Statewide Business Poll, Wolf Attack in Whitman County & Farm Safety Workshops

Statewide Business Poll, Wolf Attack in Whitman County & Farm Safety Workshops

Statewide Business Poll, Wolf Attack in Whitman County & Farm Safety Workshops

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

A statewide business poll conducted by G Squared Public Strategies earlier this month shows that there remains a persistent divide between voter opinion on the west side and the east side of the state. According to G Squared voters in Western Washington see the state's economic future in technology, while voters in Eastern Washington see agriculture as the state's economic driver. Several issues were covered in the poll including carbon tax, with 53.7 of those polled saying they support a carbon tax if offset by lower sales and businesses taxes, and 59.7 were in favor of raising the state's minimum wage to $12 per hour.

Earlier this month a Whitman County rancher, who has asked for anonymity, reported a possible wolf kill of a 4 1/2 year old ewe to state officials. While state Fish and Wildlife officials cannot confirm this as a wolf kill, they have said that a necropsy was conducted on the animal and that the evidence collected leads them to believe it is a probable wolf kill. Officials say the rancher has been implementing non-lethal wolf management practices.

This Wednesday in Kennewick the Washington Farm Bureau will be hosting a winter safety workshop for their Retro/Safety members. WFB's Corwyn Fischer.

FISCHER: We've got a review of our safety programs, and you know our motto with our Retro Program is "Safety is No Accident". And that is the key to Retro programs as well as keeping costs down for an employer - don't think about what to do when the claim happens; think about what you need to do prior to and that's the prevention of accidents.

For more information on this and other WFB Retro/Safety Winter Workshops visit wsfb.com/retro.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray with the Ag Information Network of the West.

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