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Ag Issues of the Day
May 10, 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
As you know, we win a few and lose a few.
After thousands of comments criticizing the Department of Labor’s proposed rule to disallow children under 16 years of age to work on farms, they withdrew the rule. If that rule had gone into effect, my grandchildren would not have been allowed to help sort hogs. They could not have shown a calf at the 4-H show. This is an election year. Could it be that the political price of such an unpopular regulatory overreach was not worth the price?
There is good news on the horse slaughter front. In 2006, animal rights advocates pushed the Congress to cut off funding for inspection of our horse slaughter plants. Without inspectors, the plants had to close. No place to go with unwanted horses. Some have been shipped to Mexico and Canada. Some are just turned loose on the range or the road. Common sense has reappeared and our government will fund the inspections. Hopefully by the end of this year, we will be able to process and ship our horsemeat to France and Italy and wherever. You will be able to sell your horse for money now, and someone in another country can benefit from the meat.
Don’t get your hopes up but the Senate Ag Committee did pass a farm bill. Direct payments are gone and a stronger risk management safety net is in. The House Ag Committee is getting ready to pass a bill also. After that, what’s going to happen? Not much. In this election year, I will be surprised if the full Senate and House even vote on their bills. Although we do have an indication of where farm policy is headed, it’s too soon to get very excited about a farm bill.
Now a word or two about “pink slime.” Iowa Governor Terry Branstad criticized ABC News and others. He said, “It’s a sad day when a false, misleading smear campaign can destroy a company.” I would add the smear campaign effectively is resulting in the wasting of lean, finely textured beef. The company processing the product (Beef Products, Inc.) has been forced to close down 3 of its 4 plants. 650 dedicated and good employees are now out of work. I hope the news organizations responsible for this are happy. It’s your fault, totally without justification. Lean, finely textured beef is safe, nutritious, and pure beef.
In closing, I would encourage you to access my website which archives my radio commentaries dating back 10 years and will go back 20 years when complete. Check on what I said back then. Go to www.johnblockreports.com.
Until next week, I am John Block in Washington.
Previous Weeks
NAFTA
May 3 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
Let me review with you a success story that has been a major plus for the U.S. and especially for our ag industry. I’m talking about the North American Free Trade Agreement between U.S., Canada, and…
USDA Anniversary
April 26 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This is Rick Frank sitting in for John Block who is on vacation. 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—
May 15 is almost here. Look back 150 years. Abraham Lincoln was President and he signed a bill establishing the U.S.…
Race For The White House
April 19 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This is Rick Frank sitting in for John Block who is on vacation. 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—
With only about 6 months to go before we vote in November, we have a two-man race for the White House. Mitt Romney appears…
Jackson-Vanik
April 12 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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 Presidential campaign is in the headlines every day. And the number one priority is to create jobs. Well, if we are serious, there is one thing the Congress can do that will be a big help.
They need…
Some Good News
April 5 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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 seems like every week there is another attack on commercial agriculture and family farms, whether it is the Humane Society, PETA, EPA, Department of Labor, environmentalists – they all want to tell…
Tabloid Journalism—ABC News Slimes Lean Beef
March 29 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
This is Rick Frank sitting in for John Block. Reaching new lows in broadcast television journalism, ABC News several weeks ago ran an investigative report unfairly and inaccurately disparaging a safe and…
Ethanol
March 22 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
This past week, we held the monthly luncheon meeting of the Ag Roundtable. Our speakers always address important ag issues. Bob Dinneen, the President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, spoke to…
Celebrate Agriculture
March 15 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
In the past week, there has been a lot going on. At the top of the list – Ag Day. We celebrated the remarkable contribution American agriculture makes to this country and the world. A beautiful dinner…
Obesity
March 8 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, 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—
O.K., I think we have to accept the fact that we have an obesity problem here in this country. So what should we do?
The simple answer is, more exercise and consume less calories. A good place to start is…
Ag Outlook Conference
March 1 2012
Hello everybody out there in farm country. This is Rick Frank sitting in for John Block who is on vacation. 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—
Today, I want to talk about the Ag Outlook Conference held here in Washington, D.C. last week. Two thousand people…