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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
4-H
April 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— ;
Just this week, our nation’s largest youth development organization, which happens to be 4H, made a presentation to the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology and Research chaired by Congressman…
GMOs and Organic
April 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—
The U.S. Senate has failed to pass legislation to stop states from requiring GMO labeling. With a patchwork of different state labeling laws, Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack warns of “chaos.”
Critics of GMO crops…
Is Donald Trump Right for American Agriculture?
March 31 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This is Rick Frank sitting in for John 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—
One of my law partners, a Republican farmer from the heartland, recently returned from a trip to the Midwest marveling at Donald Trump’s popularity in farm country and…
AG Day
March 23 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—
Last week was Ag Day. In fact, it was an Ag Week. Agri-Pulse had a panel of speakers talking about one of our industry’s biggest challenges – how do we communicate about our industry today? Very few people know…
The President Goes to Cuba
March 17 2016
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you byJohn 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—
President Obama is going to Cuba next week. A little over a year ago, he established diplomatic relations with that island country ninety miles from Florida. Credit the President for bringing to an end a 50-year…
GMO Legislation
March 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—
Nancy Reagan was laid to rest this week. She was a very elegant First Lady and she was number one on President Reagan’s list – the love of his life and a trusted defender of the President. She was not…
Zika Virus
March 3 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—
If you read the paper, watch TV, or listen to the radio, I’m sure you have heard about the terrible Zika virus which can infect pregnant women and deform their unborn babies. Their babies can be born with…
EPA Land Grab
February 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—
Last week, I was on the farm in Illinois. Only thing to report is that the pigs are happy eating that cheap corn and going to market. Before I went to the farm, I spoke at a Pro Farmer event in Omaha,…
Things to Do
February 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—
As the days and weeks go by, we get closer and closer to elections next November. The U.S. House and Senate will find it more difficult each day to get legislation passed. Legislators don’t like to vote…
Debt 2016
February 11 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— President Reagan once said, “The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.”
Government programs not only survive, they thrive. They just get bigger. We have a 19…
