Fertilizer Industry Responds & Census of Ag

Fertilizer Industry Responds & Census of Ag plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

The tragic explosion at the West Texas fertilizer plant last week has raised a lot of questions about other facilities and whether or not this can happen at other facilities. Jim Fitzgerald with Far West Agribusiness.

FITZGERALD: My response, Greg, would be no. Fertilizer has been around a long time. I have and most people have never even heard of an explosion, particularly of that magnitude so until we determine what caused that I would say there is absolutely no concern. What I hope is that the public doesn’t lose sight of the fact that fertilizer affects all of us. It increases the yields depending on the crop as much as six-fold and it’s really responsible for and abundant food supply both domestically as well as foreign. Because we have a good food supply it’s less expensive than it is in other parts of the world which affords us the opportunity to have a little better lifestyle.

The deadline for responding to the Census of Agriculture has long passed but officials are telling people that it is not too late to fill out the 2012 census forms. The Census is conducted every 5 years and is important as it is used by everyone who provides services to farmers and rural communities - including federal, state and local governments, agribusinesses.

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

I have a pet peeve, actually I have several, but this one takes center stage, and that’s people who refuse to put down their cell phones or texting devices even while placing an order at a restaurant , buying something in a shop, or conversing with the “in the flesh” person next to them. And now they’re talking about “wearable technology”! Wait, isn’t a cell phone permanently attached to someone’s hand morning, noon, and night, no matter what activity they are participating in, considered wearable technology? Technology is great, and it’s definitely necessary. I believe I touched on that point last week, but there is a time and a place for it. We have become a society that is so busy socializing through instant messaging, and social networking sites that we seem to have forgotten how to interact with each other face to face. And if you think this is a jab a teenagers, it’s not. This is a phenomenon that is affecting all ages. I saw a grandmother the other day completely oblivious to what her young granddaughter was trying to tell her because she was engrossed in texting someone else. That’s a moment in time she’ll never get back. The art of real conversation may be lost, but it doesn’t have to be extinct. Put down the device, and get back in touch.

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