Pets Get Short End & Korea Still Stalled

Pets Get Short End & Korea Still Stalled plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Even though some officials tell us the economic crunch is over, those of us who have real lives know better. New unemployment figures show more and more people out of jobs and with that some family members are getting the short end. Our pets. Reports from all over the northwest are that more dogs, cats, even horses are being abandoned and shelters are stretched to take in the pets. If you have the resources to help, contact your local animal shelter.

With Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack making his way from Vietnam to China he hopes to use the Korean Free Trade agreement as a model. But the Korean agreement has stalled and Vilsack is confident their Parliament will act.

VILSACK: We are going to have a free trade arrangement with Korea and when we do it’s going to be one that’s beneficial to agriculture. It’s one we anticipate and expect will allow us to continue to grow export opportunities because Koreans as is the case here in Vietnam as is the case in China, understand and appreciate that the American brand of agricultural product whatever it might be, whether it’s a fruit or vegetable or livestock is high quality and affordable.

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

Can you believe it? This week will issue in the Thanksgiving holiday, and if you’re like me, you’re still wondering what the heck happened to summer! This sneak attack by the holiday season found my hubby and I frantically loading up the grocery cart late one evening this past weekend with the all the necessary goodies for making Thanksgiving dinner. Well, almost all the goodies. Seems we’re not the only ones who enjoy fresh turnips and brussels sprouts with our turkey, both were completely wiped out, and the fresh cranberries were also slim pickings. We rushed back frantically to make sure there were still turkeys to be had and indeed there were, although the turkey prices left both of us standing there slack jawed and with glazed eyes. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise though as reports lately state turkey is in high demand, with U.S.production of turkey up by two percent this year, and exports of turkey meat up twenty-four percent, which is a good thing. All in all turkey is still very affordable holiday fare; being that with the turkey and all the fixings you can still feed a family of ten for well under four dollars a person. And of course then there’s the left overs!

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