Task Force To Discuss Agricultural Air Quality

In the wake of the state Department of Ecology’s fines to farmers for illegally burning their fields, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is holding a task force meeting on agricultural air quality this week.

The 22-member task force, formed in 1997, advises Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman on research and issues related to air quality. Its members are farmers, ranchers, public health officials, engineers, educators and representatives of public and private agriculture organizations.

Holding the session in Eastern Washington is timely since Ecology said last week that it would fine 87 farmers in eight counties for illegal burning committed last year. Many farmers burn their fields in the fall to reduce residue from harvested crops and sterilize the soil.

The task force sessions, open to the public, are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday, at the DoubleTree Hotel City Center.

On June 23, the task force will tour the Palouse and Columbia Plateau farmland to look at air quality issues of wheat production, grass seed production and research.

For more information, contact Keith Saxton, USDA Agricultural Research Service at Washington State University, 509-335-2724, or Dianne Guidry, USDA National Resources Conservation Service, 509-323-2911.

In other events this week:

Monday

Sentencing in U.S. District Court begins in the trial of Stephen James Reimer. Reimer was recently found guilty of mail fraud and interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud.

* Washington legislators and candidates participate in the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ three-day legislative tour of the wheat industry. More than 100 participants are expected to visit farms, dams and a food processing plant. The tour starts in Ritzville and features sites in Adams and Franklin counties.

* The University of Idaho’s Utility Executive Course begins. More than 50 middle-level managers from public utility companies around the world will take the course, which runs through July 9.

Thursday

Labor Department reports on weekly jobless claims.

* Commerce Department reports on durable goods for May.

Friday

Commerce Department reports on gross domestic product and corporate profits for the first quarter.

* The National Association of Realtors reports on existing home sales for May.

Saturday

Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake hosts a conference on livestock grazing management for people with all types of grazing animals. The session begins at 7:30 a.m. in the Student Center Building. For more information, call 509-397-6290.

ON THE SHELF Planning your future Money, July issue: The magazine offers a seven-step program that will allow you to assess your financial well-being and take steps to make more progress toward your goals. Business Week, June 21: Centerpiece focuses on the the top information technology companies throughout the world and these businesses are actually making money.