Hello everybody out there in farm country. We have fringe groups in this country, also in Europe, that just simply are against any kind of economic growth or any kind of technological development. Among other reasons, this country is the greatest nation in the world by far because we have led the world with innovation and a willingness to solve problems.

Do we really believe we can maintain our global leadership if we continue to duck all the tough issues?

The Greenpeace nuts of the world…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country. The American farmer takes a lot of pride in that we not only provide the safest, most abundant supply of food to our citizens but also, we run a trade surplus in farm exports. We export almost 30% of what we produce. To facilitate export trade, we have entered into a series of bilateral free trade agreements. Up until a few months ago, President Bush had the authority to negotiate trade agreements, bring them to the Congress which could approve them…

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Hello everybody outthere in farm country. There are a lot of balls in the air right now.Confusion and uncertainty reign. Will we get a farm bill? Won't weget a farm bill? Secretary Mike Johanns has resigned to run for theSenate in Nebraska. Will Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner, novv ActingSecretary, be the President's choice to fill Johanns's shoes?

A word about SecretaryJohanns -- Mike Johanns did a very good job as Secretary. he traveledthe country talking to and listening to farmers. He fought…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country.

Do we really want to rescue the planet from global warming? The ice at the North Pole is melting. That will open the Northwest Passage and our ships won't have to go through the Panama Canal. Ethanol and biodiesel have a lot of new supporters because they burn cleaner than petroleum.

Thc whole world is worried about greenhouse gas, though. You can't pick up a newspaper that doesn't have at least one article describing the threat of global…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country.

Here we are on the anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack. General Petraeus has reported on the effectiveness of the troop surge in Iraq. Politicians argue and squabble over just about every challenge that our nation faces. If you listen to the national press reporting, you would gather that nothing is going right. We're headed toward certain oblivion. It may be they arc right. We can't seem to stabilize the warring factions in Iraq. We can't win…

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Hello everybody out there in farm country.

I spent some time last week in Illinois -- at the Farm Progress Show and at our farm up near Galesburg.

The optimism in farm country is "off the chart." Not that we ain't complaining about a lot of things. Of course, we are. "Look how expensive anhydrous is going to be this fall -- $550 per ton. Production expenses for the 2008 crop will be up at least 10%." It does seem that the minute we get some profit margin it starts to leak away. The crowds…

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Congress is coming backand it would be nice if they would sit down and get something done.Their approval rating is a dismal 18%. As low as President Bush'srating is, it's still almost twice that of our Congress.

Congress can start bycompleting the Corps of Engineers Locks and Dam bill. We have a lotof grain to ship on our inland water system. Next, the Senate needsto concentrate on writing a farm bill now that the House has shownthe way. Also, work needs to be done on the Immigration…

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Hello everybody outthere in farm country.

Just back from France.My family and I bicycled in La Loire Valley for a week southwest of Paris. It was beautiful and cool. About 70° -- contrast that with the 90+° here in the U.S.

In talking to a French farmer, I found that they are about as excited about the demand for renewable fuel that has lifted farm prices as we are. We rode along bike paths with wheat fields, grape vineyards, and corn as far as the eye could see. Of course, the wheat…

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We have so many sources of information there isn't enough time in the day to listen, read, or hear from everyone. We have radio (AM and FM), television,newspapers, internet sites, blogs, and more. We can listen to or read what we want and tune out what we don't like. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees free speech.

But liberals want to impose a so-called "fairness doctrine" on us. They are whining because we aren't listening to their liberal voices. The public is tuning them…

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For years, I have advocated normalizing relations with Cuba. I went there with an Ag delegation 4 or 5 years ago. We have tried to get our politicians (both parties) to wake up to reality. Cuba is no threat to us. The 40-year embargo against Cuba is a relic of distant history.

In the meantime, we have fought a war with Viet Nam. And now, we trade, have an Ambassador stationed in Hanoi, and do business with our old enemy. Turn to China, where our doors are open for business, so much so that…

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