Agri-Pulse Open Mic Interview

This week’s Open Mic guest is Alisha Schwertner, Chairwoman of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee. The next generation of producers faces the growing pains of assuming or building an operation on thin margins while navigating many other challenges. Schwertner is a wife and mother of three, works in the ag industry and is an integral part of her family farmin...

This week’s Open Mic guest is USDA Undersecretary Robert Bonnie. As the agriculture department lead for farm production and conservation, Bonnie will play a significant role in administering any new climate or conservation programs offered by U.S. legislators. Proposed pieces of legislation would offer new funds and opportunities for farmers and ranchers nationwide, but have yet to be approved. Bo...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Tim Lust, CEO of the National Sorghum Producers. The race for acres is on in the U.S., and sorghum has a number of positives for growers to consider. Lust says export demand is promising while food and fuel uses for the crop continue to expand. Lust sees a role for the USDA in carbon markets and says his commodity group has a very strong climate story to bring to the...

This week’s Open Mic guest is U.S. Senator Jon Tester.  Tester, the farmer and legislator, is concerned about price discovery in the cattle market.  Despite concern raised by two major ag groups, Tester believes any final legislative solution will have to have some mandatory level of animals sold at auction.  The Montana ag leader is concerned about geopolitical events including Russia and China a...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. Following a successful Executive Leadership Conference last week, Skor says some regulatory and judicial decisions have worked against the renewable fuels industry, but she’s encouraged with the role ethanol and all renewable fuels can play in addressing climate change and providing relief from high gasoline prices. State goals for ca...

This week’s Open Mic guest is P.J. Haynie III, chairman of the National Black Growers Council. In this interview, Haynie reflects on the mission and beginnings of a coalition of Black row crop farmers with the intent of sharing information and growth opportunities for Black farmers across America. Haynie, a fifth-generation farmer and descendent of a former slave, defines the decline in black farm...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Gary Adams, president and CEO of the National Cotton Council. Like other crop farmers, Adams says cotton farmers are burdened with uncertain input supplies and prices for the new crop year. Adams says infrastructure bottlenecks are also proving a challenge of satisfying market shipments to customers in the U.S. and around the globe. He says growers need predictability...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the price discovery issue and the disparity between what producers are receiving for their animals and what consumers are paying for beef from the meat case. Consolidation in the meatpacking industry has drawn the most criticism, but analysis by academia and eco...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Krysta Harden, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Harden began her tenure as leader of the group last year and is the third president of USDEC since it was formed in 1995 by Dairy Management Incorporated. Competition in global dairy trade is fierce, but Harden says U.S. farmers who produce high-quality products and ingredients are gaining global marke...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Chandler Goule, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers. Wheat growers face unique obstacles in Washington to maintain policy supporting the various regions and classes of the food grain crop in the nation. Goule believes the Build Back Better Act may still see compromise and approval on Capitol Hill and says wheat growers face challenges with potential cover...

This week’s Open Mic guest is American Soybean Association President Brad Doyle, who says the availability of crop protection products and fertilizer is providing a challenging start to the 2022 crop year. The Arkansas farmer is encouraged to see discussion on a new farm bill beginning in Washington and is mindful of the political will to develop climate-smart policy. Doyle says soybean farmers ha...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company. Commodity and financial markets have been tossed on the waves of COVID-19 and its variants. For 2022, Basse hopes to see a deceleration of cases and more stability in markets. He says inflation is an issue but the bigger story in agriculture is that of demand. The globe’s thirst for food, feed and renewable energy is driving...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Richard Waycott, president and CEO of the Almond Board of California.  Consumer demand for almonds domestically and globally provides an excellent outlook for The Golden State’s top crop, but regulatory challenges from global customers and state agencies as well as the available supply of water and labor cloud opportunities for growth. Waycott says the almond industry...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Neil Dierks, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council.  After a 40-year career serving agriculture with the last 20 years as the lead of the nation’s pork producers, Dierks is retiring back to the farm. He says the organization is strong in standing up for swine producers on Capitol Hill regarding environmental issues, science-based regulations and more access to in...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Corey Rosenbush, president and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute. Few questions loom larger than the price and availability of nutrients for the 2022 crop year. In this interview, Rosenbush shares the global storm of circumstances that have brought tight supplies and high prices for U.S. farmers. Issues of trade, tariffs, energy prices, transportation costs and weather...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Jon Doggett, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association. The nation’s corn farmers have concerns about supply chain issues and the availability of fertilizer and crop protection products for the 2022 crop season. Doggett says it's important for farmer voices to be heard on fertilizer tariffs that limit supply and EPA protocols when considering the environmental impa...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Brad Nordholm, president and CEO of Farmer Mac. Farmland values have seen a tremendous appreciation over the past several months despite questions over the outlook for commodity prices and current inflationary pressures. In this interview, Nordholm discusses the similarities and differences between the farm economy of the 1980s and today. Nordholm applauds congression...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The 900 consumer-owned coops in the nation are generally on solid footing and able to meet the needs of rural communities in the 47 states they serve. However, meeting the need for additional power demands will mean a significant investment in securing the base load as well as infrastructure. Ma...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Mike Seyfert, President and CEO of the National Grain and Feed Association. NFGA celebrates its 125th anniversary this week and maintains the same objectives and mission statement that brought the group together over a century ago. Seyfert says NGFA members celebrate House approval of the Infrastructure Bill and look forward to much needed improvements in the nation’s...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Andy LaVigne, president and CEO of the American Seed Trade Association. While farmers grapple with the price and availability of fertilizer and crop protection products for 2022, LaVigne says the seed industry should be well supplied and ready to meet seed demand for the new year. LaVigne says the seed industry needs consistent regulatory rules from Washington and uni...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark. The Arkansas First District Representative isn’t a fan of the infrastructure packages under consideration in Washington. As a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, Crawford believes climate-smart agriculture programs and conservation spending should fall under the ag leadership of legislators. He doesn’t see an urgency to approve new...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Chris Novak, president and CEO of CropLife America. The crop protection industry is working to overcome challenges on a number of fronts to provide an adequate supply of products for farmers in the 2022 crop year. Chris Novak says CLA members are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, labor issues, ingredient availability as well as shipping and transportation h...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Bill Even, CEO of the National Pork Board. The nation’s swine producers are cautiously optimistic given consistent domestic demand for pork and increases in volume and value of U.S. pork export sales. On the home front, Even suggests the industry is focused on protecting the herd from African swine fever and is working at every level along with USDA and other governme...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. As a key member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, the Ohio Democrat realizes the need for infrastructure spending for his state and rural communities across the nation. Brown supports the Biden administration’s Build Back Better proposal and believes the massive effort will be funded in ways that prevent a sign...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Rep. Dusty Johnson. The South Dakota Republican says the verdict is still out on how much this season’s dry weather will impact farmers and ranchers in his state. He also says the nation should not be naïve to the lasting impact that huge federal spending will have on programs Washington will be able to afford in years to come. Johnson prefers a bipartisan solution to...