http://www.johnblockreports.com/web/site/index/ en adrienne.travis@gmail.com Copyright 2025 2025-06-18T20:58:00+00:00 en-usnocopyright John Blockagriculture,policy,WashingtonJohn Block https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/order-pigs-politics-persistence https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/order-pigs-politics-persistence Available now in hardcopy, e-book, or audiobook at www.secretaryblock.com. 2025-06-18T20:58:00+00:00 John BlocknoAvailable now in hardcopy, e-book, or audiobook at www.secretaryblock.com.John BlockAvailable now in hardcopy, e-book, or audiobook at www.secretaryblock.com.agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/issues-of-the-day2023 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/issues-of-the-day2023 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. It is time for our government to go to work. The Senate and House both are in the process ofnaming who will serve on the different committees. The Republican-led house is scheduled totake up a GOP energy bill. It will direct the Biden Administration to come up with a plan toincrease oil and gas production on federal land before drawing down our Strategic PetroleumReserve anymore. We know President Biden does not want the U.S. to pump more oil. He wantsto buy it from other countries. What will happen? We shall see. In farm country the need to pass a new farm bill is at the top of our list. Paul Ryan, former HouseSpeaker speaking at the International Dairy Foods Association Forum last Sunday predicts… 2023-01-27T00:43:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. It is time for our government to go to work. The Senate and House both are in the process ofnaming who will serve on the different committees. The Republican-led house is scheduled totake up a GOP energy bill. It will direct the Biden Administration to come up with a plan toincrease oil and gas production on federal land before drawing down our Strategic PetroleumReserve anymore. We know President Biden does not want the U.S. to pump more oil. He wantsto buy it from other countries. What will happen? We shall see. In farm country the need to pass a new farm bill is at the top of our list. Paul Ryan, former HouseSpeaker speaking at the International Dairy Foods Association Forum last Sunday predicts…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. It is time for our government to go to work. The Senate and House both are in the process ofnaming who will serve on the different committees. The Republican-led house is scheduled totake up a GOP energy bill. It will direct the Biden Administration to come up with a plan toincrease oil and gas production on federal land before drawing down our Strategic PetroleumReserve anymore. We know President Biden does not want the U.S. to pump more oil. He wantsto buy it from other countries. What will happen? We shall see. In farm country the need to pass a new farm bill is at the top of our list. Paul Ryan, former HouseSpeaker speaking at the International Dairy Foods Association Forum last Sunday predicts…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/2023-predictions https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/2023-predictions Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This is Randy Russell sitting in for my good friend Jack Block. And now today’s commentary. January is a month to reflect on the past year and focus on the year ahead. This week I’d like to share with you five observations and predictions for 2023—from the economy to the farm bill. So…. here they are. First, U.S. financial markets are too optimistic. Analysts reacted to last week’s CPI for Decemberof 6.5% and said inflation is falling, a recession can be avoided, and therefore the FederalReserve will be able to cut interest rates by year end. Don’t count on it. Labor pressures remainstrong and wage rates continue to rise. The Fed will be forced to keep rates higher and for longerthan the so-called “financial experts” predict in order to bring inflation under control. Second, China will become front and center for the U.S. both for foreign policy and economicreasons. Whether it is critical supply chains—such as computer chips or… 2023-01-19T18:36:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This is Randy Russell sitting in for my good friend Jack Block. And now today’s commentary. January is a month to reflect on the past year and focus on the year ahead. This week I’d like to share with you five observations and predictions for 2023—from the economy to the farm bill. So…. here they are. First, U.S. financial markets are too optimistic. Analysts reacted to last week’s CPI for Decemberof 6.5% and said inflation is falling, a recession can be avoided, and therefore the FederalReserve will be able to cut interest rates by year end. Don’t count on it. Labor pressures remainstrong and wage rates continue to rise. The Fed will be forced to keep rates higher and for longerthan the so-called “financial experts” predict in order to bring inflation under control. Second, China will become front and center for the U.S. both for foreign policy and economicreasons. Whether it is critical supply chains—such as computer chips or…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This is Randy Russell sitting in for my good friend Jack Block. And now today’s commentary. January is a month to reflect on the past year and focus on the year ahead. This week I’d like to share with you five observations and predictions for 2023—from the economy to the farm bill. So…. here they are. First, U.S. financial markets are too optimistic. Analysts reacted to last week’s CPI for Decemberof 6.5% and said inflation is falling, a recession can be avoided, and therefore the FederalReserve will be able to cut interest rates by year end. Don’t count on it. Labor pressures remainstrong and wage rates continue to rise. The Fed will be forced to keep rates higher and for longerthan the so-called “financial experts” predict in order to bring inflation under control. Second, China will become front and center for the U.S. both for foreign policy and economicreasons. Whether it is critical supply chains—such as computer chips or…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/new-day2023 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/new-day2023 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. Here’s the John Block commentary. It took a lot of votes and too much time, but we do have a new Speaker of the House. For 2years with Biden as President, Democrat control of the Senate and House, the liberal leaningDemocrat team had a lot more power to dictate policy. California Republican Kevin McCarthywas elected as Speaker to lead the House. Power in D.C. is now divided and we don’t expectvery much to get done during President Biden’s next 2 years. Congress is supposed to write a new farm bill. One hopeful reality is that farm bills are more bipartisan than a lot of other legislation. Keep your fingers crossed. You can be sure that the Republican leadership in the House will do what they can to cut spending. I support that. We need to position ourselves so that some day we can balance the budget. Another concern that should be a very high priority is our open southern border. When Bidentook office 2 years ago, he ordered a stop on… 2023-01-12T21:33:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. Here’s the John Block commentary. It took a lot of votes and too much time, but we do have a new Speaker of the House. For 2years with Biden as President, Democrat control of the Senate and House, the liberal leaningDemocrat team had a lot more power to dictate policy. California Republican Kevin McCarthywas elected as Speaker to lead the House. Power in D.C. is now divided and we don’t expectvery much to get done during President Biden’s next 2 years. Congress is supposed to write a new farm bill. One hopeful reality is that farm bills are more bipartisan than a lot of other legislation. Keep your fingers crossed. You can be sure that the Republican leadership in the House will do what they can to cut spending. I support that. We need to position ourselves so that some day we can balance the budget. Another concern that should be a very high priority is our open southern border. When Bidentook office 2 years ago, he ordered a stop on…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. Here’s the John Block commentary. It took a lot of votes and too much time, but we do have a new Speaker of the House. For 2years with Biden as President, Democrat control of the Senate and House, the liberal leaningDemocrat team had a lot more power to dictate policy. California Republican Kevin McCarthywas elected as Speaker to lead the House. Power in D.C. is now divided and we don’t expectvery much to get done during President Biden’s next 2 years. Congress is supposed to write a new farm bill. One hopeful reality is that farm bills are more bipartisan than a lot of other legislation. Keep your fingers crossed. You can be sure that the Republican leadership in the House will do what they can to cut spending. I support that. We need to position ourselves so that some day we can balance the budget. Another concern that should be a very high priority is our open southern border. When Bidentook office 2 years ago, he ordered a stop on…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/renewable-diesel-fuel https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/renewable-diesel-fuel Hello, everybody out there in farm country. Here’s the John Block commentary. Whenever we step into a New Year, it makes me think about past years and I try to anticipate the future. When I came back from the 101st Airborne in 1960 to our Illinois farm, our principal crop was corn - corn for pigs, cows, and chickens. By the 1970s and 1980s, the industry started processing corn into ethanol and distillers dried grain. Gas your car up and that fuel will probably be 10% ethanol, which is a huge market. The distiller’s grain is high-protein livestock feed. Turn the page to today. The demand for our soybeans is soaring. Process the soybeans and we have soybean oil andsoybean meal. There is an explosion in demand for soybean oil to give us renewable diesel fuel.With the major concern about climate change and global warming, we need to clean up theatmosphere. Renewable diesel fuel burns so much cleaner. That can clean up the atmosphere. Theairplane companies can’t get enough… 2023-01-05T23:40:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. Here’s the John Block commentary. Whenever we step into a New Year, it makes me think about past years and I try to anticipate the future. When I came back from the 101st Airborne in 1960 to our Illinois farm, our principal crop was corn - corn for pigs, cows, and chickens. By the 1970s and 1980s, the industry started processing corn into ethanol and distillers dried grain. Gas your car up and that fuel will probably be 10% ethanol, which is a huge market. The distiller’s grain is high-protein livestock feed. Turn the page to today. The demand for our soybeans is soaring. Process the soybeans and we have soybean oil andsoybean meal. There is an explosion in demand for soybean oil to give us renewable diesel fuel.With the major concern about climate change and global warming, we need to clean up theatmosphere. Renewable diesel fuel burns so much cleaner. That can clean up the atmosphere. Theairplane companies can’t get enough…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. Here’s the John Block commentary. Whenever we step into a New Year, it makes me think about past years and I try to anticipate the future. When I came back from the 101st Airborne in 1960 to our Illinois farm, our principal crop was corn - corn for pigs, cows, and chickens. By the 1970s and 1980s, the industry started processing corn into ethanol and distillers dried grain. Gas your car up and that fuel will probably be 10% ethanol, which is a huge market. The distiller’s grain is high-protein livestock feed. Turn the page to today. The demand for our soybeans is soaring. Process the soybeans and we have soybean oil andsoybean meal. There is an explosion in demand for soybean oil to give us renewable diesel fuel.With the major concern about climate change and global warming, we need to clean up theatmosphere. Renewable diesel fuel burns so much cleaner. That can clean up the atmosphere. Theairplane companies can’t get enough…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/happy-new-year2023 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/happy-new-year2023 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. Here’s the John Block commentary. Happy New Year – The year 2022 is all but over.Overall, it was a very good year for farmers, ranchers, and the ag industry. Grain and livestock prices continue to remain reasonably strong. Egg prices are at a record high. I looked at the cost for a dozen in the grocery store. They were over $4.00. That is because bird flu has killed 40 million of our egg-laying hens.US farm exports set a new record this year at $194 billion. Soybean exports set a record increaseof 26% - corn up 12%, wheat up 15%, and cotton, dairy, and meat up 10%. I have always been afan in support of trade agreements with other countries. That promotes free markets. To thispoint, the Biden Administration has not been working hard to negotiate trade agreements. Theirrefusal to cut back on tariffs and their efforts to subsidize some of our companies sellingproducts made in the USA has caused trade tension with some of our trading… 2022-12-31T16:01:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. Here’s the John Block commentary. Happy New Year – The year 2022 is all but over.Overall, it was a very good year for farmers, ranchers, and the ag industry. Grain and livestock prices continue to remain reasonably strong. Egg prices are at a record high. I looked at the cost for a dozen in the grocery store. They were over $4.00. That is because bird flu has killed 40 million of our egg-laying hens.US farm exports set a new record this year at $194 billion. Soybean exports set a record increaseof 26% - corn up 12%, wheat up 15%, and cotton, dairy, and meat up 10%. I have always been afan in support of trade agreements with other countries. That promotes free markets. To thispoint, the Biden Administration has not been working hard to negotiate trade agreements. Theirrefusal to cut back on tariffs and their efforts to subsidize some of our companies sellingproducts made in the USA has caused trade tension with some of our trading…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. Here’s the John Block commentary. Happy New Year – The year 2022 is all but over.Overall, it was a very good year for farmers, ranchers, and the ag industry. Grain and livestock prices continue to remain reasonably strong. Egg prices are at a record high. I looked at the cost for a dozen in the grocery store. They were over $4.00. That is because bird flu has killed 40 million of our egg-laying hens.US farm exports set a new record this year at $194 billion. Soybean exports set a record increaseof 26% - corn up 12%, wheat up 15%, and cotton, dairy, and meat up 10%. I have always been afan in support of trade agreements with other countries. That promotes free markets. To thispoint, the Biden Administration has not been working hard to negotiate trade agreements. Theirrefusal to cut back on tariffs and their efforts to subsidize some of our companies sellingproducts made in the USA has caused trade tension with some of our trading…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/merry-christmas2022 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/merry-christmas2022 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. The John Block commentary today will focus on Christmas. Yes – we still have the Covid virus to worry about, but families and friends will becoming together for dinners and parties. And now today’s commentary. When I was a ten- or twelve-year-old boy, my mom, dad and 2 sisters would join my mother’ssister and her family. We exchanged gifts and had a delicious dinner. My father opened the eventby thanking God that we could all be together on the farm after a safe harvest. We talked about our school experiences in our one room country school. Just the week beforeChristmas our school with 10 students – eight grades, one teacher—put on a Christmas programfor all of our parents. We sang songs- Away in a Manger, Silent Night and more. It was our jobto entertain our parents. It was so much fun. I remember some of the gifts our parents would give us at Christmas. One year my sisters and Ieach were given a sled. There was snow on the ground… 2022-12-22T18:03:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. The John Block commentary today will focus on Christmas. Yes – we still have the Covid virus to worry about, but families and friends will becoming together for dinners and parties. And now today’s commentary. When I was a ten- or twelve-year-old boy, my mom, dad and 2 sisters would join my mother’ssister and her family. We exchanged gifts and had a delicious dinner. My father opened the eventby thanking God that we could all be together on the farm after a safe harvest. We talked about our school experiences in our one room country school. Just the week beforeChristmas our school with 10 students – eight grades, one teacher—put on a Christmas programfor all of our parents. We sang songs- Away in a Manger, Silent Night and more. It was our jobto entertain our parents. It was so much fun. I remember some of the gifts our parents would give us at Christmas. One year my sisters and Ieach were given a sled. There was snow on the ground…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. The John Block commentary today will focus on Christmas. Yes – we still have the Covid virus to worry about, but families and friends will becoming together for dinners and parties. And now today’s commentary. When I was a ten- or twelve-year-old boy, my mom, dad and 2 sisters would join my mother’ssister and her family. We exchanged gifts and had a delicious dinner. My father opened the eventby thanking God that we could all be together on the farm after a safe harvest. We talked about our school experiences in our one room country school. Just the week beforeChristmas our school with 10 students – eight grades, one teacher—put on a Christmas programfor all of our parents. We sang songs- Away in a Manger, Silent Night and more. It was our jobto entertain our parents. It was so much fun. I remember some of the gifts our parents would give us at Christmas. One year my sisters and Ieach were given a sled. There was snow on the ground…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/ag-biotech https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/ag-biotech Hello everybody out there in Farm Country. Today I will give the microphone to my daughter Savannah Block. She graduated from Virginia Tech University with a degree in Ag Economics. She has worked on ag issues with Members of Congress and in the private sector. It’s all yours, Savannah. I want to talk about a very important topic for farmers, ranchers, and rural America:biotechnology. Many people who are not familiar with the agriculture world think about “pharmaceuticals”when they hear that word. But what they don’t realize is how much agriculture biotechnologytouches our everyday lives and helps promote and grow the rural economy. Ag biotech, which should be applauded as a key technological advancement, has unfortunatelybecome controversial for consumers outside of the food and ag world. There have been manymisconceptions that I won’t get into today, but the truth of the matter is when it comes toproviding farmers with the tools they need to feed a rapidly growing world… 2022-12-17T14:58:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello everybody out there in Farm Country. Today I will give the microphone to my daughter Savannah Block. She graduated from Virginia Tech University with a degree in Ag Economics. She has worked on ag issues with Members of Congress and in the private sector. It’s all yours, Savannah. I want to talk about a very important topic for farmers, ranchers, and rural America:biotechnology. Many people who are not familiar with the agriculture world think about “pharmaceuticals”when they hear that word. But what they don’t realize is how much agriculture biotechnologytouches our everyday lives and helps promote and grow the rural economy. Ag biotech, which should be applauded as a key technological advancement, has unfortunatelybecome controversial for consumers outside of the food and ag world. There have been manymisconceptions that I won’t get into today, but the truth of the matter is when it comes toproviding farmers with the tools they need to feed a rapidly growing world…John BlockHello everybody out there in Farm Country. Today I will give the microphone to my daughter Savannah Block. She graduated from Virginia Tech University with a degree in Ag Economics. She has worked on ag issues with Members of Congress and in the private sector. It’s all yours, Savannah. I want to talk about a very important topic for farmers, ranchers, and rural America:biotechnology. Many people who are not familiar with the agriculture world think about “pharmaceuticals”when they hear that word. But what they don’t realize is how much agriculture biotechnologytouches our everyday lives and helps promote and grow the rural economy. Ag biotech, which should be applauded as a key technological advancement, has unfortunatelybecome controversial for consumers outside of the food and ag world. There have been manymisconceptions that I won’t get into today, but the truth of the matter is when it comes toproviding farmers with the tools they need to feed a rapidly growing world…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/this-and-that-2022 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/this-and-that-2022 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.Not much time between now and Christmas, and Congress must pass legislation to fund thegovernment, or we will be shut down. We need an annual budget, but I expect they will just passanother stop gap spending measure to get us into January. Republicans want to delay until theytake control of the House next year.You may have heard this, but the President of Mexico has announced that he plans to ban hiscountry from importing genetically modified corn. Keep in mind – more than 90% of the cornthat we grow is genetically modified. President Obrador of Mexico has since said his ban wouldbe on corn for human consumption – not livestock feed. We don’t need a trade fight… 2022-12-08T23:52:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.Not much time between now and Christmas, and Congress must pass legislation to fund thegovernment, or we will be shut down. We need an annual budget, but I expect they will just passanother stop gap spending measure to get us into January. Republicans want to delay until theytake control of the House next year.You may have heard this, but the President of Mexico has announced that he plans to ban hiscountry from importing genetically modified corn. Keep in mind – more than 90% of the cornthat we grow is genetically modified. President Obrador of Mexico has since said his ban wouldbe on corn for human consumption – not livestock feed. We don’t need a trade fight…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.Not much time between now and Christmas, and Congress must pass legislation to fund thegovernment, or we will be shut down. We need an annual budget, but I expect they will just passanother stop gap spending measure to get us into January. Republicans want to delay until theytake control of the House next year.You may have heard this, but the President of Mexico has announced that he plans to ban hiscountry from importing genetically modified corn. Keep in mind – more than 90% of the cornthat we grow is genetically modified. President Obrador of Mexico has since said his ban wouldbe on corn for human consumption – not livestock feed. We don’t need a trade fight…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/debt2022 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/debt2022 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary. Congress is back for the so called “Lame Duck” session. They will be expected to pass legislationto keep the government funded or it will shut down. But they should not spend more money. Toomuch money chasing too few goods drives inflation. We all know that when Covid hit us, weflooded the economy with money. We are hopeful that the Federal Reserve increase in interestrates will help to push inflation down. That won’t be enough if we keep fanning the flame ofinflation with more money. The more money we hand out the more our debt goes up. We have to pay interest on that debt. Wepaid $1.06 trillion last year to service our debt. As interest rates go up, we must pay even… 2022-12-02T00:23:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary. Congress is back for the so called “Lame Duck” session. They will be expected to pass legislationto keep the government funded or it will shut down. But they should not spend more money. Toomuch money chasing too few goods drives inflation. We all know that when Covid hit us, weflooded the economy with money. We are hopeful that the Federal Reserve increase in interestrates will help to push inflation down. That won’t be enough if we keep fanning the flame ofinflation with more money. The more money we hand out the more our debt goes up. We have to pay interest on that debt. Wepaid $1.06 trillion last year to service our debt. As interest rates go up, we must pay even…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary. Congress is back for the so called “Lame Duck” session. They will be expected to pass legislationto keep the government funded or it will shut down. But they should not spend more money. Toomuch money chasing too few goods drives inflation. We all know that when Covid hit us, weflooded the economy with money. We are hopeful that the Federal Reserve increase in interestrates will help to push inflation down. That won’t be enough if we keep fanning the flame ofinflation with more money. The more money we hand out the more our debt goes up. We have to pay interest on that debt. Wepaid $1.06 trillion last year to service our debt. As interest rates go up, we must pay even…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/thanksgiving-2022 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/thanksgiving-2022 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.Throughout my lifetime Thanksgiving has been a very important holiday – just behindChristmas. It is our opportunity to say, “Thank You” to our friends and to God.The first Thanksgiving celebration was in 1620. Our pilgrims landed on Cape Cod. After theirfirst harvest, they had a thankful dinner with the Wampanoag Indian Tribe. We have everyreason to be thankful as our nation has grown to more than 300 million people. We are a globalsuperpower. People from all over the world are scrambling to get to us any way they can.Now let’s put on the table a few issues of the day. We have finished harvest. Now we need toship the grain to customers who need it. Those customers are all over… 2022-11-25T00:48:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.Throughout my lifetime Thanksgiving has been a very important holiday – just behindChristmas. It is our opportunity to say, “Thank You” to our friends and to God.The first Thanksgiving celebration was in 1620. Our pilgrims landed on Cape Cod. After theirfirst harvest, they had a thankful dinner with the Wampanoag Indian Tribe. We have everyreason to be thankful as our nation has grown to more than 300 million people. We are a globalsuperpower. People from all over the world are scrambling to get to us any way they can.Now let’s put on the table a few issues of the day. We have finished harvest. Now we need toship the grain to customers who need it. Those customers are all over…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.Throughout my lifetime Thanksgiving has been a very important holiday – just behindChristmas. It is our opportunity to say, “Thank You” to our friends and to God.The first Thanksgiving celebration was in 1620. Our pilgrims landed on Cape Cod. After theirfirst harvest, they had a thankful dinner with the Wampanoag Indian Tribe. We have everyreason to be thankful as our nation has grown to more than 300 million people. We are a globalsuperpower. People from all over the world are scrambling to get to us any way they can.Now let’s put on the table a few issues of the day. We have finished harvest. Now we need toship the grain to customers who need it. Those customers are all over…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/new-congress-old-challenges https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/new-congress-old-challenges Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.It took longer than it should to determine winners and losers in the midterm elections. Looks like Republicans will lead in the House and Democrats in the Senate. The first thing this new Congress must do is pass an extension of spending or our government will be shut down. Next year they need to write a new Farm Bill.Sorry to say, but I don’t expect the new Congress to work together any better than the old one.President Biden will be pushing the issue of climate change. I have not spent much time talkingabout climate change on my radio program. I’m not convinced that we have any very goodanswers. However, our government plans to spend billions of dollars on “climate… 2022-11-18T23:52:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.It took longer than it should to determine winners and losers in the midterm elections. Looks like Republicans will lead in the House and Democrats in the Senate. The first thing this new Congress must do is pass an extension of spending or our government will be shut down. Next year they need to write a new Farm Bill.Sorry to say, but I don’t expect the new Congress to work together any better than the old one.President Biden will be pushing the issue of climate change. I have not spent much time talkingabout climate change on my radio program. I’m not convinced that we have any very goodanswers. However, our government plans to spend billions of dollars on “climate…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.It took longer than it should to determine winners and losers in the midterm elections. Looks like Republicans will lead in the House and Democrats in the Senate. The first thing this new Congress must do is pass an extension of spending or our government will be shut down. Next year they need to write a new Farm Bill.Sorry to say, but I don’t expect the new Congress to work together any better than the old one.President Biden will be pushing the issue of climate change. I have not spent much time talkingabout climate change on my radio program. I’m not convinced that we have any very goodanswers. However, our government plans to spend billions of dollars on “climate…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/russias-war https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/russias-war Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.The war between Russia and Ukraine is a threat to the whole world. There was a sigh of reliefthis August after the United Nations and Turkey were able to negotiate a deal for Russia to dropits naval blockade of the Black Sea. That blockade had shut the door on Ukrainian exports. InAugust Ukraine, the world’s fourth largest corn exporter was back in business shipping 25.5million bushels of corn.But just this Sunday Russia reinstated their blockade. Hungry people in the Middle East and Asiaare dependent on that corn. We could be facing rising food prices and a global hunger crisis. TheUnited Nations and Turkey are working to find a way to reopen the shipping lanes. We… 2022-11-02T23:14:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.The war between Russia and Ukraine is a threat to the whole world. There was a sigh of reliefthis August after the United Nations and Turkey were able to negotiate a deal for Russia to dropits naval blockade of the Black Sea. That blockade had shut the door on Ukrainian exports. InAugust Ukraine, the world’s fourth largest corn exporter was back in business shipping 25.5million bushels of corn.But just this Sunday Russia reinstated their blockade. Hungry people in the Middle East and Asiaare dependent on that corn. We could be facing rising food prices and a global hunger crisis. TheUnited Nations and Turkey are working to find a way to reopen the shipping lanes. We…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.The war between Russia and Ukraine is a threat to the whole world. There was a sigh of reliefthis August after the United Nations and Turkey were able to negotiate a deal for Russia to dropits naval blockade of the Black Sea. That blockade had shut the door on Ukrainian exports. InAugust Ukraine, the world’s fourth largest corn exporter was back in business shipping 25.5million bushels of corn.But just this Sunday Russia reinstated their blockade. Hungry people in the Middle East and Asiaare dependent on that corn. We could be facing rising food prices and a global hunger crisis. TheUnited Nations and Turkey are working to find a way to reopen the shipping lanes. We…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/on-the-farm22 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/on-the-farm22 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.I was on the Illinois farm last week. We finished harvesting soybeans. I was so happy to be thereand have a chance to run the combine a little. Having farmed all my life, I just wanted to watchthat golden corn flow into the bin. Our soybean yield came in at about 75 bushels per acre andcorn over 230 bushels per acre. I am very happy with those yields. It was our good fortune thatour farm team did a great job and the weather cooperated. We have farmer friends in other statesthat had to deal with drought, floods, and all kinds of weather destruction.We never know if the weather will cooperate in mid-April when we want to start planting. Weprefer to have all the corn and soybeans… 2022-10-27T00:29:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.I was on the Illinois farm last week. We finished harvesting soybeans. I was so happy to be thereand have a chance to run the combine a little. Having farmed all my life, I just wanted to watchthat golden corn flow into the bin. Our soybean yield came in at about 75 bushels per acre andcorn over 230 bushels per acre. I am very happy with those yields. It was our good fortune thatour farm team did a great job and the weather cooperated. We have farmer friends in other statesthat had to deal with drought, floods, and all kinds of weather destruction.We never know if the weather will cooperate in mid-April when we want to start planting. Weprefer to have all the corn and soybeans…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you.And now today’s commentary.I was on the Illinois farm last week. We finished harvesting soybeans. I was so happy to be thereand have a chance to run the combine a little. Having farmed all my life, I just wanted to watchthat golden corn flow into the bin. Our soybean yield came in at about 75 bushels per acre andcorn over 230 bushels per acre. I am very happy with those yields. It was our good fortune thatour farm team did a great job and the weather cooperated. We have farmer friends in other statesthat had to deal with drought, floods, and all kinds of weather destruction.We never know if the weather will cooperate in mid-April when we want to start planting. Weprefer to have all the corn and soybeans…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/challenges20 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/challenges20 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary. I will be on the farm this week. Harvest is winding down. Corn and soybean yields are good – not a record but very much in line with expectations. Farmers face a perfect storm of problems as we wrap up 2022 and must now focus on 2023. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Directors said – “All the world’s largest economies –Europe, China, and the U.S. are now slowing down, dampening demand for exports.” Ourproducts are bought with dollars. The currencies of many of our customers are weak compared toour dollar. Therefore, they can’t buy as much. The bottom line is that the strong dollar makes iteasier for the U.S. to buy from other countries, and the weak currencies of other… 2022-10-21T00:35:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary. I will be on the farm this week. Harvest is winding down. Corn and soybean yields are good – not a record but very much in line with expectations. Farmers face a perfect storm of problems as we wrap up 2022 and must now focus on 2023. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Directors said – “All the world’s largest economies –Europe, China, and the U.S. are now slowing down, dampening demand for exports.” Ourproducts are bought with dollars. The currencies of many of our customers are weak compared toour dollar. Therefore, they can’t buy as much. The bottom line is that the strong dollar makes iteasier for the U.S. to buy from other countries, and the weak currencies of other…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary. I will be on the farm this week. Harvest is winding down. Corn and soybean yields are good – not a record but very much in line with expectations. Farmers face a perfect storm of problems as we wrap up 2022 and must now focus on 2023. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Directors said – “All the world’s largest economies –Europe, China, and the U.S. are now slowing down, dampening demand for exports.” Ourproducts are bought with dollars. The currencies of many of our customers are weak compared toour dollar. Therefore, they can’t buy as much. The bottom line is that the strong dollar makes iteasier for the U.S. to buy from other countries, and the weak currencies of other…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/food-security-is-national-security https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/food-security-is-national-security Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. This is Randy Russell sitting in for my good friend Jack Block. And now today’s commentary. Two recent events have gotten little attention in the national press, but could have a profound impact on U.S. agriculture, the economy, and our national security. The first involves a recent study put out by Virginia Tech, which showed that agriculture’s annual productivity rate over the last ten years increased by only 1.1%. Experts suggest the U.S. must average annual productivity gains of at least 1.7% in order to help feed the world’s expected population of 9.5 billion by 2050. This should be a wake-up call to our federal policymakers. It is time for Congress to makeagriculture research a national… 2022-10-14T03:03:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. This is Randy Russell sitting in for my good friend Jack Block. And now today’s commentary. Two recent events have gotten little attention in the national press, but could have a profound impact on U.S. agriculture, the economy, and our national security. The first involves a recent study put out by Virginia Tech, which showed that agriculture’s annual productivity rate over the last ten years increased by only 1.1%. Experts suggest the U.S. must average annual productivity gains of at least 1.7% in order to help feed the world’s expected population of 9.5 billion by 2050. This should be a wake-up call to our federal policymakers. It is time for Congress to makeagriculture research a national…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. This is Randy Russell sitting in for my good friend Jack Block. And now today’s commentary. Two recent events have gotten little attention in the national press, but could have a profound impact on U.S. agriculture, the economy, and our national security. The first involves a recent study put out by Virginia Tech, which showed that agriculture’s annual productivity rate over the last ten years increased by only 1.1%. Experts suggest the U.S. must average annual productivity gains of at least 1.7% in order to help feed the world’s expected population of 9.5 billion by 2050. This should be a wake-up call to our federal policymakers. It is time for Congress to makeagriculture research a national…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/issues1022 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/issues1022 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary-Who would have predicted the devastation that hurricane Ian would have done to Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The tv pictures focused on homes, buildings, and boats destroyed.Let’s not forget about the orchards of fruit, small businesses, and livestock. Our prayers go out toall of those that have suffered. There were some positive things that happened last week. Congress passed a ContinuingResolution, so we won’t have to close down the government for now. You are probably as happyas I am to be able to gas up your car for less than $100. Gas prices have come down, but don’t gettoo excited. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to… 2022-10-06T17:11:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary-Who would have predicted the devastation that hurricane Ian would have done to Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The tv pictures focused on homes, buildings, and boats destroyed.Let’s not forget about the orchards of fruit, small businesses, and livestock. Our prayers go out toall of those that have suffered. There were some positive things that happened last week. Congress passed a ContinuingResolution, so we won’t have to close down the government for now. You are probably as happyas I am to be able to gas up your car for less than $100. Gas prices have come down, but don’t gettoo excited. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary-Who would have predicted the devastation that hurricane Ian would have done to Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The tv pictures focused on homes, buildings, and boats destroyed.Let’s not forget about the orchards of fruit, small businesses, and livestock. Our prayers go out toall of those that have suffered. There were some positive things that happened last week. Congress passed a ContinuingResolution, so we won’t have to close down the government for now. You are probably as happyas I am to be able to gas up your car for less than $100. Gas prices have come down, but don’t gettoo excited. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/tough-times22 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/tough-times22 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. And now today’s commentary- After Friday, September will be behind us. The U.S. government will enter a new fiscal year.Our federal government will close down if our Congress does not pass a Continuing Resolutionto approve funding in the new fiscal year. If Congress can get it done to avoid a shut down, (andI think they will) they will probably only extend business until sometime in December. Thenthey will have to act again to get through the rest of fiscal year 2023. This is not the way to run a good company and not the way to run our federal government. Withpolitics the way they are now, we have to live with it. In just a little more than a month, the midterm elections will be held. That puts… 2022-09-29T22:45:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. And now today’s commentary- After Friday, September will be behind us. The U.S. government will enter a new fiscal year.Our federal government will close down if our Congress does not pass a Continuing Resolutionto approve funding in the new fiscal year. If Congress can get it done to avoid a shut down, (andI think they will) they will probably only extend business until sometime in December. Thenthey will have to act again to get through the rest of fiscal year 2023. This is not the way to run a good company and not the way to run our federal government. Withpolitics the way they are now, we have to live with it. In just a little more than a month, the midterm elections will be held. That puts…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. And now today’s commentary- After Friday, September will be behind us. The U.S. government will enter a new fiscal year.Our federal government will close down if our Congress does not pass a Continuing Resolutionto approve funding in the new fiscal year. If Congress can get it done to avoid a shut down, (andI think they will) they will probably only extend business until sometime in December. Thenthey will have to act again to get through the rest of fiscal year 2023. This is not the way to run a good company and not the way to run our federal government. Withpolitics the way they are now, we have to live with it. In just a little more than a month, the midterm elections will be held. That puts…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/challenges22 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/challenges22 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. And now today’s commentary- We face some serious global challenges. The human population has doubled in the last 50 yearsto 8 billion. We will need productive farmland to increase food production and forest land to getthe wood to build houses. Demand for land has pushed land prices to a record level. In the stateof Illinois foreign companies and individuals have bought 519 thousand acres. That land costmore than $4 billion. Foreign investors, including China, want our farmland. Texas Republican Louie Gohmert is pushing legislation to protect our U.S. land. When farmlandis sold to a foreign buyer, it steals it away from one of our farm families that might have wantedit. That is just one serious… 2022-09-23T21:25:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. And now today’s commentary- We face some serious global challenges. The human population has doubled in the last 50 yearsto 8 billion. We will need productive farmland to increase food production and forest land to getthe wood to build houses. Demand for land has pushed land prices to a record level. In the stateof Illinois foreign companies and individuals have bought 519 thousand acres. That land costmore than $4 billion. Foreign investors, including China, want our farmland. Texas Republican Louie Gohmert is pushing legislation to protect our U.S. land. When farmlandis sold to a foreign buyer, it steals it away from one of our farm families that might have wantedit. That is just one serious…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by theNational Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association.They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous ruralAmerica. Thank you. And now today’s commentary- We face some serious global challenges. The human population has doubled in the last 50 yearsto 8 billion. We will need productive farmland to increase food production and forest land to getthe wood to build houses. Demand for land has pushed land prices to a record level. In the stateof Illinois foreign companies and individuals have bought 519 thousand acres. That land costmore than $4 billion. Foreign investors, including China, want our farmland. Texas Republican Louie Gohmert is pushing legislation to protect our U.S. land. When farmlandis sold to a foreign buyer, it steals it away from one of our farm families that might have wantedit. That is just one serious…agriculture,policy,Washington https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/issues22 https://johnblockreports.com/reports/show/issues22 Hello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary- With all the concern about climate change, countries around the world are looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions. We have been told for years that ethanol blended fuel will burn cleaner and reduce green house gas emissions. Here is what Geoff Cooper, President of the Renewable Fuels Association had to say: “Ethanol offers a significant and immediate carbon savings.” However, out of the blue the critics of the ethanol industry are on the attack. They argue that theEPA requirements that ethanol plants use certain emission controls are not being followed. Theysay that EPA has been willing to provide processing exemptions to many of the older plants.They argue the… 2022-09-15T12:45:00+00:00 John BlocknoHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary- With all the concern about climate change, countries around the world are looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions. We have been told for years that ethanol blended fuel will burn cleaner and reduce green house gas emissions. Here is what Geoff Cooper, President of the Renewable Fuels Association had to say: “Ethanol offers a significant and immediate carbon savings.” However, out of the blue the critics of the ethanol industry are on the attack. They argue that theEPA requirements that ethanol plants use certain emission controls are not being followed. Theysay that EPA has been willing to provide processing exemptions to many of the older plants.They argue the…John BlockHello, everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now today’s commentary- With all the concern about climate change, countries around the world are looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions. We have been told for years that ethanol blended fuel will burn cleaner and reduce green house gas emissions. Here is what Geoff Cooper, President of the Renewable Fuels Association had to say: “Ethanol offers a significant and immediate carbon savings.” However, out of the blue the critics of the ethanol industry are on the attack. They argue that theEPA requirements that ethanol plants use certain emission controls are not being followed. Theysay that EPA has been willing to provide processing exemptions to many of the older plants.They argue the…agriculture,policy,Washington