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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
Food Production
April 8 2022
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 today’s commentary-
President Biden announced his proposed $5.8 trillion budget for the 2023 fiscal year. Now Congress will begin work to change, add and subtract that budget. As always it…
Bird Flu and More
March 23 2022
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 today’s commentary-
I’m going to cover some different issues today. As we all know the war in Ukraine dominates all
the news. But if you were in the poultry industry, you would be very concerned…
Issues
March 17 2022
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 today’s commentary-
We have been wondering if our elected officials would ever pass legislation to fund our
government to the end of this fiscal year, which is September 30th. After 5 months of…
Ag Challenges
March 10 2022
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 today’s commentary-
Ag challenges - the whole global landscape is in such turmoil it is hard to predict where our ag industry is going. We will be planting this year’s crop soon. Livestock markets…
Energy and Trade
March 3 2022
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 today’s commentary-
Have you noticed the escalating cost to fill your car up with gas? I did. It’s close to $100. Of course, in Europe the bill would be twice that much. Now we have…
Russia - Ukraine
February 24 2022
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 today’s commentary
What is at the top of our list of worries today? Ukraine. Russia has 150,000 troops surrounding Ukraine. By the time you hear this radio program, we may know if Russia is…
Feeding the World
February 16 2022
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 today’s commentary-
A UK farmer named Paul Temple has put on the table some issues that I’m not sure the public even thinks about. Here is the question. Are the food producers in the world prepared to…
Inflation
February 10 2022
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 today’s commentary-
I am concerned, and I am not alone. I remember the skyrocketing interest rates of the late 1970’s and early 1980. Farmers and ranchers along with other borrowers were paying 12% to…
Border Issues
February 3 2022
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.
This is Randy Russell sitting in for my good friend Jack Block. And now for today’s commentary.
All eyes have been on the eastern border of the Ukraine where Russia has amassed over 130,000
troops.…
Farm Bill
January 27 2022
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.
This is Randy Russell sitting in for my good friend, Jack Block. And now today’s commentary-
Next year, Congress will begin writing a new farm bill. I have had the honor and privilege to be involved with…
