Deer Accidents & Modest Improvement
Deer Accidents & Modest Improvement plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.
You know they’re out there lurking in the shadows just waiting for you to drive down a dark country road and when you least expect it...leap out into your path. No, not the boogyman but deer. That “deer in the headlights” stare has caught many of us by surprise. But a new study by a national auto insurer suggests that Oregon and Washington drivers do better than most U.S. motorists when it comes to reacting to wildlife darting out of the woods and onto the road. State Farm ranked Oregon 35th on its annual report on “deer-vehicle collision frequency.” Washington did even better, landing 44th.
After a dismal 2009, the collective bottom line for Oregon's farmers and ranchers last year showed modest improvement according to new statistics released by the US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. Brent Searle of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
SEARLE: Overall, agriculture did a little better in 2010 than 2009. We are up eight percent in net farm income. So a little bit on the upside, but a very slow dig out of a precipitous fall in 2008.
Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.
What animal could be considered the most destructive and invasive species in the United States? The answer might very well surprise you as it’s not rats, dogs, or wolves; it’s pigs, feral pigs to be exact. With an estimated count of over two million roaming the southern portion of the country alone wild hogs are proving themselves to be an alarmingly cunning and aggressive foe. They usually do most of their mischief making at night, destroying urban landscapes as well as rural farm lands and the natural environment in search of food. Imagine walking your trash out to the curb some evening only to come face to face with one of these three hundred pound pests. The problem with feral pigs has gotten so bad across the nation that even the federal government has become involved because of the immense impact they have on everything from agriculture and natural resources to other animals and human health and safety. The USDA’s management plan includes controlled feral pig trapping and hunting in order to thin out and gain control over an invasive and destructive species that can easily double their population every four months.
Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.
