03/31/08 Paying More & Turning 50

Paying More & Turning 50 plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Going to the grocery store is costing you a bit more as if you hadn't noticed. American Farm Bureau's latest Marketbasket Survey shows that after a 5% decline in the 4th quarter, prices are up. AFB economist Jim Sartwell says with the current economic situation, getting back to the basics at the grocery store will help. SARTWELL: Normal supply and demand factors are not in the driver's seat entirely right now when we look at our Ag markets and we look at food prices. However a thing to remember out into the future is even though we do see significant price increases for lots of food items, as you shift out of more highly processed food items that are more highly packaged, require more energy to process them and move back to the more staple food items, we're pretty confident that most folks will be able to afford their food as they ride out this economic downturn. I have been struggling with a number lately. Ever since I was a kid I viewed 50 as old. My grandpa was old. He was 50. Now, I'm a grandpa and you guessed it, 50. My wife keeps telling me it's just a number and that you are only old if you act it. Sage advice from someone who isn't 50 yet. Her turn is coming. But it's not so bad. It is only a number and the sun did come up this morning. Guess it's time to turn my sights on the next number&60! Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. Milk is getting a whole new look in schools, from it's packaging, remember those little square cartons, to its color. It's not just white anymore. Now with the choice of white, chocolate or strawberry milk in recyclable plastic bottles kids can have their milk and feel cool about it. In a recent student survey, 94% of the children said that the school milk in the plastic bottle was "better" compared to the identical milk in a paper carton. A large percentage of kids said it was easier to open and to drink from the plastic bottles. And shhhh, don't tell them, but it's good for them. Flavored milk, like white milk, provides children with three of the five nutrients that are known to fall short in children's diets: calcium, potassium and magnesium. As a mom I would much rather milk vending machines be offered in schools as opposed to soft drinks. In fact a milk vending machine might just be the thing my kitchen needs. I've always been a strawberry milk kind of girl myself. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.