Current Week
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
Busy Week
December 19 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 -
Last Friday, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue hosted a breakfast at the Department of Agriculture’s executive dining room for former Secretaries of Agriculture. In…
Congressional Agenda
December 11 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 -
Last week, I attended the beautiful service at the National Cathedral for our 41st President George H.W. Bush. On the radio, I talked about the George Bush that I knew. This…
President Bush
December 5 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 -
The passing of President George H. W. Bush has brought the whole nation to focus on his life and the contributions that he made to our country. President Reagan brought the…
South Africa
November 28 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 healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary -
If someone had told me two months ago that forest management would be holding up a new farm bill, I would have just laughed at them. But since the wild fires in…
Elite Food Standards and More
November 21 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 healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary -
Thank you, God, for all of our blessings. Look at the turmoil, poverty, and destruction around the world. On this Thanksgiving Day, let’s not fail to appreciate our nation and…
Busy Week
November 15 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 healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary -
Last week was really busy. Three days at the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Convention in Kansas City. If you listen to farm radio, your broadcaster was probably…
Mid-Term and More
November 8 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 healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary -
Yes, I have something to say about the mid-term elections, and I will get to that in a minute. But first, we have been worried about the trade disputes with China and how their…
Election and Hate Crimes
November 1 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 healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary -
There has been a lot going on in the last week. I will focus on some of those topics.
One of the saddest happenings would be the deadly attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in…
Debt
October 25 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 healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary -
Some good news – President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires in November. Can they jump start a process to resolve our trade war? We…
Issues and Opportunities
October 18 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 healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary -
When President Trump announced a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, he said: “It is a very big deal for farmers. The new NAFTA, which is USMCA, has a very good ring. The ag…