09/04/06 Farm Bill Extension & Wage Hike

Farm Bill Extension & Wage Hike. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. While there's plenty of support for an extension of the current farm bill from farm groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union, and Congressional leaders like Missouri Republican Senator Jim Talent, there's also plenty of opposition. U.S. Ag Secretary Mike Johanns is among those speaking against an extension. And speaking to the Cato Institute in Washington D.C. Thursday, Johanns again expressed that America's farmers deserve more than an extension. JOHANNS: We owe it to our farmers and ranchers to do more than to just rubberstamp the policies of the past. Labor costs for employers with minimum wage workers will increase each January for the next two years, but the good news is that future increases will not be automatic. Democratic leaders in the Legislature and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger struck a deal this week to increase California`s minimum wage $1.25 per hour by January 2008. The minimum wage boost to $7.50 per hour on Jan. 1, 2007, will make California`s minimum wage one of the four highest in the nation. Connecticut`s minimum wage increases to $6.75 on that date. Washington`s minimum is $6.73, and is an indexed wage, so it will likely increase next year. Oregon, where the minimum wage is now $7.50 per hour, also has an indexed wage and will likely increase automatically Jan. 1. The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. When it comes to managing our wild horse herds, elk, bison or we should take notes from our friends down under. Australia appears to be on the verge of developing a novel method of managing their exploding kangaroo population and if it is successful it that will make everyone; including wildlife officials, animal rights groups kangaroo lovers happy, and even the little hoppers themselves happy. . Australia believes the key to their success will lie with oral contraceptives. It is a win- win for the darling roo's who get to nibble on a delectable snacks laced with chewable contraceptive and then commence to do what roo's love to do only now there won't be unwanted baby roo's. Field test are projected to be about two to five years out and government ecologist are highly optimistic that they have finally found a way to curb the kangaroo population without the having to capture kangaroos and or worse yet kill them. US fish and wildlife will be gauging the success of the program as oral contraceptives could become a vital tool in wildlife management. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.