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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
China and N. Korea
February 27 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 –
Priority government issues of the day would have to be trade negotiations with China and President Trump’s meeting with N. Korea leader Kim Jong-un.
Our Ag industry has been hurt…
Debt
February 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 –
Our economy is booming. Job growth in 2018 averaged 220,000 new jobs each month. 419,000 workers have come back to work. The labor force participation rate is up to 63.1 percent. …
Optimism
February 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 a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary –
Optimism is in the air. Pessimism is being crowded out. The second government shut down that looked like a certainty is not going to happen. President Trump will not get the…
Gov. Ralph Northam
February 7 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 –
We all live with a new reality today. Nothing is secret, and if you are in government or in a high-level executive position, someone will be out to bring you down. Virginia…
From the Farm
January 31 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 week I was in Peoria, Illinois speaking to the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association. I am on my farm now broadcasting on the phone.
Farmers and ag suppliers had a…
Change
January 23 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 -
When I go back to my farm in Illinois and drive down our country roads, I can’t help but think about the unbelievable change since I was a boy. I went to a one-room country…
Trade
January 17 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 -
For some time now on the question of trade, all we have focused on is our trade war with China. I will talk about that today. But I also want to remind everyone that trade…
Cabinet Luncheon 2018
January 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 -
Christmas is behind us and the New Year is off to a wild start. But today, I want to talk about the Cabinet Secretaries luncheon that we held on December 14, just before…
Happy New Year
January 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 -
Happy New Year to everyone. Today, I want to look back over last year and make some predictions for 2019.
Looking back for the U.S.A., it was a very good year. Lowest…
Middle East
December 26 2018
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 -
I know. I was wrong. I said we would avoid a government shutdown. Congress won’t appropriate money for a wall to block the surge of illegals over our southern border. …
