Monday: Outgoing Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez joins us to discuss the trade record of the Bush Administration and talk of a change in trade policy with Cuba. Former United Soybean Board Chairman Eric Niemann will talk about the USB dispute with the American Soybean Association. And National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Andy Groseta will announce the hiring of a new NCBA Executive Director.
Tuesday: Steve Bohr of Farm Financial Strategies will offer up tips for financial planning in the new year and take your calls and questions.
Wednesday: The ADM Hometown Tour travels to the Northern Illinois Farm Show in DeKalb with affiliate WLBK.
Thursday: We continue our series on the ethanol industry with a look at the legislative issues on the horizon for the industry, both in Washington and in state legislatures across the country.
The holidays and vacation are over and it’s time to get back in the normal swing of things. The resolutions have been made and some have probably already been broken. I always enjoy the time off at the end of the year to spend time with family and friends and recharge my batteries. The decorations have been taken down and put away for another year (no small job at our house) and the leftovers are finally all gone. I’ve seen enough reruns of Little House, Gunsmoke and Bonanza to last for another year. I observed my annual New Year’s tradition and watched almost the entire Twilight Zone marathon and checked in on the political soap opera going on in Illinois. My wife, when not under the weather with the flu, was starting to drop some not so subtle hints that it was probably time for me to go back to work. So hear we go!
The last couple of weeks of the year are typically slow news days in agriculture but things pick up quickly in January as will our travel schedule. This month we’ll be in San Antonio for the American Farm Bureau convention and there will be plenty to talk about. The transition in Washington, the economy, the markets and farm bill implementation will be just some of the topics of discussion. We’ll soon see how the new administration will deal with agricultural issues such as trade deals, farm program payments and environmental policies.
In the coming weeks we’ll be covering the National Ethanol Conference, the National Biodiesel Conference, Commodity Classic and the National Farm Machinery Show plus visit several more rural communities on our HomeTown Tour. (this week we’ll visit Dekalb, Illinois)
Ever since a fatefull misprint in a Sears newspaper ad in 1955, NORAD has provided children around the world with real-time tracking of Santa’s flight. Check the map below or click on the logo to the right to follow Santa’s flight. And have a very Merry Christmas!
What a way to close out an unbelievable year! Uncle Sam plays Santa Claus…AGAIN! The President elect gets in hot water for his association with a preacher…AGAIN! USDA will be headed up by an ex governor…AGAIN! An Illinois governor is in legal trouble…AGAIN! It does indeed seem the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Despite the fact that our country has spent its way into a recession, our government continues to use the logic of trying to spend our way out of it. I understand the auto industry is important to our economy and I don’t like seeing workers lose their jobs. However handing money (even with restrictions) over to executives who helped get their companies in trouble in the first place and trusting them to now be able to get out of it seems shaky to me. It seems we are treating the symptom more than the disease. Keeping auto companies in business making vehicles that people either don’t want or can’t afford doesn’t seem like a solution to the problem. I also understand no one wants a pay cut but listening to the head of the auto workers union talk about how unfair it would be to have to accept lower wages to keep their jobs while thousands are losing theirs without a choice, somehow doesn’t sound like someone very grateful that his industry just received a multi billion dollar Christmas present! The federal government has started down a slippery slope with these bailouts and loans. They have now put themselves in a position of deciding whose jobs deserve saving and whose don’t. Once you start, where do you stop? Long term hopefully these decisions prove to be wise but in the short term they haven’t seemed to have helped very much so far.
During the presidential campaign, Barak Obama took a lot of heat for the actions of his minister. Now the President elect’s choice of Rev. Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration has a lot of people worked up again. Groups that supported candidate Obama now feel betrayed that President elect Obama would dare pick someone they disagree with. I applaud the choice. I’m also very happy to see an invocation and benediction are still part of the ceremony. The direction some people are trying to take this country, I’m surprised the controversy isn’t over trying to eliminate them altogether rather than over who will give them.
Monday: Senator Charles Grassley from Iowa will check in to update on ag issues from Washington and give his take on fellow Iowan Tom Vilsack being nominated ag secretary. We’ll also hear projections on fertilizer price and availability from the Doane economists.
Tuesday: Grain producer groups are teaming up with Monsanto to address nutrient management in the Mississippi River. We’ll hear about the new working group and plans to address environmental issues along the river.
Wednesday: The closure of horse slaughter plants is sparking a dramatic increase in abandoned horses. We’ll hear about it from teh United Horsemen’s Front. We’ll also hear the story behind how the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) started tracking Santa.
Thursday: Merry Christmas! We’ll revisit our conversation with author Ace Collins, sharing the stories behind your favorite Christmas songs.
Friday: We will replay our visit to the Harry Truman Library and Museum in Independence, MO.
Monday: We’ll talk iwth Audrae Erickson of the Corn Refiners Association about new research that debunks the theories about a link between corn sweeteners and obesity. We’ll also talk with the president of the National Renderers Association about new regulations that may threaten some in the rendering industry.
Tuesday: How is the VeraSun bankruptcy affecting Iowa farmers? We’ll talk about it with Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey.
Wednesday: Dr. Lori from Purdue University is back to answer more of your pet care quesitons.
Thursday: Will the Beef Checkoff seek an increase in assessments? We’ll talk about that and more with Cattlemen’s Beef Board Chairman Dave Bateman.
Can’t we all just get along? Evidently in agriculture the answer is no. Even during this time of good will the holiday spirit has been hard to find in some sectors of the ag community.
The American Soybean Association has leveled some very serious charges against the United Soybean Board and its handling of checkoff dollars. In calling for an investigation and audit the ASA is charging improper and wasteful expenditures, conflicts of interest, improper conduct and management malfeasance. The United Soybean Board says the allegations are categorically untrue and feels an investigation will vindicate their actions.
No matter how the investigation turns out this is a black eye for the soybean industry. Actually this has been building for some time. The formation of the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) has been an uneasy alliance at best with smoldering feelings of discontent by several ASA members. Several attempts by leaders of both groups have been made over the past few years to iron out problems but they have obviously failed. These allegations give support to checkoff critics and could lead to a dismantling of the program. I hope not. While no checkoff is perfect there’s no denying the significant accomplishments it has achieved on behalf of soybean growers. Even the ASA acknowledges the importance of the soybean checkoff while seeking changes in how it is administered. It’s sad that it has come to this. After all, both sides are made up of soybean farmers supposedly working for the same goal…greater profitability for soybean growers. As with a troubled marriage there is probably fault to be found on both sides. Hopefully the problems can be resolved and the relationship saved but unfortunately this could get worse before it gets better.
I want to thank the Illinois Farm Bureau for honoring me with one of their Eagle Awards at their annual meeting in Chicago. I spent many years covering county and state Farm Bureau events in Illinois and made many close friends in the process. I saw several of them this past weekend and to receive this award from an organization that I have tremendous respect for was very special. Also a special thanks to the Jersey County Farm Bureau for nominating me for the award. I will always have deep roots in Illinois and an appreciation for the great support I’ve received over the years from its ag community.
No surprise as to what were the hot topics of discussion at the Illinois Farm Bureau meeting. The troubled economy, falling grain prices and high input costs, attacks on the livestock industry and concerns about posssible appointees by President elect Obama.
While many speculate about the next Ag Secretary, several others expressed deep concern about the next EPA administrator especially with the possibility of an environmental tax being placed on livestock producers that could put many of them out of business. Some of the names that have been rumored (i.e.Robert Kennedy Jr.) have many in production agriculture holding their collective breath.
Many also question the possibility of Rep. Xavier Becerra from California as the next Trade Ambassador and wonder what that would mean for agricultural trade. Becerra voted for NAFTA but later said he regretted it, opposed Presidential Fast Track authority and led opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He did support the Peru trade deal last year but with key trade agreements such as Columbia and South Korea still pending, many in agriculture wonder what signal will the new President send concerning trade. Will he support trade as a way to help us pull out of our economic crisis or will he give in to organized labor and factions in his own party and block these trade deals. HIs appointment of the next USTR may give us a clue.
Outgoing Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez joins us to discuss the trade record of the Bush Administration and talk of a change in trade policy with Cuba. Former United Soybean Board Chairman Eric Niemann will talk about the USB dispute with the American Soybean Association. And National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Andy Groseta will announce the hiring of a new NCBA Executive Director.
Pictures of our ADM Hometown Tour visit to Washington, Indiana with affiiate 
