3-29 IAN Otter on Japan

The Tsunami in Japan and its affect on agriculture in Idaho. No one needs to be reminded of the horrible earthquake and accompanying tsunami in Japan. I sat down with Gov. Otter and asked him about the ramifications to Idaho’s agricultural community.  “First off let me say what a disaster, my heart goes out to those folks who have to deal with that. What we’re starting to see now is in some places like in milk, and some of the fast growing vegetables that have huge vascular systems, that can pick up solar or other sources of energy as a  result of their ability to photosynthesize and grow. Spinach is one of them so I’m sure it’ll be showing up in lettuce and any leafy vegetable that is actually just a storehouse of the sun’s energy. Those kinds of items will probably be scarce over their so they will probably be grown somewhere else that will be at least a temporary market increase opportunity for those areas that do grow that stuff. Probably in the South and in the Southwest of the United States. But also just because of the disruption of the industry itself because of the effects of the tsunami I would expect that we will be in a supply line with cereal grains for noodles, bread, whatever. And with our various varietals of wheat and our ability to ship out of Lewiston, Idaho, I think probably we will see an up tick in that market.