02/01/07 Hot New Farm Bill & Cold Weather

Hot New Farm Bill & Cold Weather. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Ag Secretary Mike Johanns unveiled the new 2007 Farm Bill yesterday. He says the proposals would not be complete without proposing funding for renewable energy projects. JOHANNS: We're proposing to provide 500 million to create a bio-energy and products research program as I indicated. Provide 500 million for rural alternative energy in energy efficient grants. This goes directly to farmers and ranchers and rural small businesses. We're proposing to provide 2.1 billion dollars in loan guarantees to provide cellulosic ethanol projects in rural areas, to actually build the plants. These loan guarantee programs again very, very well received out there and it's part of the package that sometimes can make a project happen. I've seen it happen when I was Governor of Nebraska. We propose to provide 150 million for biomass research competitive grants, again the focus is going to be on cellulosic ethanol. Officials estimate freezing temperatures in California earlier this month caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the state's citrus crop. And now that bitter cold is impacting parts of the U.S. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says California is actually getting a break from that cold snap - which is welcome news to producers there. RIPPEY: The outlook as we head in to February will be for above normal temperatures in those areas so the threat of cold weather is over for the freeze affected areas, it's all a matter of accessing and try to figure out what just happened during that mid-January cold snap. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. I find it interesting how the difference of a few years, chronologically can change ones out look on life. Take snow for example&. In my 30's there was nothing that would make me happier than a good dump of snow in anticipation of the adrenalin rush of flying down good ski or snowboard run. Today, I dread the white stuff, because instead of stepping onto ski's I now climb into a saddle and when you own horses heavy snow falls means a sore back from shoveling it off barns and out of paddocks. But don't listen to me while I whine about our white winter, it has blessed the Pacific Northwest ski industry with one of their best seasons on record. We are now the epicenter of skiing and snowboarding for the rest of the world due to the fact that most of Europe's mountains are bare and there isn't much base in Utah, Colorado or Montana . Powderhounds are flocking to places like Bachelor, Baker and Crystal booking resort hotels and providing shot in the arm to our economy. So I'll stop complaining when those perfectly formed snow flakes begin falling, better yet I'll dig my ski's out of the barn and join the ski boom. On second thought I don't like lift lines! Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.