Previous Weeks
Down on the Farm: State Fair
August 23 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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 am back from a week at the farm and the Illinois State Fair. I want to review what took place at the Fair. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a Proclamation naming the Illinois State Department of Agriculture…
Ag Trade
August 16 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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 news is full of worrisome problems. We have the drought which is hurting our ag industry and farmers across the heartland. Europe can’t seem to find a fix for their economic crisis. And can we be far behind…
Sweet Corn
August 9 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
How will we ever be able to increase food production to feed the growing world population if we don’t employ new production technology? The answer is – we can’t. Fortunately for all of us and the world, we are…
Gaffes Galore!
August 2 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
Be careful what you say. It can get you into trouble. The press is checking. We are all listening. It seems like Romney and Obama get taken to the wood shed every few days for some unintended gaffes. Even the…
Drought Fallout
July 26 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
Here we go again – a short grain crop which means higher prices for wheat, corn, soy beans and on down the line. The fall out will be felt far and wide. The pain will not be shared equally.
The drought is going…
Biking in Italy
July 19 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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 am just back from 12 days in Northern Italy. My family and I bicycled down the valley with the Alps Mountains soaring on either side of us.
This was not our first organized bike ride in Europe. Our first was…
A Visit to St. Petersburg / Back in the USSR
July 12 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This is Rick Frank sitting in for John Block, who is on vacation. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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 just returned from summer vacation to the Baltic, including St. Petersburg, Russia. Mother Russia hasn’t really changed all that much since…
4th of July
July 5 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
Throughout this political campaign, there has been a lot of talk about the Constitution. The Supreme Court just ruled on the constitutionality of Obama Care. Speakers are quoting Thomas Jefferson to make their…
Federal Crop Insurance
June 28 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
Is it a big deal? Well, maybe it is. The Senate passed a farm bill this week. The House still must pass one, and the two will have to be reconciled.
However, considering the political gridlock that has tied our…
Work to Do
June 21 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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 don’t ever remember a time when we had such a back log of work and difficult decisions staring us in the face. Every time the federal government spends $1 we have to borrow 40 cents of that dollar. We don’t…