Newhouse On Fires & Dryland Farming

Washington State's Freshman Congressman, Dan Newhouse has spent time touring the wildfire areas and recently spoke on the floor of the House in that regard.

NEWHOUSE: Help is needed still as the current fires have only worsened what was already a perilous situation, with more and more homes being destroyed, families being displaced, and severe economic hardship expected in the aftermath. Mr. Speaker, we must remember the losses caused by the catastrophic wildfires of the last two years, and Congress must continue to push to improve forest health and to ensure that this does not happen again.

Well it's not new but it's sure being taken a lot more seriously. Dryland farming has gotten a lot of attention these days due to the extended drought across much of the western U.S. Recently, a dry-farming demonstration by OSU's Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture examined the possibilities of growing food crops without irrigation. They are currently growing four varieties of beans, Yukon Gold potatoes and squash. They are looking onto what other crops might be produced in this dryland manner. It will be interesting to watch.

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