Idaho Water Shut Down & Record Blueberry Crop

Idaho Water Shut Down & Record Blueberry Crop plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Water has been an issue in Idaho this year. There just has not been enough of it and now there won’t be any. Irrigation districts have announced that they are turning off the water supply earlier than normal this year due to the lack of water. Some farmers and homeowners could see the water turned off as early as September 1st. Many farmers are trying to figure out what they will do when the supply is turned off since crops and livestock don’t stop needing fresh water.

The 2013 blueberry harvest is nearing completion on the east side of the cascades and according to Alan Schreiber with the Washington Blueberry Commission it looks like another record harvest.

SCHREIBER: We’re going to have a record year in terms of volume. We’ve had a lot of growth in our industry both east and west. Perhaps the most remarkable thing was we had some cool weather, we had some warm weather and then we had some cool weather earlier in the season and it resulted in a kind of concentrated set of fruit.

The forecast is for 80-million pounds of blueberries this year in Washington.

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

My grandparents always had a large garden which provided the whole family with all kinds of fresh produce throughout the summer months. Then as summer waned and fall approached you could find them bright and early every morning in their kitchen canning either vegetables or fruit of some kind. The family then continued to reap the benefits of that one very productive garden throughout the winter months. My sister and I were often coerced into helping out with the canning preparation. After all we did enjoy eating Grandma and Grandpa’s garden bounty too. Grandma was always very particular about her canning. At the time as a pre-teen or teenager I couldn’t understand why everything had to be chopped and prepared just so, but Grandma knew that you have to go “by the book” and have the proper equipment when canning to keep home canned foods bacteria free. I remember back then thinking I would never want to can anything ever again. Now, I would give anything to be sitting back in Grandma’s kitchen peeling a large tub of blanched tomatoes as she prepares the jars and chats about what’s happening with the neighbors.

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