2017 Census of Ag & Cherries Off To Good Start

2017 Census of Ag & Cherries Off To Good Start plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Seems like we just completed the Census of Ag but already USDA is looking at the 2017 Census and how it can be improved. National Agricultural Statistics Service Administrator Joseph Reilly says that the first stage is to ask what changes to make in the next questionnaire. NASS Census and Survey Division Director Renee Picanso says there are many industries looking for data that NASS doesn't already collect along with some items people may think are no longer relevant with changing trends in agriculture.USDA will accept content suggestions for the 2017 Census until August 4th. Comments may be submitted online.

The 2014 cherry crop for the northwest has been going at a rapid pace for the last 26 or so days. An estimate of 21-million boxes, while not a record crop is certainly a large one according to NW Cherries, BJ Thurlby.

THURLBY: You know our biggest challenge is making sure our product is out there and getting the same attention that grapes are getting, strawberries are getting and blueberries are getting and by all accounts and looking at the fruit and looking at a broad picture of the United States and Canada and the world cherries are just now starting to take center stage and should hold that stage for the next 3 or 4 weeks.

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

Over the last several years drought has hit in at least one if not several areas of the country. Seasoned farmers with years of experience fighting such things as droughts, floods, disease and pests will tell you that when you go into farming you know that all of those things and more are a very real possibility at any given time. Thankfully, not always at the same time or the at the same intensity. The newest report on the risks of climate change to the U.S. economy entitled "Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in the U.S." paints a dire picture of what climate change left unchecked could do to the American economy and the effect it could have on ag production by mid-century and beyond, predicting that crop yields in the Midwest and Southern states will drop dramatically due to extreme heat, while warmer temperatures and extended growing seasons for Northern farmers will increase crop yields. Many ag experts are stating that while this report's predictions on climate change could very well be spot on, it doesn't take into account the resilience and the adaptability of ag producers.

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