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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
Labor Day and Tough Times
September 1 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—
My agenda for today will be Labor Day and Tough Times. I want to begin by saying how much respect I have for the hard-working men and women that labor in the trenches day in and day out. I’m not talking about big…
Farm Problems
August 25 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 are looking at record crops of corn, soybeans, and wheat this year. Dairy farmers are suffering with the lowest prices since 2009. We have too much milk – not just here in the U.S. but in Europe…
Trump and Agriculture
August 18 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 has been an interesting and politically active week – especially for agriculture. On Monday, the CEO Council met with Sam Clovis, National Chief Policy Advisor for Donald Trump’s campaign, and Charles…
GMO Labeling
August 11 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm
country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National
Com 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 —
Yes — We now have legislation to deal with the GMO labeling question.
Without the legislation all the states could have required different labels on their food products. A patchwork national plan like that would have…
Our Budget
August 4 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 healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary -
The Democratic and Republican Conventions are behind us. Speakers talked about jobs, the economy, National Defense, immigration, and terrorism. All important and serious challenges. What they did not talk about…
Donald Trump
July 28 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—
How is Donald Trump doing? Where does he stand on policy that could affect us? I have been hearing for a year now that there is no way Trump could become President. Well – SURPRISE! He has shot up 10 points in the…
Hot Issues 2016
July 21 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—
A lot to talk about and not much time. Here we go.
As a Republican, I tell you that Donald Trump is officially our Presidential candidate and Gov. Mike Pence is the Vice Presidential running mate. You have…
Nobel Laureates
July 14 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—
How long have we been listening to the relentless insinuations that genetically engineered crops may not be safe? The environmental activists have chosen to ignore science and use every trick to frighten consumers…
Nations Birthday
July 7 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 celebrated the 4th of July Monday this week. I’m still celebrating. Look at the turmoil around the world. It’s not perfect here. We all know that, but I’ll take it. And now, here is my radio program as…
Brexit and Trade
June 30 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—
The Brits jump ship and the UK is on its way out of the European Union. I understand the UK getting sick of the regulations and rules written in Brussels, not London. European agriculture is heavily…
