Issues

March 18, 2021

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.

And now for today’s commentary –

I want to have an open mind and be fair as I evaluate the policies advocated by President Biden
and our new Congress. It is too soon to know where we are going on trade. There are a lot of
disputes and not many easy solutions. We have a long list of differences with China. But also
with the European Union, UK, Japan and even Canada. We’ll just wait and see.

On two other issues, I think that the new leadership is wrong. President Biden’s executive order
to stop oil and gas drilling on federal land is not going to put an end to global warming. There is
a bipartisan coalition coming together to oppose any permant leasing ban. Two Democratic
Senators from New Mexico say “it would cripple their states’ economy.” They say it would cost
thousands of jobs. I have always argued that if the government has resources that the public
needs and is willing to pay for it, then don’t shut it down.

President Biden shut down another very important business project – the Keystone Pipeline. It is
90% completed, almost ready to deliver from Canada to U.S fuel that we need. But without the
pipeline we have to transport by truck and rail. If you want to do something that will be good for
our climate, finish the pipeline. On the issue of climate change, Secretary of Agriculture, Tom
Vilsack had this to say. “USDA is committed to addressing climate change through actions that
are farmer, rancher, and forest landowner focused, and that create new market opportunities for
our sector in a fair and equitable way.” The word is that agriculture is responsible for 10% of the
greenhouse gas emissions. We can sequester and store carbon in our soils. There is a lot of talk
about the role that agriculture could play. How do we do it? In truth there was a lot of
unanswered questions. Will we have a carbon bank? Will farmers be compensated? It will be
interesting to see where we go from here.

Last subject – It may be the most urgent. Since President Biden took office the number of
immigrants surging across our southern border has exploded. With the “open border” talk,
thousands see this as their chance to escape poverty in their country. This crisis is only going to
get worse before it gets better.

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