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
Trump Wins
November 10 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—
It’s a new day. Donald Trump was elected President of the U.S. Washington, D.C. is in shock. It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. Clinton was supposed to win.
A year and a half ago, Donald Trump opened…
2016 Election Day Part II
November 2 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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 year’s election process has been wild and crazy. Hard to imagine, but we will know the results on Tuesday. Last week, Rick Frank delivered this radio program for me. He said that he would vote for…
Election Day 2016 - The Need for a Balanced Government
October 27 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This is Rick Frank Sitting in for Jack Block. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—
Tuesday, November 8 is Election Day. A free and fair election is what separates the U.S. from many of our toughest competitors – for example, China, Russia, and…
This and That
October 20 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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 will cover a list of issues today. I am encouraged to note that Secretary Vilsack made a wise suggestion to the House and Senate Ag Committees. He said they should change the “Farm Bill’s” name. He is…
Ag Industry United
October 13 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—
In these times of low farm prices, it is encouraging to see farm associations and leaders stepping up to protect our farmers and ranchers.
The CEOs of CropLife America, the National Corn Growers Association,…
Cuba
October 6 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—
Farm income is collapsing. Livestock and grain prices are in the tank. What to do now? Of course, we have to persevere and ride this recession out.
There are some common sense things that could help a…
On the Farm
September 29 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—
Down on the farm in Illinois – that’s where I am. I’m on the telephone today.
What an exciting, rewarding harvest this is. I have never seen better corn and soybeans. Yields are off the chart. Corn is at…
Equal Justice
September 22 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—
We keep reading about foreign countries – especially Russia – hacking into our E-mails, embarrassing the Democratic National Committee. E-mails have caused concern that Russia will try to influence our…
Debt
September 15 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers Association. They are all friends, supporters, andallies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary—
Elections are coming up in November – candidates for President, Senate, House, and offices in states and cities are telling us that they will revive the economy, provide security, on and on. What you don’t hear is how…
Death Taxes
September 8 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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 haven’t talked about today’s subject for awhile, but that doesn’t mean that I have forgotten about it. I’m talking about the estate tax, or death tax as it is commonly referred to. One hundred years ago…