04/14/08 Talking Beef & American Delays

Talking Beef & American Delays plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. The beef industry is the main topic in Seoul South Korea as another round of talks are going on to try and get a fully normalized trade deal going between the two countries. Ag Secretary Ed Schafer is optimistic about the talks and said that the new South Korean President is behind it as well. SCHAFER: Our observation is the new President in the campaigns talked about the need for a free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States. He championed it in his campaign; he said it was important for their country and for ours. He also knows that there's not going to be an FTA with Korea without an agreement on beef first. If you are traveling anywhere&you might want to check your flight. American Airlines cancelled another 595 flights on Friday and spokespersons said they hoped to have all their planes back in service over the weekend. The total cost to American was still being determined but could be in the tens of millions and of course the repercussions may be felt for weeks. Many people were left stranded and scrambled to find alternative travel.The cancelled flights were a boon to both Greyhound and Amtrak which have both been struggling lately. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. Okay, say rubber baby buggy bumpers six times real fast. Good. Now say recycled rubber sidewalks. More and more cities across the U.S. are installing rubber sidewalks made from recycled tires. These rubber sidewalks are a great way to recycle over 290 million tires thrown out each year in the U.S. and they're more environmentally friendly by not constricting tree roots the way concrete sidewalks do. Also, they offer joggers and walkers alike a more pleasant experience with their shock absorbing surfaces. Yes, the rubber squares are more expensive in the onset, but last nearly twice as long as concrete squares that crack due to freezing weather and tree roots. But there are some people out there who just can't get used to the "look" of rubber sidewalks even though they're not black and rubbery but more gray and kind of "pebbly"; or if you prefer, terra cotta colored. Despite some adults negativity to rubber sidewalks kids probably won't mind. You can still draw on them with chalk and they're great for jumping rope. But you'll have to find an alternative to "step on the crack" games! Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.