National Lab Day & Counties Declared Disaster Areas

National Lab Day & Counties Declared Disaster Areas plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Professionals are teaming up with schools to give students around the country hands-on science and technology learning. Jack Hidary, chair of National Lab Day.org explains how the cost and delivery of the program can be cheaper than a traditional textbook education. HIDARY: And you can use household objects. Just the other day I did some experiments with kids. We took vinegar and some baking soda and a couple different household items and we had maybe 10 different experiments we were doing based on that just to show all kinds of principles of chemistry and science. The Department of Agriculture has designated Klamath County in Oregon as a primary natural disaster area because of losses caused by continuous drought and related disasters. And because they are contiguous, farmers and ranchers in Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Lake and Lane counties in Oregon and Modoc and Siskiyou counties in California also qualify for natural disaster assistance. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack notes - this action will provide help to producers who suffered significant production losses. Klamath County was designated a natural disaster area April 30, making all qualified farm operators in the designated and contiguous areas eligible for low interest emergency loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. And so it begins. As of May first sixteen major food companies have decided to commit to the voluntary National Salt Reduction Initiative. Some of the major players in this first initial group include Kraft, Heinz, and Starbucks. All the companies have agreed to reduce sodium in their products by fifteen to twenty percent. New York City politicians have been the driving force behind reducing sodium intake for New Yorkers and all Americans, pushing their agenda relentlessly to federal agencies. The fact that consuming too much salt can lead to serious health problems is not in question. What is in question is how far and how deep the hand of over zealous food fanatics will delve. Will they be satisfied with the voluntary efforts of food companies to reduce sodium in their food products or will this only fuel their anti-salt, anti-sugar, and anti-fat zeal. How far will they go in dictating what the American public can and will eat, and how far are we willing to let them dictate our food choices. Most Americans oppose FDA imposed sodium restrictions, but when has that ever stopped the government from doing something "for our own good"? Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.