Trade Mission & New State Veterinarian

Trade Mission & New State Veterinarian

Trade Mission & New State Veterinarian plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Oregon and Washington ag directors are once again teaming up to promote potatoes in growing Southeast Asia markets. Washington's Bud Hover and Oregon's Katy Coba will spend a bulk of the 10-day trade mission talking taters in two markets of growing importance.

COBA: Potatoes have access currently into both markets, the Philippines and Vietnam. We want to maintain that access and look for expanded opportunities. In Asia, it's the industry presence. But in particular, the importance of a government presence in partnership with the industry. I think we've done that very well with the Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Potato Commission.

Washington State has a new state veterinarian. Dr. Joe Baker will start on November 3rd and brings with him almost 40 years experience. Baker completed his bachelor's and doctorate degrees in veterinary medicine at Washington State University and also completed an equine reproduction residency at UC Davis. As the new state veterinarian, Baker will manage WSDA's Animal Health Program, working with field veterinarians.

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

Remember the old adage, "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch"? While this may remain fairly accurate for a crate of fruit, is it really true of people? I think not. Take dairy farmers for instance, they've received a lot of bad press lately due to one or two "bad apples" being caught within the dairy industry mistreating animals in their care. Does that mean that all dairy farmers mistreat the animals in their care? No, quite the contrary. According to a recent National Milk Producers Federation report dairy farmers currently use and continue to adopt high quality animal care practices. Dairy farmers participating in the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management Program, which is now in its fifth year, strive to care for and treat their animals with respect, training their employees to handle the animals in their care in ways that minimize stress. More than 12,000 dairy farm evaluations were conducted over three years to produce the report. Producer participation in the FARM program now includes more than three-quarters of the nation's milk supply. As with all things there is always room for improvement, but our nation's dairy farmers are far from being the "bad apples" they have recently been portrayed to be.

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

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