Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—

Today, I want to concentrate on trade. We are in the process of negotiating a trade agreement with the European Union. We have just completed an agreement with 11 other countries (the Trans Pacific Partnership – TPP).…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—

We hear a lot of talk about the economy. It’s not growing as fast as it should. Two percent growth is just too slow. It has taken forever to recover from the 2008 recession. There are a lot of opinions about why…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country.  This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—  

Another week goes by – Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton look to be our Presidential candidates.  It’s quite a contrast.  Polls indicate that they are in a dead heat, but it’s a long time until November.  

Today,…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—

Agriculture is an industry that depends heavily on exports with some 30% of our production sold to other countries. That explains the reason why the ag industry has so much interest in the Trans Pacific Partnership…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country.  This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—  

Hopefully, we are beginning to set the record straight.  We have heard so much misleading information criticizing biotechnology that we could go down the European road.  In Europe, GE food is not on the plate.…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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 am on the farm this week hoping to wrap up soy bean planting. It was Donald Trump last week. This week, first let me give you my take on the “bathroom bill brawl.” Why won’t the federal government back off? Let the…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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 have been involved in Republican politics since Governor Jim Thompson appointed me as his Illinois Director of Agriculture 40 years ago. I have never seen a Presidential campaign like this one. We had 17 candidates…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country.  This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—  

As a farmer, I would not like it if Europe shipped subsidized beef into our market.  That would undercut our prices.  What if Brazil shipped subsidized soybeans to us?  We would be furious.  

Did you know that…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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—

Last week, I was on the farm in Illinois. Our corn is planted. Field soil conditions have been ideal. We still have soybeans waiting to be put in the ground. This is an exciting season.

Speaking of an exciting…

Read More/Listen

Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers 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 paid my income taxes this week. You know how the IRS does it. They ask “How much did you make? Okay. Send it in.” I know – it’s not quite that bad. However, every year at this time, we are reminded that we need…

Read More/Listen