Potato Acreage Down & Best Places to Live

Potato Acreage Down & Best Places to Live

Potato Acreage Down & Best Places to Live plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. The USDA is reporting that planted acreage of potatoes in Idaho is down some 8% this year, the lowest in decades. United Potato Growers of Idaho spokesperson Britt Raybould says growers are trying to get things back on track. RAYBOULD: This year's acreage count shows that growers are looking to rebalance their current business risks in conjunction with long-term sustainability. The biggest issue growers are facing is that they received average returns in Idaho that were below the cost of production for the 2009/2010 growing and marketing season. And United believes that this particular acreage number that we've come up with that is just over 292-thousand just reflects that growers are trying to be aware of consumer demand and also recognizing that the economy isn't back 100%. A number of northwest towns have made the annual Money Magazine's list of the "Best Places to Live" in the United States. Idaho Falls, Idaho at 99, Beaverton, Oregon was at 98, Hillsboro, Oregon at 92, Shoreline, Washington was at number 64, Meridian, Id at 62 while Bellevue, Washington was the 4th best place to live. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. Let the games begin! San Francisco's new policy of dictating that vending machines on city property can no longer dispense sodas and other sweetened beverages may be the first domino to fall in a long line of "domino" cities feverishly working on similar crackdowns of their own. While at first glance it seems a rather innocuous policy, the ramifications of such a ban could be far reaching. In addition to the ban on sodas in city vending machines San Francisco's mayor also wants to place a retail fee on soda's and sweetened drinks as well. The mayor's proposal for the fee is no more popular now than it was when he first stepped onto his "fight obesity" soap box over two years ago. The reservations posed by those opposed to the soda ban and fee are as strong today as there were then. Number one is the fact that this will undoubtedly be just the tip of the iceberg. Once this type of biased policy is put into effect where do you draw the line? Can bans and additional taxes on other foods deemed "unhealthy" by certain food activists be far behind? And will taxes, bans and surcharges really stop people from indulging in sweetened beverages or snack foods? Ask a smoker. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.
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