04/24/08 Disappointed & Cold Continues

Disappointed & Cold Continues plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. President Bush is showing his disappointment in Congress. In his words  they have failed to put forward a good farm bill. He says that's left farmers and ranchers in a state of continued uncertainty as to how they'll be affected by Federal policies. The proposal conferees are currently discussing  according to the President  would fail several important tests he's set forth. The President says now is not the time  with record farm income  for Congress to ask other sectors of the economy to pay higher taxes in order to increase the size of government. He says the proposal would increase spending by at least 16-billion dollars. He says that's partly masked by budget gimmicks and partly funded with additional tax revenues. The tax provisions  he says  are unacceptable. The cold weather in the Northwest seems to be hanging on and according to USDA meteorologist, Brad Rippey, it's going to continue. RIPPEY: We're seeing the coldest weather since early February in some of the fruit areas East of the Cascades and again big concerns for unprotected fruit crops and even those where farmer's are able to use protective measures. There's a lot concern for the health of many of the fruit crops East of the Cascades and more recently we've seen some of that cold weather descending even West of the Cascades so we'll continue to deal with the threat of frost and freezing temperatures. Really no break in sight. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. With drought causing the collapse of rice production in places like Australia, the world is actually facing violent demonstrations over rising prices and shortages. Sound a little familiar? Rather like oil production perhaps? Even in normal times though rice is not a major export, more than 90 percent is consumed in the countries where it is grown. Some speculators and investors are even seeing this as an opportunity for a lucrative or at least safe investment. But this "one man's pain is another man's gain" mentality needs to stop. Now more than ever we need to learn to adapt and change. Thankfully farmers, unlike oil producers, are a different breed. Farmers are seeking solutions, as in using different plant varieties and reducing water use by installing buried pipe to replace irrigation canals that lose up to 90 percent of water to evaporation. The flexibility of farmers has persuaded many climate experts that the effects of climate change may be mitigated, if not totally avoided. Farmers are learning how to do things differently, something we could all stand to emulate. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.