Hello everybody out there in farm country.

March 21, the first day of spring, was National Ag Day. We salute the American farm and ranch families across this nation. One farmer is able to feed 130 people in the U.S. and abroad. In 1930, a farm family was feeding 24 people. Now that's progress. A 4-wheel drive tractor is as powerful as 300 horses. My father could pick 100 bushels of corn in a day. We pick and shell 100 bushels of corn in 7 minutes.

Here in the U.S., we spend…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country.

Last week, I was proud to announce Wal-Mart Stores as one of my sponsors. Well, this week, I'm equally as proud to announce that the Renewable Fuels Association has joined the team to sponsor the John Block Report. The Renewable Fuels Association, headed by Bob Dinneen, is fighting to protect the interests of the renewable fuels industry and farmers that supply the raw materials.

And now, for today's commentary.

All former…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country.

I am proud to report today that Wal-Mart Stores is one of my sponsors. No other retailer delivers more value to the shopper than Wal-Mart. That's only part of the story. No one else comes close to Wal-Mart's charitable giving effort either. Did you see the Red Kettles in front of the Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores? They raised 32 million dollars for the Salvation Army. I love the Salvation Army. Thank you, Wal-Mart.

And now for…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country.

Fidel Castro, Cuban dictator for 50 years, steps down. Brother Raul Castro takes the helm.

What does this mean to us? Why should we care? What are we going to do? What does this change mean for Cuba?

It means that we should take a new look at our relationship with Cuba. We hardly trade with them -some farm products is about the size of it. We restrict travel and tourism to Cuba. Even Florida Cuban families are not allowed…

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It has been said that this is a "golden age" for agriculture. I won't disagree. Wheat prices are out of sight. Corn price is double what it has been in recent years. Milk price is double. All my years in this business, I have heard that farm programs inflate land prices. They probably did but not anymore. The market is driving land values up. Can this"golden age" endure? We shall see.

You know how it works.Whoever is on top, they're the target. "Bring them down." Well, we are on top.…

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It seems that everyonein this town is jockeying for political advantage. It would be niceif the U.S. Congress would just do something for the good of all ourcitizens. Last year, the Congress passed the Peru Trade PromotionAgreement. That was good -opening up a $330 million market for u.S.agriculture. But now, we have 3 more similar agreements pending --Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.

Sometimes, we forgethow important trade is to our farmers and ranchers. We had a record$82 billion in Ag…

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In the last week, we lost a great Secretary of Agriculture -- Earl Butz died at age 98.And a new Secretary was sworn in. Ed Schafer, former Governor of North Dakota, became the 29th Secretary of Agriculture. Governor Schafer was confirmed by the Senate with unanimous consent.

Ed Schafer was a popular Republican North Dakota governor. Earl Butz, throughout his time as Secretary, was always somewhat controversial. In serving two Presidents, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, Earl Butz was pushed…

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When I was Secretary of AgricuIture, the European Union delisted all of our meat packing plants, claiming that they needed to reinspect and recertify them.The real truth wasn't that our plants were in any way inferior totheirs. No! They just had too much meat in Europe and didn't want ours. After about 2 years, they certified 9 of our plants. They were all horsemeat plants. The French just couldn't get enough horsemeat. So -- we resumed shipping horsemeat to Europe.

But, that was 20 years…

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I've been trying to avoid doing a commentary on the Presidential primary contests. Can't ignore it anymore. It's all the news.

I have no idea who will win the nominations, but here is where I think the candidates stand on issues important to agriculture.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Both of their voting records are very liberal -- about as liberal as you can get. That means no extension of Bush tax cuts,more spending, and regulation. You name it -- anything from animal rights to…

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Hello everybody outthere in farm country. Is there any good news? Why didn't we hearabout it? Seventy percent of individuals say the "economy isgetting worse." Attitudes like this can become a self-fulfillingprophecy. I don't think our sour mood is justified.

Our unemployment ratehas held at a very low 4.7%. Just about anyone that wants a job canfind work. European unemployment is twice what ours is. Our dynamiceconomy has created 8 million jobs since 2003. I don't think it is acoincidence.…

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