Russian Wheat Ban & Governor Won't Run

Russian Wheat Ban & Governor Won’t Run plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

The Russian ban on grain exports is about to end, but how much grain will they be able to sell? Here’s USDA’s Gerry Bange.

BANGE: I would say that perhaps there is a great deal of optimism in those countries which I’m not sure we would buy into quite yet. It’s still fairly early in the season. And basically I think what the Russians and Ukranians are saying is we’re going to try to get back into the export market if we can and we’re not going to prohibit that but the fact of the matter is that crop’s got a long way to go.

Washington’s Governor Christine Gregoire has announced her decision to not seek a third term at a news conference at the Governor's Mansion. Gregoire said she had no plans after leaving office except to spend more time with her family. Gregoire was first elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2008. Both elections were considered very controversial against Republican Dino Rossi. Washington’s Attorney General, Rob McKenna has already announced his plans to run. Gregoire has urged Jay Inslee to also run for the seat. Gregoire has spent much of this year guiding budget negotiations as lawmakers seek to fill a $5 billion budget shortfall.

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

As more states follow Arizona’s lead and adopt stricter immigration laws, civil rights activists are furious. But why? We are talking illegal immigrants here, not American citizens. Yes, an awareness of human rights needs to be in play here, but demanding United States citizens’ rights for illegal immigrants should not. Claims that such immigration laws are unconstitutional falls flat when considering the intended target of these laws are illegals. Should law enforcement officers be able to check immigration status of individuals they’ve stopped for other law violations, of course. Should businesses be required to check the legal status of workers they hire, by all means. What part of the definition of “illegal” are these activists not getting? Illegals do not have rights under the U.S. Constitution other than human rights. If more of these tough immigration laws were in place, we could take resources currently going to illegal immigrants and apply them to immigrants who have gone the legal route; giving them education, language, and business assistance. Illegal immigration is against the law. We need to stop rewarding and defending it.

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