Here I am in Brazil on a farm, not just any old farm. This farm goes on-and-on as far as the eye can see -- 62,000 acres. Thirty thousand acres of soybeans, 22,000 acres of cotton, and 10,000 acres of corn. The farm is all in one rectangular chunk. The cotton is ready to harvest, the soybeans are already in the bin and the corn nearly ready to pick. The farm has 70 employees, 90 combines, 37 cotton pickers, 227 tractors and 133 planters.

Compared to our standards the farm appears to be over…

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For those of us in the business of farming, our highest priority is to produce a product and sell it -- at a profit. Otherwise we won't stay in business. We may be raising cattle or pigs, corn or rice, or whatever. But, we're never happy when some outside force starts stealing our livelihood.

The Endangered Species Act made it possible for preservation extremists -- mostly from the east to close down farming operations in the west to save the kangaroo rat. Yes -- to save a rat. To me the only…

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Corn is king in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and many mid-western states and on thousands of farms. Last week, on our family farm in Illinois, I was inspired and excited to look down the rows of tiny corn plants spiking through the black soil. It's a new crop year -- new hopes and lots of uncertainty. The thrill of growing and producing something that you can see, touch and measure is one of the farming addictions that we can't escape.

Corn is such an important crop and the uses continue to expand.…

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A lot of questions are debated in this town. And often the right side of the issue is not so obvious. Well, in the next few weeks, Congress will be debating and voting on approval of CAFTA, a trade agreement with the Central American countries and the Dominican Republic. In this case -- at least from Agriculture's point-of-view, it is as Illinois Farm Bureau President, Phil Nelson, put it, "a no brainer."

According to Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, with an agreement "we are likely to…

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Here I am, on the farm in Illinois. Just being here brings back memories of my mother. It happens to be Mother's Day weekend, but those fond memories come to mind whenever I stand in the yard in front of the wooden frame house where I grew up; whenever I look at a new born litter of baby pigs and whenever I walk the newly planted corn fields. You can just smell the special aroma of freshly worked soil.

I can 't help but recall all the noon meals that my mother cooked for hired men. How many…

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Last week, I was speaking in Winnipeg, Canada to the Manitoba Pork Council. The subject of focus was trade -- U.S. Canadian ag trade. In recent times, the U.S. and Canada have been drifting into full blown war on ag trade issues. First, we can't seem to get our market opened for their beef. Second, we had the pork dispute. Fortunately, that is behind us.

Canada and Europe have joined to impose duties on a long list of our exports to them because we still have the Byrd Amendment in force which…

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Here we are in the honorable profession of producing food. That's what farmers and ranchers do. Malnutrition and starvation are serious concerns in many parts of the world. What we hear ringing in our ears all of the time are the problems with our bountiful food supply.

Sixty-five percent of Americans are overweight or obese. We eat too much. We don't eat healthy (whatever that means.) We crave too much salt. Now the energy is trans-fat. Some critics wanted to blame our fat problem on corm…

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Last September, a column headline in The Wall Street Journal sounded the alarm --- "Demand for oil could one day outstrip supply. "

The concern about energy supply has countries all over the world scrambling to get ahead of the problem. $2.00 gasoline here in the U.S. has our attention. Congress has been trying for over a year to pass energy legislation, but drilling in ANWAR and protection for MTBE manufacturers has stalled that effort.

But, that doesn't mean nothing is getting done. Ethanol…

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I'm sitting here right now thinking about this year -- 2005. What will the Congress and President Bush be able to get done? I get a little bit concerned that the President's ambitious agenda may over shadow the many smaller problems that need to be dealt with.

The war, Iraq, and to a lesser extent, Afghanistan, are a huge drain of resources and energy. We don't have any choice. We have to see the process through to the end.

Social Security reform is where President Bush has been spending the…

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They say it can't be done. The budget deficit is soaring. Congress will never have the discipline to control spending. Social Security reform with personal saving accounts is a pipe dream.

Can President Bush win support for his ambitious agenda? At this point we don't know, but I wouldn't bet against him. He has always been underestimated. I recall President Reagan pushing through unbelievable tax cuts in 1981. The top tax rate when President Reagan was elected was 70 percent. After that first…

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