My Plate and Idaho Wheat Problems

My Plate and Idaho Wheat Problems plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

The government has unveiled a new icon to help people make healthier food choices. It's called MyPlate - and U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says it's an uncomplicated symbol to remind people to think about their food choices in order to lead healthier lifestyles.

VILSACK: For Americans to lead happy, productive lives it helps to stay healthy, active and fit. It’s really pretty simple. Choose a healthier plate and balance it with exercise. And in the end it comes down to the choices we make. That’s why I was excited this week to introduce USDA’s new food icon, My Plate; a simple reminder to make healthy food choices. My plate looks just like our plate at mealtime, reminds us to make fruits and vegetables half of our plates each meal on the other side of our plate and in our cup it shows the other important food groups for a healthy meal: whole grains, lean proteins and low fat dairy.

A decrease in global wheat production is already affecting the price of not only the bread you buy but cereal, pasta and just about anything from waffles to whiskey.
Wheat is Idaho's second largest crop, second to the potato. The high demand for a low supply is in theory good for our farmers. But the cooler weather and price of fuel may cause them to lose more money. The price of wheat has gone up a dollar or two per bushel, but farmers aren't cashing in mainly due to the rising costs of producing that wheat crop.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

The subsidization of Peruvian asparagus farmers seemed like a good idea to government officials in the early 1990’s, but has been anything but good for American asparagus growers; in fact, it has been downright devastating. In an effort to slow down the rapid flow of cocaine into the U.S.from Peru the United States at that time started to subsidize a year round Peruvian asparagus industry. It resulted in highly successful and financially prosperous asparagus and cocaine exportations into the U.S.for Peru. Here in the states however that well meaning program has resulted in the demise of a century old industry with the closure of numerous American asparagus processing plants, in turn putting hundreds of asparagus farmers out of business. In an effort to amend these great losses the government included an Asparagus Revenue Market Loss Assistance Payment Program into the 2008 Farm Bill. But as many asparagus farmers would tell you, it was probably too little, too late. Government officials once again are treading that familiar path of good intentions, attesting that it was not their intent to cripple an American industry.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.