Daylight Savings Time Reminder

Love it or hate it — don't forget this is the weekend is when we spring forward the clock one hour in observance of Daylight Saving Time. Daylight hours will be extended into the evening– a welcome change in the clock for many people tired of the dark, gray days of winter. But it's a myth that Daylight Saving Time was created to benefit agriculture. Kathryn Walker, special assistant to the director of Oregon's Department of agriculture says

Walker: "Actually it is not true that DST was created to benefit agriculture. In fact when it was first proposed in the 1900s, there were a lot of farm groups opposed to this idea."

Although as a law DST had fits and starts, and initially not all states were using it. It was The Uniform Time Act of 1966 signed by President Johnson that helped to stop scheduling difficulties from state to state. States that wanted an exemption had to pass a state law to do so and currently Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states that do not participate in DST.

In general, good or bad, a time change really doesn't alter what a farmer or rancher needs to do on a daily basis. Few ag producers watch that clock — there is always jobs to do light or dark, rain or shine. There are only so many hours in a day to get the work done whether the clock springs forward or falls back one hour.