Ag Workforce Report & Organic Survey

Ag Workforce Report & Organic Survey plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

A first ever USDA survey on organic production needs to be submitted by eligible producers by June 17th, that according to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan who explains the purpose behind the survey.

MERRIGAN: We know from the 2007 Ag Census that there are over 20-thousand organic farms in this country. There is increasing interest among policymakers to find ways to assist the organic sector. There are questions about where this thing is going, who are the people who are transitioning to organic, why are they transitioning to organic, what really is bottom line cost for organic production, expenses, income? What exactly does it take to be in organic production? The survey is going to cover a wide range of questions. We’re just trying to understand broadly, what’s going on in the organic sector.

The Employment Security Department has published its annual Agricultural Workforce in Washington State report. Topics covered in the report include: the agricultural economy in Washington and its estimated value; employment, hours worked and average wages for workers; guest workers and worker shortages; employment, unemployment and job-vacancy levels in agriculture; and supply and demand for agricultural products. You can find the report online at workforceexplorer.com.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

I have spoke many times with you and my coworkers on how much I enjoy gardening and it seems there are more and more people who are discovering that they too enjoy growing, cooking and preserving their own foods. In fact that seemingly universal desire to nurture and grow one’s own food has resulted in more than twenty thousand community gardens across the nation. For all those people out there who want to raise their own fresh veggies and fruits but lack the space to do so, the community garden is the perfect solution.  Several of these gardens also offer gardening classes by skilled gardeners and farmers. In turn, the success of community gardens has created an upswing in farmers’ markets in cities all around the country. No longer considered just a niche event, farmers’ markets have become a neighborhood joint effort. Community gardening is definitely one of those uncommon win-win situations benefitting the populace, environment, and economy of those communities in which they exist and thrive.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.