Postage Rate Hike & Quiet Time

I collect stamps as a passing hobby. I was struck the other day in looking though my collection that is wasn't that long ago that we were only paying about a quarter for a first class stamp. Now the U.S. Postal Service is eyeing yet another rate hike to offset the hemorrhaging business. The Post Office is seeking a mere 1-cent raise but says it would bring in another $2-billion dollars a year. They must first get the approval of its regulatory panel, the Postal Regulatory Commission, before it can raise prices over the rate of inflation.

Well the weather is certainly turning here in the northwest and that has brought cooler temps and some moisture to some areas. Meteorologist Brad Rippey says it has been kinda quiet.

RIPPEY: As we move into late September, the calendar has turned to Autumn and it's really been surprisingly quiet for the most part - the Colorado floods notwithstanding. At the present time there are no tropical systems named in either the Atlantic nor the Pacific, the eastern Pacific basic. And there are no active, large wildfires at this time so again aside from the historic flooding in Colorado and on the South Platte River we are seeing relatively tranquil conditions.

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

Despite the recent court decision to deny their motion for a preliminary injunction to block implementation of the USDA's final rule on country of origin labeling, several livestock and meat industry groups aren't giving up just yet. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council, and the American Association of Meat Processors are among the nine U.S., Canadian, and Mexican meat and livestock groups appealing that decision. They contend that the COOL rule violates their First Amendment protection from compelled speech and would require "costly and detailed labels on meat products that do not directly advance a substantial government interest". This all started because the WTO ruled that previous labeling practices were unfair to Mexico and Canada. The COOL rule requires that meat labels include information about where the originating animal was born, raised and slaughtered, so the new rules might result in meat labels reading, "Born in Mexico, raised in Canada, slaughtered in United States". So far, the WTO hasn't determined if the new COOL rules would remedy the violation.

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