Clean Water Troubles & Grass Farming

Clean Water Troubles & Grass Farming

Clean Water Troubles & Grass Farming plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Shortly after the Clean Water Act was passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last Thursday (June 18) - Senator Mike Crapo placed a “hold” on the bill. Crapo voted against the bill in committee and has now said he plans to use every tool and privilege afforded to slow - if not stop - the bill. The legislation would allow the U.S. government to regulate virtually all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries. This would include almost every location where water is held or flows.

More farms and ranches may be producing grass based crops in the coming years. Jean Steiner of USDA's Agricultural Research Service explains the study.

STEINER: A lot of our agricultural research and activities have been focused for many years very strongly on annual cropping and with increased energy costs and with increased fertilizer costs, more concern about climate variability and the possibility of changing climate we thought it was time to take a new look at agriculture and see if there were ways to bring more reliance on perennials

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

I have found over the years that there are several different kinds of snobbery and discrimination. At the forefront of course are the two more prominent forms that most people are familiar with, race and money. Prejudice and bias rear their ugly little heads in numerous ways. Urbanites will often look down their noses at ruralists. A ruralist may enjoy poking fun at “city slickers”, and state that anyone without calluses on their hands obviously hasn’t done an honest days work. Nothing could be further from the truth on either count. I grew up in rural America; I know that farming is hard work. I have also lived in the city for most of my adult life and know too that meeting deadlines, crunching numbers, and office politics can also be very taxing and hard work. Living in the city doesn’t mean one is shallow and naïve any more than being from rural America makes a person unsophisticated or simple. Isn’t it time we realize that it’s our differences that make this nation great. After all one definition of a democracy is “the principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community”.

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

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