This week’s guest on Open Mic is Bill Hurley, Vice President of Global Government Affairs for AGCO Corporation and Chairman of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers Agriculture Sector Board. This week “A Celebration of Modern Agriculture” returns to the National Mall in Washington D.C. The event features a display of the technology in farm machinery that’s helping to feed and fuel a growing global population. Exhibiting companies will share how advanced technology is helping farmers not onl...
May 05, 2024•25 min
This week’s guest on Open Mic is Dr. Frank Mitloehner, a professor and air quality specialist at UC Davis who also leads the CLEAR Center, concentrating on research and communications. He has been helping the global community better understand the positive impact of livestock on marginal farmlands and opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the use of dairy digestors and feed additives. Mitloehner wants people to make informed decisions about the foods we eat, while reducing env...
Apr 28, 2024•23 min
This week’s guest on Open Mic is Beth Ellikidis, Vice President, Agriculture and Environment for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. The Biden administration recently announced its Bioeconomy Board, creating new products and services to boost the U.S. economy and workforce and enhance our quality of life and the environment. Ellikidis says BIO’s goal is simply to advocate for the possible. She sees products that will improve agriculture productivity while at the same time lessen the indus...
Apr 21, 2024•24 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Barbara O’Brien, President and CEO of Dairy Management Incorporated. O’Brien has more than 20 years of experience working for dairy farmers and in the dairy industry. Through challenges of the cyclical nature of the industry as well as the pandemic and shifting consumer trends, the industry is holding it’s own with consumers and developing partnerships with the food industry that’s expanding the positive message of milk and other dairy products. O’Brien addresses th...
Apr 14, 2024•24 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Michael AuBuchon, Managing Director of Fuel Strategies and Management for Southwest Airlines Company. Farmers and the renewable fuel industry are eagerly anticipating the exponential growth potential of satisfying demand from the airline industry for sustainable aviation fuel. AuBuchon reports a significant investment from Southwest Airlines Company for the development and production of SAF from renewable ethanol. Southwest has targeted goals toward ramping up produ...
Apr 07, 2024•25 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Dr. Georgia Machell, Interim President and CEO of the National WIC Association. The WIC program is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The program finds itself a beneficiary of additional financial resources but also in need of legislation to extend coverage to a growing population in need. Machell says barely half of those who qualify for services actually are receiving benefits. The Modern WIC Act would provide additional funds, but political gridlock in W...
Mar 30, 2024•21 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. Agriculture was once a strong contributor to a positive trade balance, but is forecast to be in deficit this year. Ernst faults the Biden administration’s lack of effort in securing global trade deals for U.S. farmers. The Iowa Republican sees little chance for a farm bill this calendar year but hopes for better chances in 2025. Ernst also discusses results of a GAO report indicating the majority of USDA employees have not returned t...
Mar 24, 2024•21 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Julie Anna Potts, CEO of the Meat Institute. A new logo and brand identity of the group formerly known as the North American Meat Institute is being celebrated this week at the Annual Meat Conference in Nashville. The group’s purpose is summarized to highlight both nourishment and sustainability. In this interview, Potts discusses the group’s mission, efforts toward sustainability, the Biden administration’s amendments to the Packers and Stockyards Act, the new volu...
Mar 17, 2024•27 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Doug McKalip, chief agriculture negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The nation’s producers reaped the benefits of shorter supplies of global agriculture products over the past few years, but a stronger dollar and an increase in supply have brought headwinds to international trade. USDA's most recent ag forecast suggests a trade deficit for U.S. agriculture, and there hasn’t been an announcement of a new trade deal in some time, and the Biden a...
Mar 10, 2024•26 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Marcia Bunger, administrator of the USDA’s Risk Management Agency. The crop insurance program is listed by many farm groups as the industry's most significant risk management tool, and participation has grown in both acres covered and products offered by the agency. The program price tag has increased due to participation and as well by devastating natural disasters across the country. Policies for dairy, specialty crops, and double-crop acres have brought more farm...
Mar 03, 2024•24 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Steve Reinhard, chairman of the United Soybean Board. The Ohio farmer leads the 77-member group that determines where checkoff dollars will be utilized to grow the industry and create opportunities for soybean farmers. Reinhard sees a paradigm shift in demand for soybean oil which should lead to increased domestic crush and more competitive meal prices for exports and the domestic livestock sector. While functioning in the shadow of Brazilian soybean production and ...
Feb 25, 2024•23 min
This week’s guest on Open Mic is Lori Taylor, founder and CEO of The Produce Moms. While working as a sales marketing professional in the produce industry, Taylor recognized the need of Millennial moms and others for a reliable and comprehensive online destination for facts and information to meet the challenge of improving diets with fruits and vegetables. The “community” as she describes the site provides nutritional information on fruits and vegetables, offers recipes and even brand name info...
Feb 18, 2024•26 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Tom Buis, CEO of the American Carbon Alliance. Buis has a long history of service to the agriculture industry. He’s been a farmer, worked in Congress, served a farm organization and the renewable fuel industry. He’s emerged from retirement to promote the renewable fuel industry’s need to lower its carbon score with pipelines. Buis says the nation needs multiple sources of energy and should allow ethanol producers to capture carbon and safely store it in qualified ge...
Feb 11, 2024•25 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board. Metz says producers have met and exceeded retail demand for “cage-free” eggs but are anxious to learn what demand issues may be revealed for future production. Metz says the egg industry is closely watching discussion from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee as they prepare to offer recommendations next year and FDA efforts to define healthy foods and set parameters on front of package labeling.
Feb 04, 2024•26 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla. On the sidelines of last week’s American Farm Bureau convention in Salt Lake City, Lucas lamented the political headwinds of writing new farm and food policy. Lucas said the nation’s spending plan is most challenging and provides inadequate resources for the hungry and producers facing a challenging economic climate. Lucas says more funds are needed and believes reallocating previously approved dollars is the best financial solution. Withou...
Jan 28, 2024•24 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. While legislators have agreed on a new short-term spending plan to avoid a shutdown, final work on the nation’s purse strings for FY24 remains in the balance. Hoeven believes there’s still time to approve a new farm bill this year, but says there needs to be more “farm in the farm bill,” saying the farm safety net should share in spending increases being proposed for nutrition. Hoeven believes conservation funds approved in the Inflation Red...
Jan 21, 2024•21 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association. The Iowa caucuses once again provide the opportunity to press the merits of the renewable fuels industry on those hopeful to gain the White House in November. Cooper believes his industry isn’t seeing a balanced regulatory approach from the Biden administration. On the regulatory front, RFA is watching for amendments to modeling that will determine Inflation Reduction Act tax credit eligibility and ...
Jan 14, 2024•25 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council. The potato industry is worth billions to the nation’s economy but is facing strong headwinds from regulatory issues, farm policy and global trade access. The group’s annual Potato Expo is expected to see record attendance this week in Austin, Texas including a presentation by USTR Chief Ag Negotiator Doug McKalip. Quarles says the industry is caught up in debate over the potato’s place in nutritional guidelines for ad...
Jan 07, 2024•24 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Steve Censky, CEO of the American Soybean Association. ASA was among the chorus of agriculture groups pleased to see an extension of the 2018 farm bill as time ran out to produce a new bill in 2023, and Censky hopes congressional leaders can make progress early in 2024 on new policy. He says soybean growers want higher reference prices and a voluntary update for base acres in a new bill. Censky has worries about the EPA’s implementation of Endangered Species Act reg...
Dec 31, 2023•25 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. The story of hunger and food insecurity continues to grow in the U.S. and around the world. Feeding America is a national food bank serving millions of hungry Americans. The number of food-insecure adults and children swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but recent data from the USDA suggests millions more don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Babineaux-Fontenot supports change in nutrition programs to b...
Dec 23, 2023•22 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. The Mississippi Republican stands firm on protecting farmers in her Delta state. She recognizes the financial challenges of writing a new farm bill and believes funding in the Inflation Reduction Act would be better served by bolstering the overall safety net for farmers than existing conservation programs. Hyde-Smith discounts the idea of an Adjusted Gross Income means test for farmers in the crop insurance program andjoins a long list of agr...
Dec 17, 2023•25 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Krysta Harden, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Dairy farmers and processors are frustrated with a recent trade ruling favoring Canada’s import restrictions on U.S. dairy products. Harden says the industry isn’t finished with the issue and is surveying options in the matter. Harden says the volume and value of dairy exports for 2023 will be short of the record marks set last year. In the upcoming farm bill, Harden says the industry hopes for conti...
Dec 10, 2023•25 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Todd Van Hoose, president and CEO of the Farm Credit Council. Van Hoose is grateful Washington delivered an extension of the 2018 farm bill but joins a chorus of other agriculture organizations calling for new policy to be approved in early 2024. He says USDA loan programs and limits should be adjusted to reflect higher operating costs in today’s agriculture economy. The Council has mounted a challenge against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over language r...
Dec 03, 2023•25 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Terry Cosby, chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. After more than 40 years of working with landowners across the country, Cosby has seen a number of policy changes toward preserving the environment and improving soil health. Cosby says he is invigorated to see an emphasis on sustainability in modern agriculture practices and is grateful to have additional funds under the Inflation Reduction Act to serve more applicants for essential programs nationwi...
Nov 26, 2023•25 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is EPA Agriculture Advisor, Rod Snyder. The Environmental Protection Agency often finds itself in the middle of converging opinions on pesticides, fuel and clean water issues. With 20 years of experience working for farm groups, farm associations and the chemical industry, Snyder is often the practical voice of reason at the agency’s decision making process. Snyder says flat budgets and a smaller staff make it difficult for the agency to accomplish its heavy work load....
Nov 19, 2023•26 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. Duvall is aware of the limited opportunity the congressional calendar affords for farm policy discussion on Capitol Hill, but that’s not keeping him and other farmers from pressing elected leaders for a new farm bill. The Georgia farmer says AFBF members support risk management tools that reflect the price structure of today’s farm economy and support effective nutrition programs for those in need. Duva...
Nov 12, 2023•24 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Congressman Jim Costa. The California Democrat represents the agriculture rich 21st district of the state. Costa is hopeful new leadership in the House will lead to compromise on fiscal and agriculture policy. Costa shares concerns about the “pay fors” needed for a new farm bill but says minority members on the Agriculture committee will not support cuts to either nutrition programs or IRA conservation funds. Costa says he would support an extension of the 2018 farm...
Nov 05, 2023•23 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Jason Clay, executive director of the Markets Institute for the World Wildlife Fund. The WWF has worked for more than 60 years in over 100 countries with a mission of helping people and nature survive. Clay’s roots stretch back to a family farm, and his vision is that of helping to ensure an adequate supply of food for generations to come. He says the response to climate change must be to develop gains in efficiency and productivity to meet the growing demand for fo...
Oct 29, 2023•26 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Todd Wilkinson, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The South Dakota producer is glad to see the profitability pendulum swing back in the beef producer's favor. He is concerned about the health of the overall industry during this period of herd rebuilding. Wilkinson sees much riding on the approval of a new farm bill from a producer protection standpoint as well as critical conservation programs. He and other industry members are just back from t...
Oct 22, 2023•26 min
This week’s Open Mic guest is Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla. The House Ag Committee member has joined her colleagues in the search for new leadership, but also believes many of her fellow Republicans could benefit from a reexamination of their approach to governing. Cammack has taken a special interest in the issue of broadband service for rural America, and with a new farm bill in the works, Cammack discusses some commodity program changes that would be a major benefit to her home state.
Oct 15, 2023•23 min
