Pest Discovered & California Still Needs Water

Pest Discovered & California Still Needs Water plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists stationed at the Portland, Oregon, seaport recently intercepted a total of eight Asian Gypsy Moth egg masses on vessels that had arrived at Astoria. These interceptions mark the first discoveries this year aboard international vessels arriving in the Portland area. One egg mass was also intercepted on a piece of luggage that arrived at Portland International Airport from Japan. Each of these masses can contain hundreds of eggs of this devastating plant pest.

Recent rains here in the northwest along with some cooler weather have helped ease some of the tension with wildfires. Meteorologist, Brad Rippey says new numbers on the amount of water in California reservoirs continue to point to a critical situation.

RIPPEY: And what it shows is a little bit alarming. The first two years of this drought, usage in California has exceeded 11-million acre feet. So if you look at it in that context, there's considerably less water left. Just barely over a years worth of water remaining.

Rippey says if California does not get a decent snow this winter that 2015 will be a critical year.

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

It appears that in the realm of fast food customers don't prefer healthier fare, at least not when it comes to their french fries. In an attempt to compete with McDonald's Burger King introduced lower-calorie french fries at most of its restaurants last year. The response has been shall we say less than satisfying for Burger King's "Satisfries". While I understand the pressure most fast food chains are under to create healthier versions of customer favorites - it is a risky venture to change customers favorite indulgences, and french fries are definitely a favorite indulgence of most fast food chain customers. And let's be honest here - how many people who frequent fast food restaurants are factoring in healthy eating and calorie count? Of course another reason the "satisfries" maybe didn't meet with customer approval was the fact that they cost more than their higher calorie counterparts. Is a drop of a few calories going to make fast food customers pay 20% more for their fries? Apparently not. Anyone out there shocked by this? I didn't think so.

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