EPA Changes & Vilsack Looks Back

EPA Changes & Vilsack Looks Back plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Last Thursday EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson tendered her resignation from President Obama’s Cabinet. She will step down early next year. The President had some positive things to say about Jackson in a statement released to the press. Quote - “Over the last four years, Lisa Jackson has shown an unwavering commitment to the health of our families and our children. Under her leadership, the EPA has taken sensible and important steps to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink.”

And Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack took a few minutes to talk about some of agricultures accomplishments and challenges this past year.

VILSACK: 2012 has been a tough year for many farm families and rural American’s. A record drought impacted much of the country and many were impacted by a major hurricane, flooding, severe storms and more. Thanks to the resilience of rural American’s our communities are still going strong. Over the course of this year USDA continued our record efforts to help all American’s. I’m really proud of these efforts. From supporting farmers to furthering business, our wide range of accomplishments stands as proof that USDA touches ever American, everyday. Since 2009 we’ve achieved record results in almost every part of what we do and I look forward to accomplishing even more in the year to come.

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

It is a very dangerous game of “chicken” that Congress has played with the nation’s economy. Democrats are blaming Republicans, and Republicans are blaming the Democrats for the pending fiscal cliff and the lack of a farm bill. It isn’t that they can’t come to an agreement, it’s that they refuse to. Funny thing though, we will all end up going over the proverbial “fiscal cliff” at the same time. It became quite apparent some time back that no one in D.C. will be looking out for us, and since we have all had plenty of warning, we should have been proactive and talked with our own tax advisors to figure out what, if anything, we can do to minimize our own personal injury from such a fall. The “if anything” is the scary part. The lack of a farm bill has farmers and ranchers scrambling to figure out if they should pay taxes this year instead of next year? Should they buy land, sell land? Should they be carrying expenses into next year, and bring income into this year? Mayan calendar not withstanding, 2012 will definitely be going out with a big bang, and that means 2013 is definitely going to be the year for damage control.

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