Agriculture & Agribusiness

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. It could change tomorrow, but at this moment nothing is getting done in this town. There are talks going on and ideas being evaluated. President Biden met with the Group of Seven in Europe and the NATO nations agreed to join together and challenge China’s behavior on

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. Two weeks ago, Colonial Pipeline was shut down.  On the East Coast we lost 45% of our gas and oil.  Cars and trucks without fuel.  Ransomware thieves were given $4.4 million to turn the oil faucet back on.  I said in my program 2 weeks ago –

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. President Biden last Friday released a $6 trillion budget plan for our next fiscal year beginning October 1, 2021. The Administration has called it a “bold and responsible budget.” I conclude that it is “bold”, but the debt level that is projected will continue to grow every

 Share on linkedin By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. Politicians here in DC are always looking for someone to blame for all the problems that we face.  China is at the top of that list.  Congress is writing a powerful anti-China package of bills.  There is no question about it.  China has been

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. I have not been here at the farm in Illinois since last September when we started harvest.  The global pandemic has shut a lot of us in, but I have my vaccine shots now and I feel a lot safer.  My family members and farm team here

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. Big Change – we can all remember that President Trump had no interest or concern about “climate change.”  When elected he quickly withdrew the U.S. from the World Climate Accord.  Thursday this week is “Earth Day” and President Biden will host a virtual climate conference with more

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. President Biden declared March 23rd as National Agriculture Day.  He said, “I call upon all Americans to join me in recognizing and affirming our commitment to and appreciation for our farmers, ranchers, farm workers, and those who work in the agriculture sector across the nation.”  The President’s

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. I want to have an open mind and be fair as I evaluate the policies advocated by President Biden and our new Congress.  It is too soon to know where we are going on trade.  There are a lot of disputes and not many easy solutions.  We

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. We all know or should know that we’re going to have a $1.9 trillion relief package.  It does target the needy, the hungry, and unemployed.  But there are billions and billions for others to buy political support. Enough on that subject.  There are other developments that can

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. I know that the battle over how much we spend and what we spend the money on in the $1.9 trillion Relief Bill will dominate our Congress.  But I want to talk about trade now.  In agriculture we are expecting a good year after 4 or 5

By Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block. President Biden has a long list of priorities.  Control of the Coronavirus heads the list.  He has told us that he wants to work across the aisle, but if the Democrats run through Congress the $1.9 trillion relief package without some meaningful compromise, where is the shared