OR-7 Pups & Weather Issues

Wildlife biologists in Oregon's Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest have announced the birth of a pair of wolf pups from their celebrity wolf, OR-7. Remote cameras had recently picked up OR-7 being followed by a new black female wolf and biologists suspected she was the new mate. Biologists have subsequently returned to the area and taken photos of the two pups and collected fecal samples for DNA testing which will take several weeks to see results come back. OR-7, also known as Journey, is a male gray wolf being electronically tracked throughout Oregon and California and is the first confirmed wolf in western Oregon since 1947, and the first in California since 1924.

While the Pacific Northwest has been enjoying some wonderful late spring weather other parts of the nation are not. Parts of the west and southwest are baking in high heat while according to meteorologist Brad Rippey, the midwest is getting storm after storm which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

RIPPEY: Those areas still have some lingering subsoil moisture deficits dating all the way back to the drought of 2012 and except for local flooding, flash flooding and thunderstorms we do expect to see that the fields should be able to absorb these rainfall totals fairly easily and in fact that may help to boost the subsoil moisture profile.

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

June is National Dairy Month. The dairy industry takes this time to further educate the general public on the nutritional benefits of including dairy foods in their daily diet, as well as helping consumers understand where those dairy products at the local supermarket really come from. Perhaps not surprisingly, a large percentage of school age children believe the milk and other dairy products they enjoy originate from the grocery store. More surprisingly though, is the number of adults who, while well aware that milk comes from a cow, are not entirely knowledgable of how dairy products are produced, and how they're transported from dairy farms to the markets. There's a definite science involved in the producing, collecting, and processing of milk and other dairy products that children and grownups alike can appreciate and enjoy learning about. So this month celebrate "30 Days of Dairy". There's no tastier way to get your daily requirement of calcium, not to mention potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin, and niacin - just to name a few.

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