Expect E15 Soon & Ag Jobs Increasing

Expect E15 Soon & Ag Jobs Increasing plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen expects approvals soon for companies to begin offering E15 at their fueling stations. He said the Environmental Protection Agency has received applications from marketers who want to sell the blend. As part of the rollout, the EPA will require marketers to create and fund E15 fuel surveys to test the ethanol content and Reid vapor pressure of the biofuel, as well as verify that E15 labels are correctly placed on pumps.

An analysis of 2011 trends from AgCareers.com yields a positive outlook for the agriculture industry. Agriculture companies are anticipating gains, rewarding employees and looking to fill job openings with qualified talent. AgCareers.com recently published the 2011 U.S. Agribusiness Job Report and the 2011 Canadian Agribusiness Job Report and found that job postings were up significantly from the previous year, demonstrating the strength of the agriculture industry. Jobs posted ranged in industry type, such as agronomy, crop protection/chemicals, biotechnology, dairy, equipment/machinery, etc., which appeal to a large audience of candidates. Posted jobs were from a wide variety of career types, from manager to technician.

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

It’s now officially spring, and warm temperatures across a good portion of the country have a lot of people itching to plant. But remember, it’s only nearing the end of March. Even though most of us have experienced a fairly mild winter and are currently experiencing warmer than usual temperatures we shouldn’t get carried away as Mother Nature has been know to throw some pretty serious winter like weather our way clear into mid April. What we can do though is take advantage of these abnormally warm days by getting the pre-planting things done. Farmers do field work, in terms of tillage and pre-plant herbicide applications, and gardeners can do roughly the same type of things by removing all dead material, digging up the soil, and preparing it for planting. This is a good time to map out your garden as well. Be sure to look over all your tools now, and replace any that are broken, or sharpen those that are dull. Just remember, garden soil can actually suffer damage if it’s worked too soon in the spring, while it may be still wet and sticky. It will develop hard clumps and becomes compacted. Be patient, and you’ll be up to your elbows in garden goodies very soon!

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