Prescribed Burns & Presidential Surge

Prescribed Burns & Presidential Surge plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

With all the recent massive forest fires around the northwest you would think the last thing you’d want to hear would be about more fires. In this case it’s a good thing. Each year forestry officials plan what are called “prescribed burns” and are usually left over “slash” piles that can cause major problems in the event of a wildfire. Officials in national forests will be posting road closures in these areas so pay attention if you are in these locales.

A new poll shows a rural surge for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. A bipartisan poll shows rural voters in swing states favor former Governor Romney over President Obama by 22-points - 59-percent to 37-percent. Obama lost the 2008 rural vote in 13 swing states by just a bit more than two-percent. A bigger rural loss this year would make it harder to prevail with close urban-suburban margins. During a conference call U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack was asked about the poll.

VILSACK: I don’t have any comment on the poll because I’ve not seen it but I think that the President is prepared to provide a contrasting vision for the future of this country, building on what he has already done in the last 4 years. That vision basically involves getting America back in the business of innovation, manufacturing and making and creating things.

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

Remember what your grandmother used to say, “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away”? Looks like the American Institute of Cancer Research would agree with her. Apples, which have always been touted as a “good for you” food, have now been aded to the AICR’s list of “Foods That Fight Cancer”. People do like their apples, and according to the AICR the American population’s love affair with the apple has helped researchers to connect the dots when it comes to apple consumption and cancer prevention. Data from the AICR observed studies and other similar such studies, all point to the same conclusion - the whole apple has cancer fighting properties, from its fiber, vitamin and mineral content, to its Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. The recently updated list also includes cranberries, blueberries, flaxseed, and cherries as cancer fighting foods. Which just goes to show you that you can’t go wrong when it comes to consuming plenty of good fruits, nuts, and even though we haven’t mentioned it before now, veggies. Remember, grandma also used to say, “we are what we eat”.

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