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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
HSUS on the Offensive
November 1 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. 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 pig auditors are on the way. Get ready for them. Yes, it’s a fact.
A week ago, I received a letter from Tyson Foods stating that they will be coming to my farm to perform an audit to see how we raise and…
Election Predictions
October 25 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. 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 about 10 days away from the election. Most of the focus has been on the Presidential race. However, let’s not forget that there are 3 branches of government. We have the Executive – that’s the President;…
California’s Preposterous Prop 37
October 18 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This is Rick Frank sitting in for John Block. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary—
On Election Day, California voters will decide on another food labeling ballot initiative, one that is being watched intently by the food industry. If it passes,…
Busy Times
October 11 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. 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 seems like there is a lot going on all around us. We are right in the middle of harvest on the farm – corn and soybeans a little more than half done. I’ll be on the combine next week, weather…
Death Spiral
October 4 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary—
Look at our debt. Sixteen trillion dollars and rising. For every dollar our government spends, we have to borrow 40 cents. Are we in as bad a shape as Greece? No. Not yet, but if we stay on this path, we can…
HSUS Attacks
September 27 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. 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 grew up showing pigs at the Knox County 4-H show. The first talk I gave at my 4-H Club when I was 10 years old was: “What I Feed My Pig.” As a pig farmer, I have paid money to the pork industry “check off’…
Serious Problems
September 20 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. 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 first thing I want to put on the table is – “the wolves are back.” After settling our country, farmers, ranchers, and trappers got rid of almost all of the grey wolves. Along came the Endangered…
Flood of Regulations
September 13 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary—
Our farmers, ranchers, and small businesses are about to be drowned in a flood of government regulations. This Administration has put on hold the final rules until after the election. Talk about uncertainty.…
PNTR for Russia
September 6 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary—
Russia was welcomed into the World Trade Organization last month. That was a very important step which will require Russia to live by predictable and reasonable and enforceable trading rules. It should be…
Odds & Ends
August 30 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today’s commentary—
Today, I’m going to hit on several issues.
First, a word about the drought. It has been devastating to many farms and small businesses. Not much good will come of it except one thing. Maybe some of the critics…
