First Day of Spring, Fraudulent Letters & Food Prices

First Day of Spring, Fraudulent Letters & Food Prices plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

While we slept the world experienced the Vernal Equinox signaling the beginning of spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. The days and the nights are for an instant, equal in length. An old saying is to not say it’s spring until you can put your foot on 9 daisies.

On Friday the USDA learned that fraudulent letters are being sent by FAX to individuals and businesses in at least four states.  The letters purportedly come from a USDA procurement officer identified as “Frank Rutenberg”, bear USDA’s logo and seal and seek personal information.  These letters are false and in no case should a recipient respond with personal and financial information. Letters have been received in Alabama, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but may have also been sent to other states. Recipients should not respond and should not supply the requested information.

Food prices are starting to level off and USDA Economist Ricky Volpe explains how the latest monthly Consumer Food Price Index compares with forecasts for prices in 2012.

VOLPE: As we look across the various prices we can see thankfully for products where we saw inflation really pick up in the second half of 2011, so for beef and pork and for dairy and for eggs we see that inflation has really slowed down or even turned around looking at the month over month numbers for all these products.

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

Looks like we’ll be getting a new license plate for our car next year, one that will have the 4-H logo - green four-leaf clovers with an "H" on each leaf. Starting in 2013, drivers here in our state can buy a 4-H license plate for $40, and about $28 of it will go towards 4-H youth development. In contrast to all the vanity plates out there that leave most people shaking their heads wondering what in the world they actually represent, the 4-H plates will be recognizable at a glance.
Another plus is that the plates will also bring recognition to the more than 90,000 children and 10,000 adult volunteers in the program. I’ve long been a supporter of the 4-H program. Don’t worry I’m not going to regale you with the pledge again, but I will urge people to do all they can to help these valuable clubs, which focus on making children better through community service, learning activities in agriculture, crafts, performing arts, health, leadership, and science. In this day and age, where most things don’t make it to the twenty, or even ten year mark, wouldn’t it be nice to take part in helping a program that’s been around for 110 years survive another one hundred years?

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