John Block Reports from Washington

Mike Johanns, from an Iowa dairy farm, out of the heartland -- our Secretary of Ag is waiting. His confirmation should not be difficult since he comes to town with all of the right qualifications. I talked with him last week. He's excited. I met him last spring in Nebraska, where we both appeared on an ag program. Farm people of Nebraska like him. He comes from the soil and is one of us. With a strong national farm economy, he should be off to a good start.

Of course, it won't be all smooth sailing. Hearings will be held next year on the next faml bill, and he will be asked what his vision is for farm programs. Trade issues will be front and center. WTO negotiations are critical for an industry that exports more than a quarter of our production. We still don't have the Japanese market open for our beef. Trade disputes with Canada just seem to perpetuate.

Farmers and ranchers will focus on farm programs and trade, but the Secretary will have other challenges. Half of USDA's 80 billion dollar budget is spent on nutrition programs, food stamps, school lunch and WIC.

When I was Secretary, my family and I went on the food stamp program for a week just to prove that it provided a satisfactory diet. The liberal press really criticized me for that.

The Department of Ag manages 190 million acres of forest land. In fact, half of the USDA employees work for the Forest Service. The Dept. of Ag. Has 113,000 employees and they are everywhere -- not just in Washington, but in every county and 150 countries around the world. I almost forgot about USDA's responsibility for food safety, meat inspection and animal health. When I was Secretary, African swine fever was found in the Dominican Republic. We killed every pig on the Island to stop the spread of the deadly disease.

Secretaries of Ag never know what to expect. Do you think Secretary Venaman anticipated that one mad cow would dominate her tenure?

Good luck Governor Johanns. It won't be easy, but you can do it.

Until next week, I am John Block from Washington.