Passing Ag Spending & Becoming a Homeowner

Passing Ag Spending & Becoming a Homeowner. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

The U.S. House and Senate have now each passed 2010 USDA spending bills - though differences on funding levels, trade and animal ID will have to be worked out. Both bills emphasize food safety, nutrition, ag research and rural development to differing degrees - protect most conservation but where the two bills differ sharply is on livestock. The House provided no funding for animal ID.  While American Farm Bureau’s Elizabeth Jones says the Senate just reduced funding.

JONES: In the Senate the Agriculture Appropriations Committee provided $14.6 million for it that was reduced to $7.3 in the bill that made final passage.

Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan says that 50-thousand rural families have become homeowners with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Noting revitalization of rural America is one of President Obama’s top priorities - Merrigan said this investment isn’t only helping families become homeowners - but also building rural communities by putting money back into the local economy.

Now here’s today’s Washington Grange Report.

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