Farm Bill Extension & Chinese Trade Mission

Farm Bill Extension & Chinese Trade Mission plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

The House voted Thursday on a one-month extension of the 2008 Farm Bill. The extension bill - filed by House Agriculture Chair Frank Lucas - passed easily on a voice vote. The Senate is not expected to follow suit. The extension will end on January 31st but Washington Congressman Doc Hastings says there may be movement before then.

HASTINGS: In my conversations with Chairman Lucas he thinks that a final resolution can come before that it's just that it won't get done before we leave for the Christmas break.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will travel to Beijing, China to co-chair the 24th session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade on December 19 and 20 with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang. China was the largest supplier of U.S. goods imports in 2012, and the third-largest market for U.S. exports in 2012 (after Canada and Mexico).  U.S. goods exports to China were $110 billion in 2012, up 583 percent since 2000.

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

The extreme overreaction by a Colorado teacher and superintendent over a six year old's awkward attempts to show a little classmate that he really really likes her by continually trying to kiss her hand is just another example of how society has gone overboard when it comes to handling minor discipline issues. For heavens sake he is a six year old with a crush, sit him down and explain to him why he needs to stop when someone asks him to. It often seems that because school teachers, principles, and superintendents are virtually impotent nowadays when it comes to controlling truly serious breeches of conduct in the upper grades they impose over the top disciplinary action in response to minor misconduct on the elementary level. This situation should have been handled by the teacher and the parents without the suspension and sexual harassment claim, the eventual dropping of said claim, and the media circus that has ensued. But perhaps there lies the rub - was the desire for national attention by the "victim's" mother a large driving force behind the whole thing. Current society's penchant for posting every moment of every day on Facebook doesn't help to dispel such situations. It only ignites them. But that's another Food Forethought altogether.

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