Potato Trade & Ag Day

Potato Trade & Ag Day plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Mexico is about to open their doors to bi-lateral potato trade. It has been a long time coming and will be good for both the U.S. and Mexican potato industries according to National Potato Council's John Keeling.

KEELING: It's obviously an exciting opportunity. Mexico has 130-million people so it's an exciting opportunity to be able to market to most of those folks. I think that growers and shippers will take it slow and try to work their way into the markets in a thoughtful way. We have to be sure that we are shipping quality product to Mexico and that we manage the phytosanitary risk that's appropriate to that country and it's going to take some time to develop those markets in a thoughtful way but hopefully that's the way it will be done.

Tomorrow is National Ag Day. What is that? National Ag Day is a day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture. Every year, producers, ag associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless others across the U.S join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture. Ag Day is also a part of Ag Week and many groups are holding special events around the country to help celebrate and educate the importance of agriculture.

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

It's officially spring now, and a lot of people are eager to plant. But remember, it's only the end of March. Even though some areas have experienced a fairly mild winter and may be experiencing warmer than usual temperatures for this time of year we shouldn't get carried away, as Mother Nature has been know to throw some pretty serious winter like weather at us clear into mid April. What we can do is take advantage of abnormally warm early spring days by getting the pre-planting things done. Gardeners can take their cue from farmers who are busy doing field work, in terms of tillage and pre-plant herbicide applications. Gardeners can do roughly the same type of things by removing all dead material, digging up the soil, and preparing it for planting. This is a good time to map out garden areas as well. Remember to look over all your tools now, and replace any that are broken, or sharpen those that are dull. And remember, garden soil can actually suffer damage if it's worked too soon in the spring, while it may still be wet and sticky. So, be patient. You'll be wondering what to do with all those zucchinis before you know it!

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