10/17/08 Record year for US ag exports

Uncle Sam's 2008 fiscal year ended on September 30th. USDA economist Nora Brooks says through August the total value of US agricultural exports was running well ahead of last year's pace. BROOKS "The year to date export value is at 106 billion. That's up 43 percent from last year and bulk products are rising 68 percent, the high value products are 28 percent above last year." Soon we'll be getting the final numbers for September and the experts believe that US agricultural exports will total 114 billion dollars for the entire fiscal year. BROOKS "Wheat and corn, soybeans just rose phenomenally. Wheat is up more than double. Corn was up 59 percent. Soybeans were up 78 percent." Governor Butch Otter and several agricultural interests are now in the middle of a twelve day trade mission to Asia where they are trying to boost Idaho export sales. The official 2009 USDA export forecast is down one billion dollars to 113 billion but that forecast was made prior to the current economic turmoil. USDA says it will have to update that forecast before the end of November. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott