Hot Weather & Vilsack Urges Action

Hot Weather & Vilsack Urges Action plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

With the U.S. House of Representatives scheduled to take up the farm bill Wednesday morning - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was out drumming up support for the measure - underlining the need for certainty for producers and ranchers alike - saying they need to know what to expect down the road.

VILSACK: What it’s going to be for the next 5 years, what it’s going to look like, what’s the research commitment going to be, where are we going to head with conservation and energy and so forth. All of that requires the House of Representatives to take action. Chairman Lucas and Colin Peterson, Ranking member are working together in a bi-partisan way to get the bill through their ag committee.

There’s a possibility there may be no action if Congress spends time readdressing the Obama Health care legislation - and Vilsack says that seems like a lost opportunity for time.

The thermometer in my car read 110 degrees the other day. I could not believe it! I quickly pulled into the garage and before heading for the air conditioned comfort of my easy chair, I checked to make sure the family dog had plenty of fresh cool water and shade. Make sure you do the same and please...leave your pets at home instead of taking them to the store and leaving them in the car. Speaking of hot weather, here’s Lacy Gray with today’s Food Forethought.

With the majority of the nation already suffering from sweltering conditions over the last few weeks I felt slightly guilty for complaining about the 100+ degree weather we’ve had the last couple of days. We actually bounced off 109. I asked my 92 year old mom-in-law how in the world they coped with the heat before there was a/c, and large oscillating fans. Her answers were quite interesting and inspiring for anyone who finds themselves without electricity during a heatwave. She told of how her mom used to hang wet bedsheets across windows and doors in an attempt to cool any breeze coming in. Handheld fans or large ceiling fans were also employed to beat the heat. Of course, if you were lucky, your home had plenty of shade trees planted on the east and west sides to block the summer sun, minimizing heat and cooling any breezes. This is one reason the front porch or screened sleeping porches became so popular. People often slept on their porches rather than inside in hot bedrooms. Those lucky enough to have a basement spent a lot of time “underground”. Now days, it’s nice to know that the a/c is there, but it’s also good to know that, if we absolutely have to, we can make do without it.

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