06/21/05 WSU rural development grant

Washington Ag June 21, 2005 Washington State University will help coordinate the myriad of rural development efforts underway across the U.S. into a single, nationwide coalition for rural entrepreneurship, which WSU says could in turn spur economic growth and create jobs. Working with counterparts in the Regional Rural Development Centers and the USDA, WSU professor James Zuiches, has been awarded a 150-thousand dollar grant from the W.K. Kellog Foundation to conduct regional workshops to create a national dialogue about rural entrepreneurship. The Northwest Area Foundation is providing an additional 25-thousand dollars and the Farm Foundation 20-thousand to the project. The Washington Agricultural Statistics Service recently published results of an agricultural chemical use survey for winter and spring wheats. Joe Ross of the Statistics Service explains why the survey of producer practices is important for policy makers. Ross: "Without the surveys it was assumed it was assumed producers were putting on the labeled rate on every crop that was being produced. In a lot of instance it was showing that growers weren't applying the maximum rates that were assumed in the past to produce various crops." Survey details can be found at the Washington Agricultural Statistic Services website. I'm Bob Hoff.