Saving American Workers & Egg Prices Up

Saving American Workers & Egg Prices Up plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Republicans are working hard to repeal Obama's Affordable Care Act. Especially the 30-hour definition of a "full time" employee. Oregon's Greg Walden says it is causing workers to lose money.

WALDEN: In various town meetings around the district and letters and emails that I have received it's very clear that the affordable care act is causing workers to lose pay because employers are cutting back their work hours from 40 hours a week to 30 to escape the federal mandate. The legislation we passed today could amount in a 25% pay increase for people in our district who have otherwise seen their hours cut back. This is another one of those unintended, painful consequences of a law that got crammed through Congress without enough time for people to fully understand its implication in the real world.

Well according to American Farm Bureau Federation's Semi-Annual Marketbasket Survey - retail egg prices are historically high at one-dollar and 98-cents per dozen - but there will be enough eggs for Easter and Passover. Last year - U.S. egg exports were up by 39-percent compared to 2012. Much of the increase resulted from increased exports to Mexico. U.S. poultry farmers are working to catch up with the surge in demand. Table egg production has increased in each of the past three years and is expected to increase by another 1.5-percent this year.

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

When cooking some people can just start throwing things together and end up with a delicious meal, never once having to follow a recipe. I've been told that I tend to be this way. But I've found when it comes to gardening things aren't quite that simple. Sometimes I have great success in the garden, sometimes not so much. One thing I haven't done in the past and probably should have, is to have the soil in the garden tested before I begin to plant. As most Master Gardeners will tell you a soil test can be extremely beneficial for your plants. Your local extension agent should be able to help connect you with a soil testing facility. You'll then find out whether your garden soil needs phosphorus or potassium. Plus, you can ask for micronutrients, because the pH levels of the soil are very important when it comes to a garden's success. The testing agency will be able to make recommendations for your garden that will save you a lot of guess work over the long growing season. So before you set out to plant your garden, have the soil tested. If you don't, you may just be passing up the chance to have the healthiest and most productive garden on the block.

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