Previous Weeks
Cabinet Secretaries Lunch
December 31 2008
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. 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 served as a host for the annual Cabinet Secretaries Holiday luncheon for more than 20 years. At this year's luncheon, we hosted 52 Cabinet members spanning the years from the Gerald…
Christmas 2008
December 24 2008
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today's commentary--
It's hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone. This is a time of year that brings back memories. I remember Christmas as a boy on our farm in Illinois. My sisters and I were up…
Animal Agriculture Under Attack
December 17 2008
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today's commentary--
The agriculture industry is under assault and I'm not sure we realize it. We have seen new restrictions imposed on animal agriculture in a series of states from Florida to Arizona and, now,…
Panel of Ag Secretaries
December 10 2008
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
And now for today's commentary--
A once-in-a-lifetime panel featuring seven former Secretaries of Agriculture spoke to the challenges that a Secretary faces and the issues of the day. This was presented at the Food and Ag…
Energy
December 3 2008
And now for today's commentary-- I don't recall anyone predicting last June that by Thanksgiving oil prices would be below 50 dollars per barrel. From nearly $150 down to $50 -- no way!
What is this telling us? Are we to…
Thanksgiving 2008
November 26 2008
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. 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 know we have severe economic problems. We are still at war. We can't discount the challenges that we face.
However, this was Thanksgiving Week. In spite of our problems, we have a lot to…
Getting Out Of This Mess
November 19 2008
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. 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 find our country in an unbelievable economic quagmire. Hovv can we get out of this mess? Maybe the place to start would be to ask -- what did we do to get into it in the first place?
We…
An Obama Presidency
November 12 2008
Hello everybody out there in farm country. Thank you to Wal-Mart, Monsanto, the Renewable Fuels Association, and John Deere for sponsoring this radio commentary. Today, just an extra word about Wal-Mart. This weekend, I picked up the newspaper. The 30 biggest companies on the Dow Jones were listed, and every company's stock value has declined this year -- some by a huge amount, except Wal-Mart. Up 14%. The explanation is simple. Wal-Mart is well-managed and is providing real value to their…
Let’s Control Our Spending
November 5 2008
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
With this election behind us and the global economic crisis as background, I have to ask, did we really learn anything? Is it going to be more of the same? Spend, spend, spend and watch the debt pile up.
What did we hear…
Animal Agriculture
October 29 2008
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.
Keep your eye on this. It could have serious long-term consequences for animal agriculture in this country. Next week, a California ballot initiative will be voted on that would prohibit the confinement of laying hens, veal…