05/19/08 Smear Campaign & Farm Bill Fallout

Smear Campaign & Farm Bill Fallout plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Confidential documentation obtained by the Capitol Hill publication "Roll Call' reveals that the Grocery Manufacturers Association and The Glover Park Group have provided the financing for the recent smear campaign against ethanol  blaming ethanol on the price rise in food. The indication is the two-month campaign, financed by GMA, is an effort to roll back ethanol mandates. It's being called a contrived crisis with the goal being to undermine and denigrate the patriotic achievement of America's farmers to reduce our dependency on foreign oil while providing safe and affordable food. A lot of politicians are breathing a sigh of relief that the farm bill is completed and most agree that while it's not perfect, it's a pretty good bill. Barack Obama used a campaign stop on Friday to use the new farm bill has an election tool but overall lawmakers like Oregon's Congressman Greg Walden say it works well for northwest specialty crops. WALDEN: I think this is a farm bill that everyone could pick little pieces apart at and it's not the way any particular sector would write it but overall it does some good things for the northwest. I especially believe we have fixed some of the grain issues. I also believe that the investment in ag research is so essential for our specialty crop growers. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. I have just recently returned from a business trip to our nation's capitol and found it a very enlightening and humbling experience. This was my first visit to Washington D.C. and I was very excited to see our nation's historic monuments and dedicated memorials, let alone the Whitehouse. I was not however prepared for the overwhelming sense of patriotic pride that washed over me as I stood looking up at the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Korean, WWII and Vietnam War memorials. No photograph or travel brochure can do these great tributes justice. And my numerous history classes of school days gone by did not prepare me for the incredible sense of gratitude and reverence I would feel as I stood in the National Hall of Archives and read those 56 businessmen and farmers signatures on the Declaration of Independence. No matter what your political views of the moment are one thing is certain, our country was built on liberty and individual rights, and no matter how crackled the surface may appear at times, the foundation is still rock solid and secure. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.