Legislation
Farm Program
July 17 2014
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…
Farm Bill at Last
February 6 2014
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—
After two years of debate, political fights involving the nutrition advocates and farm groups, we have a farm bill. Remember, 80% of the $956 billion is for food programs and the remaining 20% is for farm support.
The $8 billion reduction in…
Wish List
January 30 2014
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,…
What’s In the Farm Bill?
December 19 2013
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—
The obvious issues in the farm bill are nutrition programs, crop insurance, and farm safety net supports. However, there are some important sections in the bill that could be almost as important that don’t get much attention.
The first one…
Farm Bill Conflict
November 21 2013
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—
We don’t have a budget yet. We don’t have a farm bill. House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) hopes to have a draft bill by week’s end. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Senate Ag Committee Chairman acknowledges there are a lot of differences…
Farm Bill
November 7 2013
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—
Will we get a farm bill or won’t we get a farm bill? No one knows at this point. There are still a number of unanswered questions.
The biggest fight is over how much to cut the spending on food stamps. We have 50 million people receiving…
Issues of the Day
October 31 2013
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—
Farm bill negotiations are not the only important thing going on right now. Ballots are being collected in Washington State that could force labels on foods and beverages that contain GMOs. Will it pass? We don’t know but if it does, it…
Trade Protectionism
September 5 2013
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—
These are the words of Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) – It is the responsibility of “Congress, not the states” to regulate interstate commerce.
Here is what this is all about. Mr. King offered an amendment to the farm bill which…
House Passes Farm Bill
July 18 2013
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—
As I said last week, “I’m headed to the farm in Illinois.” I went to the farm twice in May, hoping we could get some corn planted. It rained both times. However, somehow, in between rains, we got it in the ground. Last week as…
Can We Get Anything Done?
July 11 2013
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—
With a long 4th of July weekend, I spent a little more time reading the paper and getting updated on what is going on in our Capitol City and the world. I’m not surprised. The government can’t get anything done and the world is…