USDA Survey & Farm Bill Extension

USDA Survey & Farm Bill Extension

USDA Survey & Farm Bill Extension plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Agriculture Department statisticians are in the final push to get responses from farmers to a major survey. You probably do not have time now to mail in those surveys and Hubert Hamer with the USDA Statistics Service discusses the reports and how to respond at this late date.

HAMER: Obviously producers have had a chance to to receive those questionnaires in the mail and we’re looking to them sending those back. We would ask the producers to go to the website and enter the information directly or respond - we’re going to have data collectors who are going to call them directly and take the information over the phone.

Roll Call is reporting that Congress will attempt to make quick work of a six-month stopgap spending bill as lawmakers are eager to get back on the campaign trail. The Capitol Hill newspaper says the measure could serve as a vehicle for an extension of farm programs. One Senate GOP aide told Roll Call that a farm bill extension is the most realistic option for any unrelated provisions in the continuing resolution. It is unclear whether Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow would support an extension. Also unclear - how long the extension might be.

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

Most old adages are grounded in truth. Take the one about “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, which touts the health benefits of apples. You would be hard pressed to find anybody that argues apples aren’t nutritious. In literature, apples are often referred to as a favored fruit of the Gods. Apple eaters do fall into two distinct categories though, those that are peel eaters, and those that are not. Because my son wouldn’t eat the peel when he was little, my Mom would slice off the peel, eat it, and give the fruit of the apple to him. Should you peel an apple before you eat it? That’s a personal choice really, but when you peel an apple you miss out on some very important phytochemicals, many of which are antioxidants offering beneficial health effects. Studies show that most of the phytochemicals found in apples are concentrated in the apple’s peel. Then of course there’s the loss of heart healthy fiber when an apple is peeled. The soluble fiber found in apple peel has been shown to lower levels of the bad form of cholesterol that can clogs arteries and increase the risk of heart disease. Still it is your choice. Thankfully, my son now eats his apples, peel and all.

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

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