A Better Farm Year and Rustling Cattle

A Better Farm Year and Rustling Cattle plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

One expert says farm income could improve in 2010. USDA Economist Joe Glauber.

GLAUBER: If you look at major crop prices, nothing really suggests a major collapse in crop prices certainly and I think on the livestock side the fact we are seeing some fairly significant increases fro dairy and pork and even beef seen some good forecasted increases in prices that should help the overall income picture.

It appears that cattle rustling is not just something from old west. Over the last 3 years numerous cattle have gone missing in the area where Oregon, Idaho and Nevada come together. Ranchers have been missing cattle and are beginning to suspect one of their own but don’t have enough proof as to who the rustlers might be. The Oregon Cattleman’s Association has determined that over 1200 head may have gone missing. It is expected that the rough economic time may be the factor in the renewal of the rustling.

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

An Oregon developer was recently sued for trespassing by the U.S. government after they repeatedly trespassed on acreage owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in order to “remove” thousands of vegetation and landscaping materials such as rock and dead wood.  It took some pretty big cajones to pull off such a stunt. The developer stated they needed these particular vegetative resources in order to give a desert like appearance to two golf courses on their resort. And that’s supposed to make it alright?! So far the developing company has only agreed to pay $200,000 for the materials they took, an amount far less than what they would have had to pay a nursery supplier. Is the government asleep on this one? The U.S. government has been known to pay that much for a single screwdriver! Not to mention the fact that this went way beyond trespassing; it was blatant and intentional stealing. Guess it’s a good thing the developers weren’t putting a lake on the property, the U.S. government probably wouldn’t have a clue what to collect for Rainbow Trout, Steelhead, or Salmon.

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