10/06/08 Shutoff, trade mission, crp payments

With a dramatic change from summer to autumn the past several days there's another sign that harvests are wrapping up. The irrigation systems in the Treasure Valley will be drying up this week. The largest system, Nampa and Meridian closed off water to 500 miles of canals and laterals last week. Settlers Canal will do the same on Thursday and other systems in Southern Idaho will be following suit. As a part of his Project 60, which is intended to increase Idaho's economy to 60 billion dollars, Governor Butch Otter is headed to Asia this week for his third foreign trade mission. Otter and 15 different Idaho companies will take part in the two week long trade mission to Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam and Taiwan. The weak US dollar is one selling point that Otter can make to prospective foreign buyers who are seeking bargains. Governor Otter says that his trade mission to Mexico last spring will result in sales of two million dollars. In 2007 he also led a similar Idaho trade delegation to Cuba. USDA's Farm Service Agency in Idaho over the next few weeks will begin issuing $32,366,499 in Conservation Reserve Program payments to eligible producers. Nationwide, more than $1.7 billion in CRP payments are being made by FSA. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott