USDA Webinars & Sipster

USDA Webinars & Sipster plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

A new smartphone app could just help you find a place to enjoy a refreshing glass of northwest wine, beer or cider along with some good eats. Kristin Yanick with Blind Renaissance talks about the app called Sipster.

YANICK: The app is going to show you the GPS coordinates that those wineries, sip spots, restaurants - all those places I've described, where they're at and how you get there. Say you go to Chelan, Washington. There are hundreds of wineries up there and how do you know not only which wineries you want to go to but what wines you loved at that winery.

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is inviting fruit and vegetable growers, packers, shippers, processors, wholesalers and retailers of all sizes to participate in a series of free, interactive webinars on its many programs and services. Each webinar will feature a presentation from a USDA expert, introductions to staff and an interactive question and answer session. Four webinars are currently scheduled from March until June. Each webinar is scheduled for one hour - beginning at eleven o'clock Pacific time. Registration is required and space is limited. Contact USDA's AMS for more information.

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

National FFA Week is February 15 - 22. There are now nearly 580 thousand FFA members aged 12 to 21 across the country, and every year they utilize FFA week as an opportunity to reach out and educate the public about the FFA organization and the importance of the ag industry. Many FFA members will be visiting elementary and middle schools to talk with young students about where their food comes from and the people who work hard to provide that food. They also connect with state and local government leaders and perform community service projects. In 1969 FFA opened its membership to girls, and in 1976 Washington student Julie Smiley was elected as the first female national FFA officer. Interestingly, 44% of FFA members are currently female, with women holding approximately 50% of state leadership positions. And if you think FFA chapters are found just in rural communities, think again. There are FFA chapters in eighteen of the twenty largest U.S. cities, including Chicago, New York and Philadelphia.

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