06/13/08 Potato Commission supports tribute to vets; call for fertilizer price investigation

Farm and Ranch June 13, 2008 An 80 percent size replica of the Vietnam Wall memorial in Washington, D.C. has arrived in Moses Lake and will be on display at the Grant County Fairgrounds through Sunday. And one of the contributing organizations is the Washington State Potato Commission. Karen Bonaudi, Commission Assistant Executive Director, says the Commission has supported the military for years now through the US Troop Care Package program and other ways, so this exhibit is a good way to bring that message home. Bonaudi notes that Jan Sass, founder of the Care Package Program in the Tri-Cities, will be on hand along with the Commission at a brief program at one p.m. Saturday. The Wall's only appearance in Washington was organized by the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. The wall is the largest traveling wall in the country and features more than 58-thousand names of those who died while serving in Vietnam. The Combat Vets Motorcycle Association says in a statement that the American Veterans Traveling Tribute honors all veterans and those serving today and helps all veterans know they will never be forgotten. We must always separate the war from the warrior and be never failing in our support for our men and women n the armed forces. Viewing of the wall is free and it is open 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. Sunday. That's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report. Brought to you in part by the Washington State Potato Commission. Nutrition today! Good health tomorrow! I'm Bob Hoff on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Farm and Ranch June 13, 2008 There are questions about speculation in oil futures, agricultural commodities and now some lawmakers want the USDA to investigate the cause of skyrocketing fertilizer prices. The call for an investigation comes from the North Dakota congressional delegation who wrote Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer that even with currently strong commodity prices, income from farming is barely keeping up with increased farm input costs and in particular skyrocketing fertilizer prices. North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan: Dorgan: "We have got substantial concentration in the fertilizer industry, lack of transparency. There is something wrong in the fertilizer industry and I want to get to the bottom of it." In a news release the North Dakota delegation says that in recent months, the price of agricultural fertilizer has risen to record levels. According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service, fertilizer prices in May 2008 were 69 percent higher than they were in May 2007. And the 2007 prices represented an increase in costs of 158 percent compared to May 2000. The lawmakers go on to say that while some of the increase may be a result of rising petroleum costs, those factors alone do not fully explain the current escalation in fertilizer prices. The Congressional delegation wants an immediate investigation into the rapid increase in fertilizer prices to assure that farmers and ranchers are not being overcharged. They want Secretary Schafer to report the USDA's findings to Congress once the investigation is complete. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.