Obama Pushes Ethanol & Earthworm Help plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

The Obama Administration begins a Rural Tour today with a desire to hear about the diverse challenges and opportunities facing America’s small towns and rural communities. When it comes to opportunities - President Barack Obama sees huge potential for biofuels. He says renewable fuels can play a critical role in the long-term profitability in American agriculture.

OBAMA: I come from a farm state, Illinois and ethanol has been a big boon to a lot of rural communities. What we are also recognizing is that the key for us is going to be for us to move into the next generation of biofuels and how can we use wood chips and refuse and switchgrass and a whole other set of biofuel standards and how can we improve the efficiency of first generation biofuels and farmers are going to be critical to that entire process. We want to be able to compete with countries like Brazil that now are running basically their entire automobile fleet on biofuels.

Environmental groups are asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the giant Palouse earthworm as an endangered species. The rare, sweet-smelling species has been seen only four reported times in the past 110 years. The Bush administration rejected an earlier petition, but supporters hope to have better luck with the Obama administration.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

My family and I have been putting forth the effort to buy only made in the USA products, and are finding out that it’s darn tough! We needed a new flag to display over the Fourth of July holiday, guess what; it took quite a bit of looking to find an American flag that wasn’t made in China! There are those that would say that to “buy American” is misplaced patriotism. Hog wash. What is wrong with wanting to support your country and being proud of it? Those of us who are making the effort to support our nation’s economy and workers by buying primarily American made are not trying to undermine international trade or display hostility towards our foreign neighbors. We simply believe that the quality and craftsmanship of American made products is unsurpassed. We also know that a strong global economy is dependent upon a strong American economy. So when you’re shopping this week for your Fourth of July celebration remember to buy American made and grown; you’ll be showing real patriotic spirit and pride. 

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.