Snowpack & Farm Labor Conference

Snowpack & Farm Labor Conference plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

The lack of snow this winter has left a lot of questions for the northwest ag industry but primarily, will there be enough water? All across the northwest farmers are looking to the skies for rain or snow. And without that moisture it could also be a bad fire season so it will be important for forest managers to keep a high watch. Idaho recently received some snow but it is melting quickly and will probably not impact the shortage very much.

Farm labor is going to be featured in an upcoming conference. If you are an ag manager or owner you will probably want to attend this conference according to WA Farm Labor Association's Dan Fazio.

FAZIO: Every year, we take a day to update owners and HR directors about the important developments in labor and workforce issues – and this year we have had a ton of them – from hot goods to Obamacare to immigration reform. We will be covering them all at our 10th annual WA Farm Labor Association Labor Conference on Thursday, February 13 at the Tri Cities Convention Center in Kennewick.

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

Congress is on a week long Martin Luther King holiday recess this week and the farm bill remains stalled. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke recently at the American Farm Bureau Federation's 95th annual convention and reiterated the importance of our nation's farmers, who make up less than 2 percent of the population while providing food, fuel, and fiber for the other 98 percent. He went on to say that "there is no more important job than that", and that those within the ag industry need to make those who aren't understand the importance of what farmers and ranchers do. Vilsack joined millions of Americans in voicing his concerns that the passage of a farm bill is long overdue. He also pointed out that with the approval of the legislation several provisions of the farm bill that benefit rural America, farmers and ranchers will be restored, such as programs for disaster assistance, crop and conservation insurance, and trade promotion, along with new initiatives that will assist military veterans and beginning farmers interested in reconnecting with the land. His bottom line, "we need this farm bill and we need it now."

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