Bugs Invading & The Ag Game

Bugs Invading & The Ag Game

Bugs Invading & The Ag Game plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

One way of teaching people is by playing a game. It makes learning fun and quickly teaches certain skills and information. That idea is being extended to the ag industry abroad. Paul Parker from Columbia University is utilizing large amounts of ag data and incorporating that into an electronic game for farmers in Africa.

PARKER: We kinda wanted to create something that’s really engaging, makes people want to learn about agriculture and so that they have fun doing stuff. It could be tailored for any region so instead of having a general Africa map we could have instead a specific Malawi or Kenya and levels within that would be specific villages or regions and so this game is essentially a template to be scaled for any number of countries or different area.

Mild weather coupled with some early moisture is not only allowing some crops to get a head start on the season but also insects as well. Some scientists are warning that extra effort may be needed this year in some crops to combat the pests. And in a similar event, eastern Washington’s Palouse region has been overtaken by swarms of large flying carpenter ants. Experts are not exactly sure why but the insects have been making a big nuisance of themselves.

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

It appears that Senate Ag Committee chair has backed off on incorporating “egg bill” language into the Senate Farm Bill markup, but as we all know appearances can be deceiving. It is very possible and highly probable that an amendment could be offered on the floor of the Senate that would shove that agreement right back in there. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs, Colin Woodall, says that the language of the “egg bill”, far from involving only the egg industry as the HSUS likes to argue, sets a dangerous precedence for all livestock producers. Indeed, allowing such language into the farm bill opens the door for the federal government to dictate farming practices based on biased information gleamed from special interest groups. Farmers and ranchers have been working with their local veterinarians, university researchers, and other animal health specialists for decades to develop the voluntary animal care practices and guidelines that are successfully used today. Other livestock producers aren’t against UEP’s setting standards for the egg industry; what they’re against is opening the door for future legislation that mandates animal care standards.

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

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