Farmers go to Washington

I talked with Chris Novak, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association regarding the political climate in Washington as the candidates square off and he stressed the importance of farmers embedding themselves in the political process. "What we have seen so far of the presidential primaries, it's very clear that the rules of government have changed and the way we do business in Washington has changed. I would contend that our mission has only increased in importance with these changes. It's more important than ever that farmers are engaged and involved in the political process, that farmers are taking the time and taking the steps to tell their story to political leaders in Washington. We have seen several agricultural issues that have become far more politicized and in the good old days, folks would talk about the agriculture committee as being bipartisan or nonpartisan and conservatively, I think we have seen some of that diminished."

Two Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets from Naval Air Station Oceana collided with each other and crashed in the waters about 25 miles east of Oregon Inlet on Thursday morning. The U.S. Coast Guard responded, and they -- along with a Good Samaritan fishing vessel -- rescued all four aviators.