's favorite apple, the Jonathan, a crunchy, sour sweet apple that can be rather hard to find here in the Pacific Northwest. Thankfully, there are plenty of other great apple varieties here to choose from. Apple growers have already started harvesting and over the next several weeks there will be a glorious smorgasbord of apples to be found at local farmers markets and grocery stores. And there will more than likely be a couple of new varieties of apples to wow consumers and take the apple industry by storm. As for me I'm more than ready to break out Grandma's tried and true apple recipes, or just sit and munch an apple on the front porch glider. I do love fall a bushel and a peck!

Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.

Previous ReportFarm Bill Obstacles & Wild Horse Trouble plus Animal Welfare
Next ReportA Lot Of Work & Liquor Privatization