Hastings On Farm Bill & Pushing Russian Exports

Hastings On Farm Bill & Pushing Russian Exports plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

We have been hearing a lot about the fiscal cliff and those tax hikes but almost nothing regarding a farm bill. Washington Congressman Doc Hastings feels it’s in the President’s and the Senates court.

HASTINGS: There still is some talk that there will be a farm bill and I’m cautiously optimistic because the speaker has said that we hope to address that by the end of the year and I hope that happens. Talks are going on right now on the fiscal cliff but let me be real specific. Most of the discussion back here is on the tax issue but that’s not the issue. The issue is the spending side and the House passed a bill last summer that addressed the spending side as it relates to entitlements and so forth.

From today through the 7th - USDA Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse will lead a mission to Russia - promoting U.S. ag exports to the country - with representatives from Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Kansas - and 23 American companies. Only one-percent of U.S. companies export today - even though 95-percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the U.S. - yet the U.S. ag economy is experiencing its strongest period in history with record exports and near-record income for farm families.

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

Consumer Reports released a study last week that stated pork is unsafe to eat because of low levels of “bad bacteria” found in 198 test samples. Does this mean we should avoid pork? In response to safety concerns over the study, the USDA was quick to point out that the low levels of common pathogens found by the Consumer Reports study actually showed that “pork processors are meeting federal food safety requirements, and that the findings reported in the article affirm that companies are meeting the established guidelines for protecting the public’s health”. A number of other food safety experts agreed with the USDA’s response, and went a step further in stating that a test sampling of less than 200 was too small for any definitive decision. They also emphasized that pork is safe to consume, and that common sense precautions in the handling of raw pork products, such as cooking pork sufficiently and using good hand washing technique after handling raw meat, will go a long way in helping consumers avoid exposure to food borne pathogens. So enjoy your pork, beef, lamb, chicken - just remember wash your hands, sanitize utensils, and cook meat well. Did I mention, wash your hands?

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