Block On Farm Bill & Expansion of Wind Energy

Block On Farm Bill & Expansion of Wind Energy

Block On Farm Bill & Expansion of Wind Energy plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Former Reagan Ag Secretary John Block does not see House Republican leaders doing a farm bill when Congress returns in September. Block says all eyes will be focused on November. Block agrees with the need for certainty in farm policy that a five-year bill would bring. But the former GOP Ag Secretary doesn’t think House Republican leaders will have the votes to do a farm bill in September any more than they did in August.

BLOCK: A farm bill in September has been very questionable and doubtful all along and all the attention right now is on this election and I really will be quite surprised if we get the farm bill in September.

The Department of Energy has released a report on the expansion of wind energy in the U.S. and the U.S. manufacturing that is supporting the surge. The nation was one of the world’s largest and fastest growing wind markets in the world in 2011. Wind power represented 32-percent of all new electric capacity added in the U.S. last year. The states of Texas, Iowa, California, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, Colorado and North Dakota were leading the way with the most installed wind capacity at the end of 2011 and account for almost 75-percent of U.S. wind capacity.

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

Most farmers markets across the nation have been in full swing now since late May. Nothing is quite as pleasurable as shopping at the local farmers market. With the popularity of the “eat local” movement continuing to grow by leaps and bounds, the current count of successfully operating farmers markets in the nation is now over seven thousand. While most of these are seasonal, there are a handful that are open year round. I recently had several friends confess that while they enjoy shopping at the local farmers market, they doesn’t always feel knowledgable about what they’re buying. I promptly told them that they’re not alone and that they shouldn’t feel shy about it. What they need to do next time they find themselves unsure of what a certain vegetable is, or how they should or could prepare it, just ask the farmer minding the stand. They won’t bite, and they’re generally more than happy to share their wealth of knowledge with their customers. It’s not unusual at all to come away from a farmers market with not only a wonderful array of fresh produce, but tips on how to cook, serve, preserve, and yes even grow particular specimens.

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

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