Ag Burning Task Force may survive
Washington Ag Today January 26, 2010 Governor Chris Gregoire’s proposal to eliminate the Ag Burning Task Force doesn’t appear to be going anywhere in the legislature. Here is what Jim Jesernig, who represents the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, told a Senate Ag Committee meeting Monday. Jesernig: “The House committee, the State Government Tribal Affairs Committee with Chairman Hunt and ranking minority member Armstrong, specifically took the Ag Burning Task Force out of House Bill 2617 last Thursday. And the Senate is actually only looking at a different version, which would not include the Ag Burning Task Force being eliminated.” Jesernig’s comment came after a discussion between State Republican Senator Mark Schoesler and a representative of the Department of Ecology during a hearing on a bill to allow the ag burning fee to be increased. Schoesler is co-sponsor of the fee bill but after hearing Ecology saying it supports elimination of the burning task force he said: Schoesler: “I guarantee you I will not vote for this bill if you have the authority.“ Wheat growers support the continuation of the burning task force and also support the fee increase bill. The Washington Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service says Washington’s 2009 apple crop is estimated at 5.5 billion pounds, a three percent drop from the previous year. The estimate is for the total crop, which includes apples packed for the fresh market as well as the portion of the crop that will be diverted to processing uses. The Statistics Service says a preliminary estimate of the value of production for the 2009 crop is 1.39 billion dollars, an increase of eight percent from 2008. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network. ?
