Too Early & New Oregon Forest

Too Early & New Oregon Forest plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Talk is already going around Capitol Hill regarding the 2012 Farm Bill and that has been greeted with mixed emotions. Some say the earlier, the better while others point to upcoming elections as a downside but Senate Ag Committee member Chuck Grassley of Iowa suggests it's not. Grassley notes the mid-term election will likely have some impact - as there could be changes in the make-up of the House and Senate. But even if the Republicans regain control of either body - Grassley says that won't have a dramatic impact on the legislation. GRASSLEY: If there's a consensus to change the direction of the farm program of the last couple three decades, I think it will be a bipartisan consensus and so from that standpoint I don't think it makes much difference which party controls because farm bills tend to be very bipartisan. It is not often you see a new forest but Oregon has one. 43,000 acres of young pine trees in central Oregon purchased from Fidelity National Timber Resources Inc., of Whitefish, Mont., with $15 million in lottery-backed bonds. Gilchrist State Forest is Oregon's first new state forest since the creation of Sun Pass State Forest in Klamath County, which was purchased between 1943 and 1948. Dedication ceremonies are set for June 11 outside Gilchrist, a company-owned timber town. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. All I can say is it's about time. Okay, that's not really all I'm going to say because it is long overdue that a group of pro-farming activists made their voices heard. The public, which has long been bombarded with anti-agriculture propaganda spewed forth from the likes of Michael Pollan, is finally hearing from a group that can tell them the true story of American agriculture. They are known as The Hand That Feeds U.S. and are funded by numerous U.S. commodity groups and supported by American Agri-Women, the National Association of Wheat Growers, and the National Milk Producers, just to name a few. The Hand That Feeds U.S. wants American consumers to know that ninety-eight percent of our nations farms are family owned; not giant factory farms focused only on the bottom line without regard for the environment. They are meeting with the public to introduce them to the "true faces of agriculture" and to prove that the real "bad guys" are not American farmers and ranchers. The bad guys are the ones making money off of book and movie deals that sell consumers on misinformation about American agriculture. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.