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Issues of the Day
January 26, 2023
January 26, 2023
Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the
National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.
They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural
America. Thank you.
It is time for our government to go to work. The Senate and House both are in the process of
naming who will serve on the different committees. The Republican-led house is scheduled to
take up a GOP energy bill. It will direct the Biden Administration to come up with a plan to
increase oil and gas production on federal land before drawing down our Strategic Petroleum
Reserve anymore. We know President Biden does not want the U.S. to pump more oil. He wants
to buy it from other countries. What will happen? We shall see.
In farm country the need to pass a new farm bill is at the top of our list. Paul Ryan, former House
Speaker speaking at the International Dairy Foods Association Forum last Sunday predicts that
we will pass a new farm bill this year. House Ag Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson and
Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow will give us that bipartisan ag leadership
that we need. I am optimistic.
Focus on Mexico. Yes – China is our biggest ag export market, but Mexico is close behind.
Mexico wants to ban imports of genetically modified corn. Our U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack
said that’s not going to happen. Good job Mr. Secretary. Keep the pressure on.
Another subject- the worst avian influenza outbreak we have ever had. The bird flu attack started
about 1 year ago. When you get it, the whole poultry flock must be destroyed. 58 million poultry
in 47 states are gone. Egg farmers are not insured. The virus has been devastating. Protecting the
flocks has not been easy. Wild birds flying North or South just spread it everywhere.
I have not talked about this new subject, but it is in the news every day. We all remember all of
the news and attention focused on secret government documents found at President Trump’s
Mar-a-Lago resort. The national news media was attacking Trump every day. Now President
Biden is in the hot seat. The FBI is investigating. They seem to find secret papers almost
wherever they look. I know some people thought President Trump should be put in jail for his
reckless handling of secret papers. Now they have to think about President Biden’s problem.
Now we have news that former Vice President Pence has some classified papers in his home. I
guess President Trump is not alone.
If you would like to review Jack Block’s radio shows going back more than 20 years, just go
online to www.johnblockreports.com.
Previous Weeks
Global Economy
May 9 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
Is this a global economy or what? We have been in a trade war with China for nearly 2 years. Farm and ranch exports have suffered a dramatic set back. Soybean prices are in the…
Spring 2019
May 1 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
Last Sunday former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar died. He served 36 years in the U.S. Senate – what an outstanding leader and great guy. In 1985 we had to write and pass a new farm…
Down on the Farm April 2019
April 26 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
Earlier this week, I was on the farm in Illinois, and I want to talk to you about that.
I had a chance to meet and talk to neighbors and friends, and I always ask them about their…
What’s Ahead
April 18 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
This weekend I will be on my farm in Illinois. When I booked my flight, I thought we might be planting corn. Not likely – too much rain.
At this moment I am looking at the…
Creativity
April 11 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
From farm to fork the food industry is doing more than its share to hold inflation down. The US Department of Agriculture projects only a 1 percent increase in the cost to…
Swine Fever & USMCA
April 4 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
What should we focus on today? Let’s start with African Swine Fever. ASF is the deadliest disease threatening the pork industry. It is estimated that China has lost as much…
No Collusion
March 28 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America.
Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
After 2 long years of distraction and political attacks, Special Counsel Muller released his report. “The Trump campaign did not conspire or coordinate with the Russian…
Issues of the Day
March 21 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America.
Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
Let’s begin with hemp. When I was a little boy, hemp was growing wild on the roadsides and ditches. It was harvested to make rope during World War II. It is a close relative…
The President’s Budget
March 13 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.
They are all friends, supporters, and allies of healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America.
Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
Issues of the Day. The President’s Budget. If everything goes according to plan, when we enter our next fiscal year, October 1, we will have a budget passed by the Congress with…
Land Grab
March 6 2019
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
Did you know that Congress passed legislation authorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund to spend 9 billion dollars to buy private land? The Department of Interior…