Butterflies Not Necessarily Good & Complaints Ignored

Butterflies Not Necessarily Good & Complaints Ignored

Butterflies Not Necessarily Good & Complaints Ignored plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. A lot of attention has been given recently to those pretty little white butterflies around pine trees in the NW. The pine butterfly is in the middle of one of its occasional population surges. The larvae of the small white butterflies can harm trees, but are usually short-lived. The butterflies deposit masses of eggs in pine trees, and when the caterpillars emerge they start munching needles. The insect has caused major problems in Idaho, Montana and Washington State in the past. The massive egg recall from two Iowa producers has turned into some finger pointing as a couple of former workers at Wright County Egg facilities said they reported problems such as leaking manure and dead chickens to USDA employees, but nothing was done. The USDA "graders" worked in buildings adjacent to where hens laid eggs, focusing on weighing, measuring and inspecting eggs before they were packaged. When told about the problems they suggested the employees ignore it. The salmonella outbreak has led to a recall of about 550 million eggs. The USDA currently has an egg surveillance program in which inspectors visit packing facilities four times a year to ensure eggs are properly graded, but they don't go into hen houses. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. The first Labor Day was originally designated in the political proposal of the time as a public exhibition to recognize the strength and spirit of trade and labor organizations. Unless you are a big history buff the direct connection of this holiday to worker strikes, riots, and even deaths in an attempt to bring about better working conditions goes unrecognized; but for these very reasons in the late 1880's emphasis was more on the political, economic, and civil origins of the holiday. Today the Labor Day holiday has come to signify the end of summer to most people and one of the last times they can relax, enjoy time off from work, and celebrate until the winter holidays roll around. Any political gatherings or speeches surrounding Labor Day have been moved to the "back burner" for the most part, unless of course it happens to be an election year. Whether your Labor Day celebration this year includes a picnic, barbecue, sporting event, or arts festival, try to remember to raise a glass in honor of the brave, hard working people of our nations past who through their perseverance and tenacity brought about a better workplace environment for all of us. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.
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