12/29/08 Bio Tires & Delisting Pork

Bio Tires & Delisting Pork plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. In 1941, Henry Ford introduced a plastic-bodied car whose panels included soybean meal as a component. While the feat made headlines and history  in never took off commercially. But, researchers continued to wonder  what if? Today, Agricultural Research Service scientists Lei Jong and Jeffrey Byars are testing soy flour as"green" filler for tires and other natural rubber products. Today's fillers are typically petroleum-based particles called "carbon black." Tire manufacturers use them in rubber to improve tensile strength and wear resistance. Will the new soy/rubber replace carbon black? Only time will tell. Russia has now de-listed 19 pork processing plants in the United States. As a result these plants can not export pork products into Russia. There is a thought that Russia should be brought into the World Trade Organization so we, the United States, can have better leverage against Russia's de-listing actions. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is one Congressman who is standing in the way. GRASSLEY: I have taken the position they shouldn't be in the WTO because they aren't showing enough responsible decision making on certain imports and exports anyway. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. A local morning radio show used to have a segment they called, "What were they thinking?" One has to wonder the same when regarding the USDA's attempt to sell nonfat dry milk at prices below levels specified in the 2008 Farm Bill; prompting the National Milk Producers Federation to seek a temporary restraining order to block USDA from allowing The Seam, a private marketing entity, to auction nonfat dry milk at prices below the congressionally mandated minimum level. Dairy farmers who are already facing rising production costs would be facing a major reduction to their already dwindling income if the auction was allowed to go on unchecked. A Chicago district judge agreed with the NMPF and requested that the USDA at least postpone the auction. The USDA and The Seam have entered into a court-ordered agreement to not hold any milk powder auctions until NMPF's full complaint and motion can be heard in January 2009. One can only hope that the courts will continue to give America's Dairy Farmers the support they so rightly deserve. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.