02/07/07 Food checkout week

This is an important week for most Americans. GILBERT "Happens about 40 days into the year." That's American Farm Bureau's Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky beef producer and chairman of the Women's Leadership Committee. This is Food Checkout Week, the time when the average American has earned enough money this year to pay for the entire 2007 food bill. GILBERT "We don't realize even compared to other countries how little of our disposable income goes towards our food bill, what we provide our family to eat and I think its something that we as American producers need to be proud of." Gilbert hopes that all Americans stop and think about the contribution that US farmers and ranchers make for all of us. GILBERT "The abundance of food that we have, the quality of food that we have. I hope they'll take that into account and realize how well we do have it here in the United States." Look at food costs over the past decade and compare that to fuel or health care cost increases. It's estimated that ten percent of the average income goes to food costs. In comparison to working 36 days to pay for food, the Tax Foundation says Americans worked 77 days to pay their federal taxes, 62 days to pay for housing and household operation and 52 days for health/medical care. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott