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Previous Weeks
The Farm Bill 2001, Farming Future?
September 11 2001
Livestock prices have been good. But grain and oilseed prices just can't seem to get up off the mat.
This week I had a chance to talk with the House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest, Congressman Charlie Stenholm. Cal Dooley, Senator Conrad Bums and others. I just don't see through the clouds that silver lining that we are looking for. Yes, anything can happen. A drought in South America, Europe or a new surprise surge in demand.
A lot of people are pinning their hopes on the next farm…
Property Rights
September 4 2001
Last week I was riding horses on a ranch in Wyoming. This week I'm back in Washington, but I'm still hung up on family farms and a way of life that is part of our heritage. My family farm in Illinois has been in the family for more than 100 years, and I must admit that we are lucky to live here in the U. S.
I'm afraid we take for granted property rights and the rule of law that protect the individual citizen.
Imagine yourself -- a farmer in Zimbabwe in southern Africa. Black landless squatters…
Rural America
August 28 2001
This program is by telephone today. I am on a ranch in Teton County, Wyoming. Been on a horse every day for the past week. And the sun has shone everyday also, illuminating the beautiful Teton mountain range, backgrounded by a deep blue western sky.
Makes me think ofthe multitudes of people that are congested in the big smog filled cities. They find it difficult to relate to their neighbors of rural and small town America. Out here in the country, as is the case in Missisippi, Kentucky,…
The Farm Program 2001
August 21 2001
Don't you just love it? The President enjoying his ranch. Never mind that it is 98 degrees in the shade. Listen to the national press corps whining about the heat, longing for the good old days on the ocean beach at Martha's Vineyard. Get used to it. It's your punishment.
The President signed the 5.5 billion dollar supplemental farm legislation on his Texas ranch last week. A fitting place. The Senate bill was bigger... 7.5 billion dollars. Let's be honest. The 5.5 billion is generous. The…
Down on the Farm in 2001
August 14 2001
Down on the farm! That's where I was last week. We could sure use some rain. But so far, so good. The corn seems to be in good shape. And in walking in the fields, I was happy to find very good pollination. There is nothing that will cut yield like stalks without ears.
It has been hot. When it is hot, the pigs don't eat or gain weight like they should. Besides, it is a challenge just to keep the sows cool. As my son cranked up the auger wagon to haul feed to the finishing barns, I couldn't…
Salinization
August 7 2001
Salinization. Salinization is what happens when through irrigation salt deposits are left behind, making cropland increasingly less productive. If you are from the Midwest, you may ask, "Is that a real problem?" The answer is, "It is huge in many dry countries and regions where heavy irrigation is needed to grow crops."
It is a serious drag on crop production in California but also in India, China, Mexico and Pakistan and many other countries. Researchers estimate that 25% of irrigated land…
Useless Councils
July 17 2001
On Wednesday, January 10, I was surprised to read in the Washington Times newspaper that on the eve of his retirement as Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman established seven advisory councils to provide "ongoing advice" to USDA employees who are members of protected classes. I thought to myself, "What does all this mean? If these councils were so important, why didn't Secretary Glickman appoint them when he was Secretary? Unless he simply felt that Secretary Veneman needed them worse than he…
Farm Policy
July 10 2001
The Congress had a week back home in the country to listen to their constituents. We listened to them just before they headed to the country.
The Senate Ag Committee hearing didn't do very much to clarify what we're looking forward to in terms of farm policy. I was in a meeting with Secretary Veneman last week and she wasn't able to shed much light on this complicated question.
She seemed to be saying that we need policy that takes into consideration the whole food chain -- farmer to consumer --…
Trade Promotion Authority
June 24 2001
President Bush is asking Congress for trade promotion authority -- fast tract. It will not be an easy sell. The last time President Clinton asked for it, it was denied. Labor unions are worried about competition from cheap labor and environmentalists want to impose strict environmental obligations on other countries. If we think these kind of internal conflicts are unique, guess agam.
Turn back the clock to 1990. At that time, European union members pledged to grant full membership to the Union…
A Meeting with President Bush!
June 17 2001
I was at the White House this week as a small group of industry leaders -- 24 to be exact -- met with President Bush, Dr. Larry Lindsey, the President's Chief Economic Advisor, and Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill. We were in the Roosevelt Room across the hall from the Oval Office.
President Bush thanked us for our support in helping to pass his tax cut. This was also an occasion to get a first hand understanding of the President's agenda and priorities. Larry Lindsey called the recently…
