Previous Weeks
Christmas—A Time for Reflection
December 26 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—
I hope you had a Merry Christmas. It’s a wonderful time to bring families together and reflect on the past year. It’s a time to make plans for the new year.
I think the country has a lot of pluses. We’re not in a war – not a real war. We’re…
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…
Free Trade with Europe
December 12 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 should get a farm bill in January. It appears that we now have a budget. That helps because now the Ag Department will know how much money the Department has to spend. Let’s keep the pressure on to get it done.
The subject that I want to…
Cabinet Meetings
December 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—
We all know that Republicans and Democrats are at each others’ throats and we can’t seem to get anything done. It also appears that President Obama has not demonstrated the kind of leadership to move things along. No one wants to take…
Bounty of Food
November 28 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—
I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving this year. The celebration of Thanksgiving dates back to our ancestors who settled this country. They didn’t have any of the comforts that we take for granted today. They were just thankful to have a roof…
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…
Down on the Farm & The National Association of Farm Broadcasters
November 14 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—
I’m on the phone today. I was on the farm earlier in the week and I am now in Kansas City at the National Association of Farm Broadcasters convention. Harvesting our crop at the farm this fall has been so smooth. However, spring planting…
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…
Landon Lecture
October 24 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—
Earlier this week, I was a speaker at Kansas State University. I wasn’t alone. I shared the podium with 5 other former Secretaries of Agriculture – Mike Espy and Dan Glickman (Democrats) and Ann Veneman, Mike Johanns, and Ed Schafer…