The End of a Legend & Soil Application

The End of a Legend & Soil Application plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Normally when you hear the term soil application you think of some kind of spraying activity...not a cell phone app dealing with your soil. Dillon Beaudette, University of California-Davis says now a new smart phone app called Soilweb can help you determine the soil makeup in your area. BEAUDETTE: It determines the users current location, sends that coordinate to our website that queries the soil database at that point and then it repackages and returns that information to the phone. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big Hopalong Cassidy fan and indeed I have had a few stories here on the subject of Hoppy. Well the sad news is that last week the wife of actor William Boyd who played Hopalong died at the age of 97. Grace Bradley Boyd was an actress in her own right back in the 1930's but gave it up when she married. Bill Boyd died in 1972 and over the years Grace Boyd has helped keep the memory of her husband and his beloved character alive. They did not have any children so it truly is the end of the trail. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. They say it takes all kinds. I'm not sure who "they" are but it does seem to be an astute observation, and more than a just a little insightful. In the case of "tornado alley" being the new thrill seeker vacation destination, I would say "all kinds" would definitely have to include the mentally unbalanced. Having grown up in the Mid-West I know first hand the devastation that a tornado can inflict in a matter of mere seconds. Contrary to Hollywood's romanticizing, the moments after a tornado has touched down, destroyed everything in it's path, and moved on, are not filled with sloppy kisses and high fives; they are moments of utter loss, sorrow, and pain. While extreme weather phenomena can be considered beautiful and fascinating, it should also be considered dangerous, and treated with the utmost caution and respect; not like a thrill ride at an amusement park. What these tourist guides and their high paying customers seem to have forgotten is that while they're out looking for the thrill of a lifetime chasing an elusive tornado, that tornado for someone else means the loss of a lifetime of family valuables and memories, or very possibly, their life. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.