Getting Some Relief & Centennial Celebration

Getting Some Relief & Centennial Celebration plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

The Pacific Northwest has been cooking like a lot of other areas with 100+ degree heat over the last couple of weeks but a new weather system has brought some relief to the area. Meteorologist Brad Rippey talks about the unusual cold front moving through.

RIPPEY: The front is bringing some tropical moisture northward through Arizona, Utah, Nevada and into the northwest and before the rains break out we are experiencing some gusty winds and lightning strikes. We're really looking at just the next day or two for the threat of wildfires developing or expanding. We do expect relief first in the form of rain showers and the cooler weather.

A 48-mile stretch of water critical to U.S. Agriculture and International trade will be celebrating it's 100th anniversary tomorrow. The Panama Canal was called the "World's Greatest Engineering Feat" and connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. France actually began work on the canal in 1881, but had to stop because of engineering problems and high mortality due to disease. After that, the US took over the project and took a decade to complete the canal in 1914.

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

In years past there have been reports that attendance at state and county fairs has been dwindling. Reasons for this range from budget cuts to competition from other events to the lack of local support. But things seem to be turning around. Several fair managers this year have reported record attendance, and while they can't pinpoint an exact reason for the increase they all say that the growing interest in "supporting local" could play a big part; which makes sense. Fairs provide a community service way beyond just entertainment: non-profit organizations benefit through fund raising at their local fairs, young people learn about responsibility, leadership, and teamwork, and attendees learn about agriculture and meet local farmers, with most fair proceeds going back into local communities. Today's fairs represent both old and new; carrying on a tradition, while introducing folks to the ever changing and ever improving face of modern agriculture.

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