Working on the Farm Bill & Marketing Local

Working on the Farm Bill & Marketing Local. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

A lot of people are wondering if there will be a farm bill signed in 2012. Washington Congressman Doc Hastings says he feels pretty good that there will be.

HASTINGS: Chairman Lucas has been working on a bi-partisan and bi-cameral way and he has every intention of getting a farm bill out this year. That’s what his intention is, he has been stating that over and over and I do take him at his word.

U.S. ethanol output averaged 906,000 barrels per day last week, up 1.1% from the week earlier, according to the Department of Energy. Inventories rose for the 12th straight week to a new record of 22.1 million barrels, the department said. Production of ethanol-blended gasoline fell to 5.1 million barrels per day, down 2.7% from the previous week and the lowest since Feb. 10.

Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member Pat Roberts commended producers who market their crops locally - pointing out that increasing demand for local food helps bring new opportunities for rural areas but may hide some pitfalls.

ROBERTS: But I must caution that belief that locally grown in purchased food is inherently better, safer, more environmentally sustainable than food produced elsewhere in our country can pit one farmer against another farmer, town against town and state against state.

Now here’s today’s Washington Grange report.

(Grange)

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