Reading the Label & Successful CRP Sign Up

Reading the Label & Successful CRP Sign Up plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. The results are in on the first general Conservation Reserve signup in four years. USDA officials say they are very pleased with the big response from producers. Brandon Willis, with the USDA's Farm Service Agency. WILLIS: First of all, 50-thousand producers having signed up at a time when many people are out in the field harvesting crops, I think that's good. Especially when this was a sign up when some prices for commodities were spiking. Second of all, I think we saw that we got some of our most valuable land enrolled. In this sign up, 83% of the land offered was above 8 or was highly erodible. Last sign up that was only 60%. If you read the label, you just might lose weight or so says Washington State University Economist Bidisha Mandal who has found that middle-aged Americans who want to lose weight and who take up the label-reading habit are more likely to lose weight than those who don't. In some cases, label reading is even more effective than exercise. Women are more likely to read food labels when they buy a product for the first time, possibly because they are responsible for buying food and cooking. They are also more successful than men in losing weight. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. Think garlic is only good for warding off vampires? Guess again. Garlic, long known for its strong aromatic properties is branching out into other areas. No longer is garlic used only in ethnic food fare, it can be found as an ingredient in numerous health and beauty products as well; think effective antibiotic, or even aphrodisiac. There's also a wide variety of different garlic, ranging from sweet, to rich and complex; all garlic is not the same. I have always been a garlic lover and was pleasantly surprised to find out I was not alone in my passion for all things garlic. There are even festivals held primarily in honor of garlic, such as the Chehalis Garlic Festival, where those seeking to satiate their culinary garlic appetites can indulge in such delectable palate pleasers as garlic fries, garlic salsas, pickled garlic, and even garlic ice cream. On the flip side, garlic can be used in the garden as an effective pest repellant; it can even safely protect the family pet from fleas and ticks. Ancient civilizations knew about the amazing and extensive benefits of using garlic, and we are finally waking up to what they knew so long ago, garlic is great! Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.