Watching the Weather & Drought Helping Wheat Farmers

Watching the Weather & Drought Helping Wheat Farmers plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. The weather around the NW will be a bit unstable for the next few weeks and that might include a few showers according to Northwest Ag Information Network's meteorologist, Tim Creek. CREEK: The latest long range weather charts are showing another trough of low pressure pushing into the area around the 21st or so and it's going to give us the same type of situation that we have seen in much of the first part of August in that the threat of isolated shower and thunder shower activity will return to the forecast. What we'll see for the most part is sunny and mild with temperatures at or slightly below average with this minor disturbance in the atmosphere situated right over the region we are going to see that potential for isolated showers and thunder showers. Now most areas probably will remain dry. Extreme long range weather forecasts indicate a moderate to strong La Nina could bring a colder, wetter winter to the NW. U.S. wheat prices, which have been climbing steadily over the past month, surged as markets reacted to word that Russia would stop exporting wheat from Aug. 15 to Dec. 31. A drought has decimated that country's huge crop. Washington wheat farmers, who are in the midst of harvest, typically see prices drop this time of year because so much wheat reaches the marketplace at once. With Russia's export ban, Washington wheat is going on the market at the right time and farmers who have avoided contracts to sell their wheat on the open market particularly should benefit. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. I was in a store the other day and overheard two ladies talking about their recent acquisition of a rooster. No, really. Okay, it was the ladies room at a local store, but all the same they were discussing the problems they were having with the newest addition to their backyard chicken coop. Mainly it consisted of "they fought the rooster and the rooster won". It reminded me of something I once read that said "remember you are not a chicken, there is no need to enter into a contest of strength with a rooster". Supposedly you're not to make the rooster feel threatened or frightened. The rooster will warn you that he is feeling intimidated by doing a fighting jig, much like you see boxers do in the ring. If this happens you are to back away and they will dismiss you. Right. Here is my take on the aggressive rooster problem. First, a lot of people new to raising chickens think they need a rooster. You don't, unless you want chicks. Second, if you have a rooster that you don't want, or need, or can't change with positive behavior modification, there's nothing that says you can't sell him, give him away, or serve chicken fricassee for supper. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.