Ethanol Support & COOL for Dairy

Ethanol Support & COOL for Dairy plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

According to a nationwide study of one-thousand U.S. voters conducted for the National Corn Growers Association - there’s broad public respect and trust for family farmers - as well as support for corn as food, feed and fuel. While they expected solid results - NCGA President Darrin Ihnen says the final numbers were beyond what they imagined.

IHNEN: 95% support American farmers. They support using corn for food. 93% supported using corn for livestock feed. 67% supported using corn as a sweetener and 65% supported corn to use in corn ethanol so the numbers are very positive for ag and for all the products that we make from corn.

A bill that would extend mandatory country of origin labeling to dairy products has been introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Al Franken of Minnesota. Brown says COOL provides critical information as households decide how to feed their families. To date, dairy products have been exempt from the controversial legislation which has already sparked World Trade Organization challenges from Canada.

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

Every once in a while it seems that big government really does “get it”.  Case in point, The “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” campaign launched by the USDA last month that focuses on encouraging and assisting schools to purchase and serve locally grown food. One of the biggest challenges for independent business owners and small family farms across the U.S. has been trying to stay in business and survive during a time when most consumers have the “big box store” mentality.  For the past several years rural communities across the country have valiantly fought to save and rebuild their economies; to have a sustainable future. The Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food will hopefully do just that by connecting consumers with local producers.  Of course this initiative does smack of an effort by the government to correct a wrong when one considers the major role government has played in the very expansion of mega retailers in America. But as they say, better late than never. America seems finally ready to get back to her roots.

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