Obama On Immigration & Clean Plant Network

Obama On Immigration & Clean Plant Network plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

President Obama does not think that immigration is dead even though an obituary appeared in the papers yesterday. At a press conference the President took aim at House Republicans.

OBAMA: For more than a year, Republicans in the House of Representatives have refused to allow an up-or-down vote on that Senate bill or any legislation to fix our broken immigration system.  And I held off on pressuring them for a long time to give Speaker Boehner the space he needed to get his fellow Republicans on board. 

Meanwhile, here's what a year of obstruction has meant.  It has meant fewer resources to strengthen our borders.  It's meant more businesses free to game the system by hiring undocumented workers, which punishes businesses that play by the rules, and drives down wages for hardworking Americans.

U.S. Senator Patty Murray from Washington applauded an announcement from Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack awarding $5 million to support 19 projects under the National Clean Plant Network with funding secured in the 2014 Farm Bill.  NCPN-funded facilities ensure nurseries can provide safe, virus-free plant materials to orchards, vineyards, and other growers. Specifically, the Clean Plant Center Northwest based at Washington State University's Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser will receive $1.25 million for their ongoing work to benefit tree fruit, grape and hops growers in Washington state.

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

The NRDC awarded Growing Green Awards this year to four outstanding individuals for their work as either a Sustainable Food and Farm Educator, Sustainable Livestock Producer, Pollinator Protector, or Regional Food Leader. Washington State University's Regents Professor and soil scientist John Reganold was recognized for his contributions as a sustainable food and farm educator, Sibella Kraus with Berkley was recognized for her work as a regional food leader, Chip Taylor with the University of Kansas was awarded the Pollinator Protector award for his work in organizing and founding the Monarch Watch, an organization that enlists citizens to protect the monarch butterfly from extinction, and Georgia farmer Will Harris was honored with the Sustainable Livestock Producer award for his sustainable livestock practices. These four people were chosen out of hundreds of nominees, all of who are doing their part and more to make our country's food system healthier and more sustainable. As John Reganold has said, "We have to stop judging a farm just by the size of its yield and start considering the health of its soil, the happiness of its employees and the financial stability of its owners."

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