Cutting Edge Information & Avian Influenza Hits Again

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

The Pacific Northwest Farm Forum, happening in conjunction with the annual Spokane Ag Expo February 3 through the 5, has been bringing farmers, ranchers and landowners the most up to date cutting edge information on the business of agricultural production for 61 years; covering such topics as disease and weed management, estate planning and tax issues, livestock health, and land value trends. Matt Becker, Chairman of the Farm Forum, says that this year Big Data will be one of the main topics of discussion.

BECKER: We'll have representatives from large manufacturing, academia, and legal professions to discuss their opinions and take questions from the audience. Right now with GPA mapping - who actually owns that data? And how secure is that data? It's become quite a subject here lately, especially with the hacking of Sony Pictures and the hacking of private accounts on the Cloud. Where is that information and how secure is it?

For more information on the Spokane Ag Expo and Pacific Northwest Farm Forum visit www.agshow.org.

Clallum County has become the fourth county in the state to have been hit by the H5N2 avian influenza virus. An Agnew area backyard flock owner alerted state officials after discovering that several of their birds were sick. On Sunday WSDA and USDA euthanized the infected birds. Officials plan to impose a 6-mile radius ban on the movement of eggs and poultry in the area.

The virus has not been found in commercial poultry anywhere in the U.S. or Washington state.

That's Washington Ag Today.

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