Weber siphon project challenged; potato consumption numbers
Washington Ag Today November 10, 2009 The Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia Riverkeepers have notified the Bureau of Reclamation of their intent to sue over the advancement of the Weber Siphon project in the Columbia Basin Project. The conservation groups say the Bureau failed to consult with other federal agencies on the project’s impact on endangered fish. The Weber siphon project was awarded federal stimulus funds earlier this year. It would provide more water to the Odessa Subarea to replace irrigation wells. The Bureau of Reclamation has chosen a contractor for the project but another bidder has protested and this is being reviewed. The USDA recently reported on potato consumption in the U.S. for 2008 and it was down. Lucier: “2008 per capita use of all potatoes was the lowest since 1983.” A 25-year low says USDA economist Gary Lucier: Potatoes used to be a go to food in poor economic times but Lucier says that has changed. Lucier: “Well the difference now from past recessions, maybe 20-30 years ago, is that a greater share of the potato market is embodies in the foodservice side of the market. And because of that when people have less money they tend to eat out less and if they eat out less, restaurants if they are still in business, have less need of potatoes so you reduced demand on that side of the market.” That’s Washington Ag Today. I’m Bob Hoff on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
