Hello everybody out there in farm country. I want to sincerely thank Monsanto for being a reliable, enthusiastic sponsor of this program for so many years. They are stepping back for a year. The National Corn Growers Association is stepping up. My sponsors this coming year will be John Deere and the National Corn Growers Association.

And now for today’s commentary—

The U.S. Congress didn’t get much done this year until this month. Agriculture had a long wish list that just sat on the table.…

Read More/Listen

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 six years of negotiations with 11 Pacific Rim nations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has been approved. Regulations will be harmonized and tariffs reduced. Trade will expand between the countries. The…

Read More/Listen

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—

There is nothing more exciting, exhilarating, or rewarding than bringing in the harvest. After a whole year of planning, buying seed, plant protection chemicals, working the soil, applying fertilizer and planting the crops, then you…

Read More/Listen

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—

Congress is out of town and won’t be back until after Labor Day. In some respects, that’s good. They won’t be passing any bad bills. However, it’s really not so good. The Country of Origin Labeling law is still hanging over our…

Read More/Listen

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— 

Congress directed the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to publish dietary guidelines containing “nutritional and dietary information and guidelines for the general public.” In developing the 2015 Dietary Guidelines, the…

Read More/Listen

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…

Read More/Listen

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 start this commentary by acknowledging that agriculture is not going to have a great year in 2014. Net farm income is projected to fall by 26 percent. Livestock farms should fare a little better, but corn, soy bean, and other grain farms…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country. This is Rick Frank sitting in for John Block. 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— 

Several weeks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its first major proposal in 20 years to amend the Nutrition Facts panel. The anticipated price tag – a whopping 2 billion dollars. There…

Read More/Listen

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— 

When our country was founded, Thomas Jefferson had this to say about the U.S. government. “When the people realize they can vote themselves benefits, all is lost.” 

Well, we have arrived. The vast majority of people want our government to get…

Read More/Listen

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 are experiencing one of the coldest winters that we have seen in decades. The news is reporting about all the flights cancelled. It has been a challenge on our farm to make sure we have the heat for our baby pigs. Natural gas prices have…

Read More/Listen