Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. The sound (audio file only) may be a little different today because I am talking to you on the phone – from the farm in Illinois.

And now for today’s commentary—

There is nothing more exciting, exhilarating, or rewarding than bringing in the harvest. After a whole year of…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by 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—

Down on the farm in Illinois. That’s where I was last week. We started our corn harvest – a little wet (27% moisture), but time to start. It is a bumper crop, that’s why prices are down.

While on the farm, a lot of thoughts come to my mind.…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by 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— Let’s talk about the farm bill today.

The level of support and type of support has evolved over time. Today’s bill isn’t my father’s farm bill.

The importance of farm supports to farmers has diminished over the years. When I came…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by 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 was on the farm in Illinois last week and part of this week. Of course, the first subject to talk about today is the farm. It’s time to plant corn. The weather cooperated, and watching that corn planter roll across that black land was so…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by 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’m starting to get excited about planting season – maybe 10 days or 2 weeks away. This has been a tough winter. Makes it hard to get very much done. As I’m sure you are aware, they haven’t been getting much done out here in Washington…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by 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— 

Last year in January, I announced my wish list for 2013. Today, let’s review that list and see how we did. 

Wish Number 1: “Get a farm bill passed.” Well, we’re still wishing. 

Wish Number 2: “Deal with our immigration problem. If we don’t,…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by 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 returned to Washington, D.C. earlier this week from the farm in Illinois. The farm visit, as always, was so refreshing. To escape the political fights and federal government dysfunction helped to clear my head. 

First, I believe that the…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by  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—

Last week, I was down on the farm in Illinois. I had hoped to watch the corn planter  crossing the field – back and forth, back and forth. But, it didn’t happen. It just didn’t get dry  enough. This week, the planter is rolling. We could…

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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— 

EPA cannot bring itself to leave farmers alone. Lois Alt, a West Virginia chicken farmer, has spent months fighting off the demands of EPA that her poultry operation had to have a clean water discharge permit.…

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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—

Last week, Rick Frank was filling in for me. I was on the farm in Illinois as we wrapped up corn and soy bean harvest. Fortunately, we had a beautiful fall to get the work done. What a contrast to 2 years ago…

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