With the Senate Agriculture Committee set to start writing a new farm bill on Tuesday and the House Agriculture Committee ready to follow a day later, Congressman Collin Peterson offers his views on how a new farm bill can hopefully get passed by both chambers this year. As the ranking Democrat, he talks about the compromises he's worked out with Chairman Frank Lucas on a host of issues and with Speaker John Boehner regarding dairy policy. Peterson also expresses confidence about a compromise on...
May 12, 2013
This week's Open Mic guest is Bing Von Bergen, a wheat grower from Moccasin, Montana and president of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG). Wheat growers from the northern plains to Texas are faced with unpredictable weather and that is why crop insurance is a top priority for his association. But, the organization, which just hired a new CEO, also wants a revenue guarantee program in the commodity title that focuses on farm level losses. He also addresses biotechnology in wheat as t...
May 05, 2013
Representative Jim Costa, D-Calif., is a third generation farmer who is serving his ninth year in Congress. As he and his fellow members of the House Agriculture Committee start work on a new farm bill in May, he expresses optimism that compromises can be reached on contentious issues like SNAP and dairy reform and that there will be enough Democrats voting for the bill to ensure passage in 2013. He also discusses reform of our nation's immigration laws and the Renewable Fuels Standard.Jim Costa
Apr 29, 2013
Congressman Rosa DeLauro has strong opinions about hunger in America, farm programs, crop insurance and food safety. Her views offer insight into the challenges that lawmakers and farm groups will face whenever a new farm bill is scheduled for debate on the House floor. DeLauro represents Connecticut's Third District, which stretches from the Long Island Sound and New Haven to the Naugatuck Valley and Waterbury. She serves in the Democratic leadership as co-chair of the Steering and Policy Commi...
Apr 22, 2013
Pam Johnson is President of the National Corn Growers Association and an Iowa corn grower who encourages all growers to be more politically active. Recent challenges to the Renewable Fuel Standard threaten not only the corn industry, but future biofuels under development. Johnson says NCGA is ready for a five-year farm bill to be written, but is not a fan of some of the policy options being discussed. She also discusses the potential for the 2013 corn crop and reinforces the value of corn to a g...
Apr 15, 2013
Bob Goodlatte is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. In this week's Open Mic, the Virginia Republican talks about pending immigration bills and the potential for bipartisan support in the Senate and House of Representatives. Goodlatte wants to eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and presents his argument for dismantling the requirement that corn-based ethanol be given an unfair advantage in the marketplace. The Chairman also s...
Apr 08, 2013
The budgets passed by both the House and Senate are like 'night and day', but Senator Charles Grassley, believes that lawmakers must work toward a more balanced budget even as work begins again on a new farm bill. Its a difficult task, especially because Grassley says there are a lot of people in the U.S. Senate who don't understand agriculture. He also has opinions about how immigration should be modernized and what any new gun control legislation must not include. The Senator believes there ar...
Mar 31, 2013
"The first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind," said Norman Borlaug during his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. In 1977, he was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 2006, the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, just a few in a long line of honors bestowed upon Borlaug, known as the father of the Green Revolution. In this week's Open Mic, his granddaughter, Julie Borlaug, tells about the promise she made to him on his deathbed ab...
Mar 25, 2013
A big dose of common sense from Rusty Fowler, past chair of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. Fowler is with Krone, a maker of haying equipment based in Memphis, Tennessee. He talks about tax policy, regulations and his concerns that Congress can't keep their mind on their jobs enough to pass "boiler plate" legislation. He speaks in favor of governing from the center and the problem of rewarding politicians for philosophy and behavior that would fail in the private sector.Rusty Fowler...
Mar 10, 2013
As hundreds gather in Washington this week to celebrate Ag Day, we can celebrate that today's farmers each feed more than 144 people. But how do we continue to increase productivity in order to feed a growing, global population that's expected to top 9 billion by 2050? Dr. Jerry Hatfield, director of USDA's National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, says 300 bu. corn and 100 bu. soybean yield goals are attainable, but it will require rethinking increased climate variability, as wel...
Mar 10, 2013
From immigration to water quality and a host of regulatory issues, members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) deal with a broad portfolio of issues every day. Steve Troxler is the North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture and the current president of NASDA. In this week's Open Mic, Troxler is very optimistic that farmers and agribusinesses will do what's right for the environment and the consumer, but he is a little less sure of what Congress will be able to...
Mar 04, 2013
Will there still be adequate federal dollars available to help get more conservation practices on the ground? That's one of the big questions facing John Larson as CEO of the National Association of Conservation Districts. Both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees included important reforms in the conservation title of the farm bill last year, but the future is uncertain. The Washington state native also discusses how implementing more conservation on working lands can help improve soil h...
Feb 25, 2013
Twenty-five years ago, President Ronald Reagan signed the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987, which responded to the farm credit crisis and established the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation. Since that time, "Farmer Mac" has served as the primary secondary market for agricultural loans with cumulative business volume exceeding $29 billion. On this week's Open Mic, CEO Tim Buzby explains how Farmer Mac has changed over the years and discusses the similarities and differences with other gover...
Feb 11, 2013
U.S. Senator Mark Pryor would like to see bipartisan solutions to some of our nations most troubling budget issues, but in this week's Open Mic, he paints a fairly bleak picture. The Arkansan chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and talks about some of his priorities and his concerns about cutting direct payments to address the looming March 1 sequester. A long-time advocate for rice farmers in his state, Pryor tells why he voted against the Senate farm bill last year and...
Feb 11, 2013
In his first term Rep. Tim Huelskamp earned a reputation of bucking the political system and party leadership positions that prompted the Republican House Steering Committee to strip him of plum committee assignments in the 113th Congress, including the Agriculture and Budget Committees. But the Kansas farmer handily won re-election in the state's "Big First" District and he's proud of being a fiscal conservative - one of only nine members in the 435-member U.S. House to have earned a 100 percen...
Feb 03, 2013
Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh does not hold back on his opinions about the inability of Congress to act on a new farm bill. Dr. David Kohl agrees and also is concerned about U.S. monetary policy and the pending change at the Federal Reserve. The seasoned duo still has great hope for agriculture and our economy. Both cite government as the greatest impediment to growth. Dr. David Kohl is a long time professor of Agricultural Economics at Virginia Tech University. He focuses on the banking industry and it...
Jan 28, 2013
From his work with the Boll Weevils to the Blue Dogs, former Congressman Charlie Stenholm established a reputation for getting things done in Congress through bipartisan alliances - something that's almost unheard of in today's highly polarized political environment. In this Agri-Pulse Open Mic interview, he tells us why he believes a short-term increase in the debt limit and passage of a new federal budget are crucial to getting a farm bill passed this year. And the life-long farmer has some ad...
Jan 21, 2013
Extension of the 2008 farm bill for another nine months creates more questions than answers for the U.S. cotton industry. Mark Lange, President and CEO of the National Cotton Council joins us on Open Mic to discuss the how he expects the farm bill debate to play out, especially in light of Brazil's successful WTO challenge to the U.S. cotton program. Lange, a former ag economics professor, also talks about why crop insurance does not work equally well for all commodities and shares thoughts on h...
Jan 14, 2013
The "dairy cliff" has been avoided, leaving many dairy producers frustrated with the failure of Congress to adopt much needed reforms. However, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) is pleased with the additional time to rethink policy options, such as those offered last year by Reps. Bob Goodlatte and David Scott. On this week's Open Mic, Jerry Slominski, Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs for IDFA, explains his association's views on dairy policy reforms, shares concerns a...
Jan 07, 2013
Dr. Jill Long Thompson was named Chair and CEO of the Farm Credit Administration in November, after serving on the FCA Board since March. Ms. Long Thompson has many years of leadership experience, representing northeast Indiana as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and as Chair of the Rural Caucus. From 1995 to 2001, she served as Under Secretary for Rural Development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she oversaw an annual budget of $10 billion and a staff of 7,000 employee...
Dec 31, 2012
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has challenged rural Americans to rethink their relevance in the U.S. political process in light of the failure of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a new farm bill. The former Iowa Governor and presidential candidate insists that President Obama clearly wants a new farm bill, but suggests that House leadership needs a little push to get the job done before year-end, when permanent law could kick in for dairy price supports and before the federal funding...
Dec 24, 2012
Rep. Marcia Fudge, who represents the 11th District of Ohio, talks about her commitment to ending childhood obesity, stamping out hunger, and protecting the SNAP program on Open Mic. She also addresses efforts to grow more local food in her district surrounding Cleveland, one of the top five cities in the U.S. for the most urban farm acres. On the Agriculture Committee, she is the Ranking Member of the Department Operations, Oversight and Credit Sub-committee of the Agriculture Committee and als...
Dec 17, 2012
A lot of politicians talk about the fiscal cliff, but dairy farmers are worried about the "dairy cliff" they face in January. If Congress fails to pass a new farm bill by year-end, dairymen will be first to fall under the 1949 permanent legislation, boosting prices to $38/cwt. Chris Galen, Senior Vice-President of Communications for the National Milk Producers Federation, discusses the political and structural problems facing the dairy industry and the need for a federal program that gives produ...
Dec 10, 2012
Oklahoma Republican Frank Lucas joins us again on Agri-Pulse Open Mic to discuss the current state of the farm bill negotiations and how the savings from reforms advanced by his committee could become part of the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations as a down payment on the nations debt, either this year or next. But Lucas, who was elected last week for a second term as House Agriculture Committee Chairman says much depends on ongoing negotiations between President Barack Obama and House Speaker ...
Dec 03, 2012
With holiday baking in full swing, millions of Americans will likely be purchasing or consuming a little extra sugar this season. Jack Roney, Director of Economics and Policy Analysis for the American Sugar Alliance, explains why sugar prices have been dropping and how the "no cost" U.S. sugar policy removes some of the price volatility that historically plagued growers before its enactment. Roney talks about the sugar industry's use of Political Action Committee donations to influence Congress ...
Nov 12, 2012
Without a new farm bill to authorize funding for USDA export programs, U.S. farmers and ranchers will start to lose a competitive edge to their foreign competitors. That's just one of the farm bill topics that USDA Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse addresses in this week's Open Mic. He also talks about further cost-cutting at USDA, farm program efficiencies and expanding trade with Russia, a country the former Delaware Secretary of Agriculture will tour in ...
Nov 12, 2012
Congressman Tom Latham was re-elected after a tough campaign against Democrat Leonard Boswell in a newly shaped Iowa congressional district. We asked Latham, who has deep roots in agriculture, about commitments from his friend and colleague, Speaker John Boehner, regarding action on the 2012 farm bill and how the funding baseline might change if nothing happens. He also discusses tax issues as part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations taking place between President Barack Obama and House and Senat...
Nov 12, 2012
Most national polls indicate that the race for president is incredibly close with fewer than a dozen swing states still in play. We asked Dr. Joe Aistrup to discuss the importance of the rural vote on this week's Agri-Pulse Open Mic. Aistrup, who is a Political Science Professor at Kansas State University and interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, specializes in examining political races. He is also the author of two books. "Kansas Politics and Government: The Clash of Polit...
Nov 05, 2012
Moving commodities like corn, soybeans and DDGs from key growing regions of the Midwest to major Asian customers is a very big task, but our guest on this week's Open Mic tells how its done and describes some of the associated challenges. Chris Schaffer, who serves as Ag Processing Inc.'s senior director of exports, talks about his cooperative's efforts to be the fastest, most efficient exporter in the Pacific Northwest, moving product through its new port terminal elevator at the Port of Grays ...
Oct 08, 2012
This week's Open Mic guest is Dan Glickman, former Kansas Congressman and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for six years of the Clinton Administration. Glickman praised the bi-partisan efforts of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees but is distraught at the opposition to the bill by conservative House Republicans. He also comments about food and nutrition as well as shrinking the federal budget and cutting the size of the USDA.Dan Glickman
Oct 08, 2012
