December 2000

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How To Choose A Healthy Poinsettia By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Want to know how to choose a healthy poinsettia plant at the store? And how to keep it happy once it is home? Ross Penhallegon, horticulture agent for the Oregon State University Extension Service, offers some hints for choosing the best poinsettia plant of the lot: Choose a plant that hasn't shed pollen yet. To check, look for yellow pollen showing on the petal-like red and green bracts. Poinsettias showing pollen grains don't stay nice as long as those that haven't yet released pollen. Pay attention to the conditions where poinsettias are being sold. Poinsettias offered in stores during the holidays have been raised in a greenhouse, at 60 to 70 degrees, in high humidity and maximum sunlight or growing lights. Store displays that mimic these growing conditions closely may contain healthier poinsettias than those for sale in hot, dry, and low-light conditions. Choose poinsettias with deep green, not yellowish, leaves. Yellowing of foliage may indicate insufficient light, over-watering or lack of nitrogen. Look for brilliant red bracts. Once you bring a healthy plant home, Penhallegon says, you will need to do the following to keep it in good health: * Put your poinsettia plant in a sunny window. * Water regularly and thoroughly. But never allow a plant to stand in water. * Fertilize once a week with a complete (20-20-20 or 20-5-10) fertilizer. * Keep hot or cold drafts away from the plant. The leaves may wilt if the plant is too dry, too wet or exposed to a draft. Yellowing of foliage may indicate insufficient light, over-watering or lack of nitrogen. Try changing the poinsettia's environment for the better if any of these symptoms occur. After blooming, mature bracts and leaves of your poinsettia will begin to fall naturally. Discontinue fertilizing and reduce watering. Cut the plant back to six inches and store in a cool dark area. Water only enough to prevent the stem from shriveling. In the spring, the plant can be set outdoors or maintained as a houseplant. Water it regularly and fertilize monthly. If grown out of doors, be sure to check for insect pests and treat if needed. To learn more about "Care and Handling of Poinsettias" publication FS 162, visit our on-line catalog. Our publications and video catalog at http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat shows which publications are available on the Web and which can be ordered as printed publications. Spokane Ag Expo Features New Cattle Demonstrations/Seminars The Spokane Ag Expo has announced the addition of a major new cattle equipment section to the well-known show. Scheduled for January I 618, 2001, in downtown Spokane, the show will feature a wide range of cattle-related exhibits and educational seminars. According to show manager Dennis Fiess, "Following the 2000 show, several cattlemen asked if we could offer a wider range of cattle related information in future shows. That led us to the realization that there are a number of things that we can do to better serve the cattle industry." This year the Spokane Ag Expo will feature live cattle demonstrations on both handling equipment and management techniques. Powder River and Big R on Trent are major sponsors. Priefert, Behlen and Hi-Qual equipment will be featured as well. The program will also include 28 one-hour educational seminars on topics including: opportunities to market calves in Canada, herd health, deciding to sell or custom feed calves and to how to pass the ranch to future generations. "Our goal is to offer cattle producers a variety of tools designed to help them add value to their calf crop, and therefore increase profitability," says Fiess. "Several outdoor farm shows across the country have added the live cattle demonstration venue to their program with great success. Equipment suppliers and cattlemen have enthusiastically embraced the idea." Another major sponsor of the cattle program is E-Merge Interactive, a national dot-com company that is offering a range of high tech management tools including a new way to sell calves using the Internet. They will also demonstrate methods for electronic ownership identification, heat detection and stray animal location. According to E-Merge representative Will Wolf, "The Internet is a great new tool that offers producers a low cost way to market their calves to a large number of buyers, therefore insuring they get the top dollar for them. At our web site, www.cattleinfonet.com, we are building our business on the concept cowboys used to carry guns, now they carry computers and cell phones." Fiess says, "Ours is the first show to add the live cattle demonstrations to an indoor show. It will offer some unique challenges to produce, but we are excited to offer this new feature to the cattle industry." The cattle exhibit will be in the Spokane Arena January 1618, 2001. Attendees can park free at the Arena, and catch the shuttle to the Spokane Convention Center and Ag Trade Center to see the entire show. An $8 admission charge includes the trade show and all of the educational seminars. Information on times, seminar topics and locations is available at www.aqshow.org or check the December 29 issue of the Capital Press that features the official Expo insert. For additional information, call 1-888-374-EXPO. New Resolutions, New Farm Bill From WAWG's Green Sheet From the Desk of Gretchen Borck, Director of Issues: At the upcoming state convention, WAWG members again have the opportunity to help form the new farm bill for 2003. It is necessary to hear from you, and what will help you continue to farm in this new century. Below are a few of the new resolutions to be discussed and voted on at the state convention in Spokane next week (Nov. 29 thru Dec. 3). I have been able to attend 9 county annual meetings and know the concerns expressed on both the state and federal levels of government on issues regarding regulatory reform, environmental programs, transportation, research, marketing of product, value added and risk management. Please take a moment and read these over, being prepared to vote on their progression towards the making of the new farm bill. Farm Child Labor FACT: Farming is a way of life passed from generation to generation. The families working together and teaching children as much information as possible learn knowledge gained from childhood through adulthood. PROBLEM: Many laws have been passed specifically limiting the work opportunities for young people. RESOLUTION: To monitor attempts to further restrict the freedoms of teaching our trade to interested children and young people. Also, to protest and oppose rules and regulations pertaining to employment of young people on farms, and take action as necessary to preserve our heritage for future generations. Biodegradable, Agri-Based Plastics And Renewable Fuels FACT: Oversupply of grain is in best interest of our country's security. Over dependence on foreign oil-based products is not in our country's best inter-est. PROBLEM: We are a residual supplier of the world's grain market because of our superior infrastructure and support programs. We need to develop new markets to expand the use of our excess supply of grains and residues to encourage more sustainable markets and less dependence on foreign imported oil based products. RESOLUTION: WAWG will request research and development of such processes to create non-food uses of our renewable agricultural products to create such products as: biodegradable, agri-based plastics and renewable fuels. WAWG will also request funding of such development to come from public/private partnerships with low interest long-term loans from USDA or written into new farm bill as item to fund. Farm Bill FACT: Debate on the 2002 farm will begin in 2000. PROBLEM: The FAIR Act of 1996 was a substantial improvement in U.S. farm policy. However, the FAIR Act did not address the need for a safety net when U.S. wheat and barley prices fall victim to predatory pricing by competing foreign State Trading Enterprises and European Union. These STEs often dump grain on export markets at prices far below their cost of production. RESOLUTION: WAWG supports the addition of an intervention level We support looking at AMTA payments, counter-cyclical payments, green payments or any other means that will give the wheat growers a safety net when prices are driven below the cost of production. WAWG does no support acreage set-aslde or grain reserves above strategic reserve levels. FACT: Too much land acquisitions by the federal government. PROBLEM: Land is being acquired by the federal government at higher prices than market and are removed from local and state tax base. RESOLUTION: WAWG opposes the congressional passage of the CARA Act, because of continued government acquisition of private lands with no provisions of loss of tax base (county and state) and no congressional oversight of said programs. RESOLUTION: WAWG supports AMTA payments and the MLP by frozen at the 1999 level (63.7) for the full lifetime of the new farm bill (2003). Marketing FACT: Oversupply of grain is in best interest of our country's security. Over dependence on foreign oil based products is no in our country's best interest. PROBLEM: We are a residual supplier of the world's grain market because of our superior infrastructure and support programs. We need to develop new markets to expand the use of our excess supply of grains and residues to encourage more sustainable markets and less dependence on foreign imported oil based products. RESOLUTION: WAWG will request research and development of such processes to create non-food uses of our renewable agricultural products to create such products as: biodegradable, agri-based plastics and renewable fuels. WAWG will also request funding of such development to come from public/private partnerships with low Interest long terms loans from USDA or written into new farm bill as item to fund. FACT: Agronomics is key to wheat quality. PROBLEM: Quality has become an issue to marketing our wheat due to a large selection of wheat varieties and different specifications of our buyers. RESOLUTION: WAWG request WSU to do a study, conducted on a soils and climate basis, to identify specific varieties of wheat for particular regions to enhance quality control and uniformity of production. Potassium Management Reprints By Erik Sorensen, WSU Cooperative Extension, Franklin & Benton Counties Reprints of two articles written by Dale Westerman, USDA-ARS Soil scientist at Kimberly, Idaho, are available from the WSU Cooperative Extension Offices in Pasco and Ephrata. Dr. Westerman was a featured speaker at 2000 Columbia Basin Potato Workshops held in Moses Lake and Pasco. The reprints, "Potassium Considerations for Southern Idaho Soils" and "Potassium Management of Russet Burbank Potatoes in Southern Idaho", cover much of the information contained in his presentation on potassium nutrition of potatoes. A third reprint authored by Dr. Westerman, "Long Term Effects 0f Dairy Compost on Crop Production and Soil Quality," relates to his presentation on compost and green manures in potato production. For copies call the Extension offices in Pasco and Ephrata. Copies are available at the WSU Cooperative Extension office in Pasco 509/545-3511. Garlic Germplasm Evaluation By Erik Sorensen, WSU Cooperative Extension, Franklin & Benton Counties As part of the Columbia Basin Garlic Studies conducted by WSU Cooperative Extension in 1999/2000, 37 garlic cultivars and lines were grown for evaluation under local conditions. This is the third and final year of this evaluation. On July 5 and 13 the plots were harvested. Total bulb weight, number of bulbs per plot, bulb diameter, and the average number of cloves per bulb were recorded. 'W6-4264' had the greatest total bulb weight per plot, 1220 grams. Other high yielding entries in this trial were 'Gormet Red', 'California Early', 'Oswego White', 'Klisurski', and 'Lokalen'. 'California Loate', 'B 92-97', 'Spanish Red', and '090388' lines that produced multiple stems on some plants, had the most bulbs per plot. '890616' had the fewest number of bulbs per plot, 9.0. 'W 64264' had the greatest average bulb weight, 83.16 grams. 'Oswego white', 'California Early', 'Gourmet Red', 'Lokalen', 'Korean Six Piece', and 'Klisurski' were the other entries with the greatest average bulb weight. 'W 6-4264' had the largest average bulb diameter, 2.55 inches (6.48 cm). Sixteen entries had an average bulb diameter of 2 inches or more. Only 'Besancole 7340' and 'Veleski' had an average bulb diameter less than 1.5 inches, the minimum diameter required for US #1 garlic. The number of cloves per bulb ranged from 16.6 for 'Veleski' to 3.8 for '126'. 'Americky Maly', 'Gourmet Red', 'Rojo de Cuenca', and 'W 6-4264' all averaged 6 or fewer cloves per bulb. Copies of the evaluation results are available from Erik Sorensen, WSU Cooperative Extension, 1016 N 4th Avenue, Pasco, WA 99301; telephone 509/545-3511; email: esorensen@wsu.edu. Curly Top Resistant Tomatoes By Erik Sorensen, WSU Cooperative Extension, Franklin & Benton Counties Tomatoes suffer from many different diseases and pest management is always a concern for tomato growers. In eastern Washington, curly top virus has been a special problem on tomato crops for many years. Curly top virus was also a major reason for the demise of the processing tomato industry in central Washington. The use of resistant cultivars is the most effective management practice available to reduce losses from this disease. During the 1960's, four curly top virus resistant tomato cultivars were bred and released by the US Department of Agriculture and Washington State University. 'Columbian', 'Rowpac', 'Rosa', and 'Saladmaster' have been successfully grown by both commercial growers and home gardeners. All four are open-pollinated, bush type tomatoes adapted to the arid conditions and irrigated fields found in eastern Washington. 'Columbian' has the largest fruits of the group, averaging about 3 fruit per pound. 'Saladmaster' is a large cherry or salad-type tomato with small fruits. 'Rowpack' and 'Rosa' have fruits that are intermediate in size 'Rosa' and 'Saladmaster' are high in vitamin C. In addition to curly top resistance, all four of these cultivars are resistant to verticillium and fusarium wilts. Obtaining seed of these cultivars can be a problem since the seed is no longer commercially available. A limited amount of seed can be obtained from the Cooperative Extension Offices in Pasco and Ephrata. To obtain seed, write or telephone Erik Sorensen at WSU Cooperative Extension, 1016 N 4th Avenue, Pasco, WA 99301; phone 509/545-3511 or Gary Pelter, WSU Cooperative Extension, P0 Box 37, Ephrata, WA 98823-0037; phone 509/754-2011 ext. 413. Growers can also save their own seed. The process for saving tomato seed is relatively simple. The 5 steps are outlined in a WSU-Franklin County bulletin, "Saving Tomato Seed&emdash;A Guide for Small-Scale Growers," available from the Extension Office in Pasco 509/545-3511. Milk Production Milk production in Washington state during October totaled 469 million pounds, 1.5 percent above production in October 1999. September production, at 456 million pounds, was lower than September 1999. Production per cow averaged 1,890 pounds for October, 5 pounds above October 1999. The number of cows on farms in Washington was 248 thousand head, 3,000 head more than October 1999. Layer And Egg Production Washington's egg production totaled 107 million during October 2000, down 2 percent from the 109 million produced in 1999. All layers in Washington on November 1, 2000, totaled 4,899,000, up 2 percent from a year ago. Ten and a half percent of the layers were being molted as of the 1st of November, while 39.5 percent of all the layers had completed at least one molting in their lifetime. United States egg production totaled 7.11 billion during October 2000, down .4 percent from the 7.13 billion produced in 1999. Production included 6.04 billion table eggs and 1.07 billion hatching eggs. All layers in the United States on November 1, 2000 totaled 327.1 million layers, up .6 percent from a year ago. Egg-type chicks hatched in the United States during October totaled 35.2 million, down 10 percent from October 1999. Eggs in incubators totaled 28.6 million on November 1, 2000, down 7.6 percent from a year ago.

Gift Suggestions For The Gardener In Your Life By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Gardeners are easy to shop for these days. There are oodles of wonderful gardening accessories to choose from. Here are a few suggestions from Jan McNeilan, Oregon State University consumer horticulturist, that your green-thumbed friends will be sure to love: * A gardener's journal to record planting dates, varieties, successes from year to year; * A gift certificate for 'x' hours of help in the yard; * Hand soaps and creams designed especially for extra dirty, chapped hands; * Interesting hand-painted flower pots; * A nice pair of leather gardening gloves to prevent injury and chapped, rough skin, or flexible, rubberized cotton gloves that keep fingernails clean and hands dry while mucking about in the garden; * A water timer for hose-fed sprinklers for carefree watering; * Bouquets and wreaths of dried flowers; * A high-quality pruning saw to make winter pruning a pleasure; * Easy grip or smaller hand tools for gardeners with arthritis; * A collapsible compost bin to recycle kitchen and yard waste; * Some small, beautiful vases to display special single blossoms; * A long spouted water pot for easy house plant care; * A new ever-sharp pair of garden scissors for snipping herbs and flowers; * A hand-woven basket with a handle for gathering herbs and vegetables; * A large garden cart to carry tools and soil amendments out to the garden in one trip; * Knee-pads or a gardening stool to make weeding and low work less of a strain; * Metal supports for tall spring tulips and later for supporting tomato plants; * Permanent tags to mark the sites of your favorite perennials and bulbs or to mark the rows in next spring's vegetable patch; * A seed sower to easily set tiny seeds into soil at exactly the proper interval; * A soil thermometer to measure soil temperature, vital for spring planting; * A small soil home testing kit to test for plant nutrients essential for good growth; * A long-handled bulb planter to make digging small deep holes for bulbs a cinch; * Gardening books or a gift certificate for a store that carries oodles of garden books - there are so many! * Bulbs to plant in bowls and vases for early indoor bloom; * A gift certificate for plants from a favorite nursery; * Children's gardening tools to encourage young folks to start the gardening habit; * And, of course, presents for wildlife such as bird feeders or baths, bat houses, orchard mason bee blocks, etc. New Science: Breaching Is Not The Most Effective Salmon Recovery Tool From OWGL's Oregon Wheat Two new studies/reports in the journal Science, a publication of Science Magazine, have noteworthy results that discuss the adaptability of salmon and indicate that dam breaching is not the most effective way of recovering salmon. Supporters of dam breaching continue to claim populations of Snake River salmon and steelhead have plummeted since the construction of the four lower Snake River dams, the science is in and it clearly shows that runs cannot be recovered under existing river conditions. Ac-cording to them, dam breaching is quite possibly the only hope for recovery of Snake River salmon stocks. "But the truth is dam-breachers are losing the fight on scientific grounds," according to a November 18 editorial in The Oregonian. "As we learn more... the science is tilting away from dam breaching." Those insisting on sensible solutions, based on credible information rather than myth or launching risky experiments, agree. "Recovery and Management Options for Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon in the Columbia River Basin" by Peter Kareiva, Michelle Marvier, and Michelle McClure makes the following points as a result of applying a matrix or mathematical model to long-term population data: * Dam passage improvements have dramatically mitigated direct mortality associated with the dams * Even if main stem survival were elevated to 100%, Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon would probably continue to decline toward extinction * Modest reductions in first-year mortality or estuarine mortality would reverse current population declines * Given the current uncertainty, policy-makers may have to view the decisions they make as large experiments. (This being true, it is clear that drastic actions like dam breaching are not a matter for experimentation. Making policy decisions based on experiments that jeopardize our rural economy is unjustified and irresponsible.) "Rapid Evolution of Reproductive Isolation in the Wild: Evidence from Introduced Salmon" by Andrew P. Hendry, John K. Wenburg, Paul Bentzen, Eric C. Volk, and Thomas P. Quinn, discusses the adaptability of salmon. * An Associated Press story quoted co-author Thomas Quinn as seeing "evidence that if you have a sufficient number of salmon, they will adapt to the habitats that are available to them." * Researchers found that sockeye salmon of the same stock evolved into two distinct populations in only 13 generations, or 60 years. Similar transformations for other creatures have taken 200 generations. * In an October 22nd article in The Oregonian, Jim Lichatowich, an independent fisheries biologist not connected with the study, indicated that this research confirms what scientists had suspected about the salmon's ability to quickly adapt to change. He also indicated that this ability to adapt depends on the "magnitude of the habitat change and the frequency that we keep changing it." Both reports may be found at www.sciencemag.org. WBC To Sponsor Seminars At 2001 PNW Farm Forum Washington barley growers can learn more about the WSU Variety Testing Program, an update on the Washington malting barley industry, as well as a federal farm policy update, among other topics when attending seminars at the PNW Ag Expo/Farm Forum held on Jan. 16-18, 2001. The WBC is pleased to serve as a room sponsor at the PNW Farm Forum, an event they have supported for 8 consecutive years. "This is an excellent way for the Washington Barley Commission to provide the opportunity for growers to receive direct and innovative information on barley issues, marketing opportunities and research," said WBC Administrator Mary Palmer Sullivan. The Farm Forum has various seminars growers may choose to attend. "Our seminars are oriented towards topics that impact the barley grower and the decisions that they may make in the management of their operation," commented Palmer Sullivan. "The speakers presenting this year are excellent and we hope that growers will learn from the information that they will provide." The following is the schedule and speakers for the 2001 WBC sponsored room: January 16 11:30: WSU Variety Testing Program and the Improvement of Barley Cultivars&emdash;John Burns, WSU Extension Agronomist, and Steve Ullrich, Ph.D., WSU Agronomist & Barley Breeder, Pullman 1:30: Achieving the Full Yield Potential of Direct-Seeded Barley&emdash;Jim Cook, Ph.D., Endowed Chair in Wheat Research, WSU-Pullman 3:00: The Alliance for Rail Competition and it's Efforts to Bring Competition Back to the Railroad Industry&emdash;Terry Whiteside, Transportation and Marketing Consultant, Whiteside & Associates, Billlngs, MT January 17 9:00: Federal Farm Policy Update&emdash;Daryn McBeth, Washington, DC Representative, National Barley Growers Association 11:00: An Update on the Washington Malting Barley Industry&emdash;Bernie Duenwald, Great Western Malting Company For more information on the event, call the Washington Barley Commission at 509/456-4400. Flush Donated Thomas Angus Ranch of Baker City, OR has donated a "Pick of the Herd Flush" with proceeds to benefit the 2001 National Junior Angus Show scheduled for July 2001 in Denver, Colorado. The flush is being donated in memory of Gloria Thomas, wife and mother of the Thomas's who passed away in 1999. The flush will be auctioned at 3:00 pm on January 12, 2001 during the Foundation Female Sale in Denver, Colorado. The flush work for this benefit will be donated by Western Genetics, Inc., Galen Lusk of Sugar City, ID. Custom Services May Be Way Out Of Haywire Farm Economy For Some Farm & Ranch Column By Terence L. Day, Washington State University In simpler times farmers and ranchers often repaired equipment with a piece of bailing wire, thus giving birth to the expression "haywire." Something that was haywire was broken, but not so broken that it couldn't be made serviceable by the industrious application of some bailing wire. I suppose we might say that today many farmers' and ranchers' budgets are haywire, if not the whole darned farm economy. Today's farm economy has a lot of operators reaching for financial bailing wire. Extracting profits requires a lot of hard thinking supplemented by finger-numbing keyboard pounding. Many farmers and ranchers are having to re-think their operations, develop new strategies and modify their operations. Operators have to think several times before buying a new piece of equipment. Better yet, they need to run some numbers through the computer until they come out with a few positive dollar signs attached. Some of those numbers have to do with the question of whether they should replace a piece of equipment or hire custom services. Or, flip side, perhaps they have equipment they could use to do some custom harvesting that would bring in enough money to put their own budgets in the black. The nut of the problem lies in determining what to pay or charge for custom services. Washington State University's Herbert Hinman has explored the subject and produced a printed publication and a computer software program that farmers and ranchers can use to evaluate custom harvesting decisions. Hinman says if farmers aren't careful, they might hire themselves and their equipment out at a short-term profit and a long-term loss. Operators who are considering doing custom work are the folks that Hinman wrote for, but the publication and software might be used as well by someone to evaluate whether a custom harvester's rates are reasonable. Hinman has developed worksheets that help operators calculate the true costs of owning and operating equipment. Custom rates need to compensate the owner for future replacement costs, interest, taxes, insurance, housing, repair and maintenance, as well as for fuel, lubrication and labor, the economist urges. Of course these costs are calculated on an hourly basis, or on a per-acre basis. In the final analysis, the result is the same. If the operation is plowing with a 10-bottom, 18-inch moldboard plow, about six acres can be covered in an hour. Hinman suggests tossing in some time for machinery maintenance and servicing. He estimated 1.2 hours for each hour the equipment will be operated, or one 15th of an hour per acre plowed. When all the costs are calculated, don't forget to add something for profit. How much depends on the risk the custom operator is taking, and&emdash;of course&emdash;on what the farmer buying the service is willing and able to pay. "Calculating Equitable Custom Rates" may be printed from the World Wide Web at http://farm.mngt.wsu.edu/online_publications.htm. You'll find it under the Online Publications heading. Or, you can buy a DOS-based computer software program. Send a check or money order for $20.44 to Bulletin Office, Washington State University, P.O. Box 645912, Pullman, WA 99164-5912. The price covers shipping and handling. Ask for "CUSTOM: A Computer Program that Estimates Equitable Custom Rates," MCP0025. Or telephone your order to 1-800-723-1763. VISA and MasterCard accepted. Crop Insurance Education Funded Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has announced a new five-year, $25 million initiative to increase risk management education and crop insurance products available to farmers in 15 under-served states. "This new initiative will help strengthen the farm safety net by educating farmers on the benefits of crop insurance as a tool they can use to help manage risk," said Glickman. The plan encourages increased crop insurance participation by enhancing risk management education in states with traditionally low levels of federal crop insurance participation. For example, in New Hampshire, about 10 percent of the eligible acres were insured in 1999, while in North Dakota about 90 percent of eligible acres were insured. In keeping with USDA's efforts to support family farms, special emphasis will be to small and limited resource farmers. USDA will work with local groups around the country - including universities, lenders, insurance providers, and farm lenders - to sponsor seminars, training sessions, and research. Participating states are Conn., Del., Maine, Md., Mass., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Pa., R.I., Utah, Vt., W. Va., and Wyo. Spokane Ag Expo & Pacific NW Farm Forum "Ag Connections&emdash;Building Alliances for Growth" Some people call it, '"The best farm equipment show in the Pacific Northwest." Others say it's, "One of the most comprehensive ag workshop forums in the region." What's all the talk about? It's the Ag Expo and Pacific Northwest Farm Forum, held January 16, 17 and 18 in Spokane, WA. * Ag Expo Farm Equipment and Trade Show&emdash;Over 300 exhibitors fill the Spokane Ag Trade Center, Convention Center, and the Spokane Arena for this three-day event. * Pacific Northwest Farm Forum&emdash;Numerous workshops and seminars on topics including marketing and transition planning are featured throughout the show. * Keynote Speaker, Jan. 16, "The Weatherman"&emdash;Dr. Douglas, Chairman of the Atmospheric Science Department at Creighton University, will talk with farmers about the weather they can expect during the next growing season. * Keynote Speaker, Jan. 16, "Helping Rural Communities Thrive"&emdash;Bruce Vincent, Libby, MT * Northwest Direct Seed Conference in conjunction with Ag Expo&emdash;Features 27 conference speakers including 13 growers, Jan. 17-19, 2001. Special Focus Sessions feature international and Northern Great Plains experiences in addition to direct seeding experience from nine northwest growers. For information, (509) 547-5538, or link to their home page at www.agshow.org The Spokane Ag Bureau invites farmers from throughout the region to attend the 2001 Ag Expo and Pacific Northwest Farm Forum scheduled January 17-19, 2001. Questions? Call 1-888-374-EXPO or visit www.agshow.org. See you at the show!

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