Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by thc Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all rriends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.

And now for today's commentary.

On March 27th, my commentary was about John McCain and his position on thc issues that we care about. Today, it is Barack Obama under the microscope.

And here we…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. I'm talking to you by telephone from the farm today. The sun is shining, corn is coming up. Some of it you can row and some is just peeking through the rich black soil. It has been a wet tough spring for farmers across the land, but, once again, perseverance pays off. I want to thank the sponsors of the “John Block Program." They are a vital part of rural America. Right here in Knox County, Illinois, we have a new Wal-Mart store. That's where you…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, and Monsanto. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.

And now for today's commentary.

For weeks, I have avoided talking about the farm bill. The process of reaching some kind of consensus has been excruciatingly painful. But, at long last, something is happening. We may…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. Today, I say "hats off' to Wal-Mart Stores. In thee times of a slowing economy and rising fuel and food prices, Wal-Mart continues to be the largest corporate contributor reaching out to help those in need. In 2007, Wal-Mart gave 296 million dollars for hunger relief, education, health care, disaster relief. Thank you, Wal-Mart.

And now for today's commentary.

You have heard it said that the cure for high prices is high prices and…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country.

I wish it was not the case, but the news about rising food prices and hungry people cannot be ignored. It must be answered.

To begin with, the increase in food prices around the world cannot be blamed on our ethanol program. Here are the facts. We are exporting a record amount of food to the rest of the world. We are not hording it. Some countries are. They have imposed export controls. We are exporting more tons of grain than ever…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. Common sense has finally come to the party. If we are concerned about producing enough food, we must employ the best food production technology. Thank you Monsanto. If a lot of people find that they are a little short of money to buy food and other necessities, Wal-Mart Stores to the rescue. Thank you Wal-Mart.

Now for today's commentary.

Let me read to you what Bloomberg News is saying about global trade. "The surge in world food…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. I am so proud of the sponsors of this program. They are serving our citizens and the citizens of the world in the most meaningful way. Right now, when they are needed most. Monsanto -- there is so much concern about rising food prices. Well, Monsanto's technology is doing more than anything that I know of to increase food production. Renewable Fuels Association -- gasoline prices are high but not as high as they would be if we didn't have biofuels.…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. You can't avoid it. There is a national obsession about whether we can grow enough food. Point the finger at ethanol and biofuels. That's the problem.

Let's get some of the facts straight. If oil wasn't costing $100 per barrel, maybe then we wouldn't have a problem, but it does cost $100, and no one expects it to go back to $20. We are running a huge trade deficit thanks to all the money we are spending to buy oil. On top of that, we spend…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. This John Block Commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association and Wal-Mart Stores -- both regarded with respect, admiration, and appreciation in rural America.

Do you remember the good old days when corn, soybeans, and wheat were cheap? There weren't any articles slamming the farmer for high food prices. We weren't being blamed for anything then. We were subsidizing the consumer with the least expensive, highest quality…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country.

The John Block Commentary is brought to you by Wal-Mart Stores and the Renewable Fuels Association -- both regarded with respect, admiration, and appreciation in rural America.

Nothing dominates the news like the race for the White House. We're trying to nail this contest down to 2 people. We aren't there yet.

This week, I want to talk about the Republican candidate -- John McCain -- the John McCain that I know as a loyal…

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