Farmers Coming To Town For Ag Expo, Farm Forum

Don’t be surprised to see tractors or combines on Spokane Falls Boulevard Monday. A lot of farm equipment and a lot of farmers will be in town Tuesday through Thursday for the Spokane Ag Expo and Pacific Northwest Farm Forum.

Farmers and farm industry workers from the Northwest have come to learn about the weather, new farm products, air quality standards, welding, logging, controlling weeds, organic farming, computers, and safety standards.

Jim Jesernig, director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture, opens the event with a talk at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the DoubleTree Hotel, downtown. Then climatologist Art Douglas will provide weather predictions for the next growing season.

Later in the week, the Environmental Protection Agency’s George Lauderdale will discuss air quality and how new standards could impact agriculture. For Ag Expo information, call 509-459-4114.

In other events this week:

Today

The 1998 legislative sessions begin in Washington and Idaho.

The World Health Organization sends a team to Hong Kong to investigate the poultry virus.

Tuesday

The Spokane Ag Expo and the Pacific Northwest Farm Forum is held at several locations in Spokane through Thursday. More than 300 exhibitors will show the latest in farm technology and equipment.

Leadership Spokane will hold its Third Annual Leadership Forum from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Cavanaughs Ridpath Hotel. Cost is $65. Call 459-4116.

Spokane Mayor John Talbott will speak on “Team Building” at the Spokane Restaurant and Hospitality Association’s annual membership luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel Spokane Valley. Call 467-7744 for reservations.

Labor Department releases consumer prices for December.

Wednesday

Dr. Richard M. Steers, international management professor at the University of Oregon, discusses the volatile Korean economy at a roundtable sponsored by the Whitworth Institute and Graduate School of International Management. The session is 7-8:30 a.m. in the board room at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Participation fee is $10. For information, call 777-4279.

Thursday

Chris Hesse, certified public accountant and director of taxation for LeMaster and Daniels, speaks at an agriculture-business luncheon at 11:45 a.m. in the Cavanaughs Ridpath Hotel Ballroom. Cost is $10. Call 459-4114.

Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

Friday

Federal Reserve releases industrial production for December.

Saturday

The National Association of Investor Clubs presents a workshop on stock analysis from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Coeur d’Alene National Guard Armory, 5555 Seltice Way. The fee is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. For details call 208-534-0660, ext. 19. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Measuring the Economy - Aluminum prices

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ON THE SHELF Business Week, Jan. 12 issue: Cover story profiles the magazine’s top 25 managers of the year. Business Week’s list of the best new products includes the computer game Riven, developed by Spokane-based Cyan Inc.

Going into business More than 4.1 million Americans started their own businesses from scratch in 1996, the latest year for which information is available, according to a survey by Wells Fargo Bank and the National Federation of Independent Business. Here are some characteristics of the start-ups: The entrepreneurs created slightly more than 3 million businesses, a 14 percent drop from 1995. Another 1.4 million Americans bought or inherited existing firms or business assets, accounting for an additional 924,000 firms operating under new ownership.