11/10/06 Potato production; FSA elections

Potato production; FSA County elections. I'm Bob Hoff. Those stories coming up. Washington Ag November 10, 2006 In the first estimate of fall potato production for 2006 the Agricultural Statistics Service says Washington's crop this year is down six percent from 2005 at 89.9 million hundredweight. Per acre yields in Washington are 580 hundredweight down from 620 in 2005. Various weather factors are cited as contributing to the lower yields. Nationally 2006 fall potato production is pegged at 391 million hundredweight, up two percent from 2005. Elections for representation to local USDA Farm Service Agency county committees are underway in Washington. Ballots have been sent to all producers in portions of each county where committee members terms have expired. Ken Nagel with the FSA in Washington D.C. oversees the county committee elections and he says they are important. Nagel: "The County Committees that are elected by producers out there in the country side help deliver the federal farm programs and they also help make decision on a local basis that are based upon conditions and knowledge of farm operations and knowledge of the type of activity in their area." The deadline for returning the ballots to the local county office is December 4, 2006. I'm Bob Hoff.