Agri-Pulse Open Mic Interview

This week’s Open Mic guest is Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member John Boozman. The Arkansas Republican isn’t pleased with the process of budget reconciliation for the Build Back Better Plan now before Congress. Boozman questions not only the sum of funds but the lack of detail in how the agriculture dollars will be used. While stepped-up basis may be preserved with the plan in its current form, Bo...

This week’s Open Mic Guest is Megan Kaiser, treasurer and five-year member of the United Soybean Board. As a farmer and soil scientist, Kaiser says growers are reaping the benefits of previous checkoff investments in new uses and sustainability, leading to better soil health, increased productivity and a healthier environment. Farmer-funded research has also paved the way for cleaner air in major...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Illinois 17th District Representative Cheri Bustos. As a leader of the Democratic Party’s effort to strengthen the relationship with rural voters, Bustos believes there’s universal support in the House for the $1-trillion dollar infrastructure package. Bustos believes the Biden administration will deliver on its promise to protect farmers and small business owners in...

This week’s Open Mic guest is U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. On the sidelines of a meeting with constituents early last week, the senior Senator from Kentucky took time to discuss the nation’s fiscal policy, infrastructure spending, the conflict in Afghanistan, climate and voter rights issues. McConnell discusses the political climate in Washington and the nation’s energy polic...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Rita Hite, Executive Vice President for External Relations and Policy for the American Forest Foundation. As the nation’s leaders draw attention to climate change and carbon sequestration, the American Forest Foundation touts the role families and individual forest land owners can play in pulling carbon from the atmosphere. While crop and livestock producers may offer...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. As a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and ranking member on the agriculture subcommittee, the former governor of North Dakota has led a bipartisan effort to bring financial relief to drought-stricken farmers and ranchers in his state. He’s counting on additional short-term assistance from the USDA and is hopeful the budget proc...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Greg Hanes, CEO of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. As the nation’s cattle producers gather in Nashville this week, the Beef Board will be celebrating the 35th anniversary of the beef checkoff. Hanes believes producer promotion and research have helped to solidify beef’s place in the diet and its overall value is helping grow demand domestically and around the globe. Hanes...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn. In a state noted for its lakes and natural beauty, dry weather remains a huge issue for livestock and crop farmers alike. Smith says additional federal support may be needed in her state and others. In this interview, Smith discusses the two infrastructure packages at play on Capitol Hill as well as concerns over federal spending. Smith is a s...

This week’s Open Mic guest is U.S. Senator Charles Grassley. The Iowa ag leader is in the thick of issues from renewable fuel policy to global trade agreements. Grassley wants a government response to cattle price discovery and offers a willingness to compromise on policy options. The meatpacking industry will be the focus of a pair of hearings this week, one by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. As a third-generation farmer, Tester and his wife are seeing firsthand the devastating impact of drought in the West. Tester supports infrastructure spending and government outlays to pull the country out of the pandemic-induced recession. In this interview, he speaks to the issues of consolidation, competition and transparency in the cattle m...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Tracy Zea, president and CEO of the Waterways Council, Inc. Formed about 20 years ago WCI’s mission is to lobby for improvements to the nation’s inland waterways system. Zea says an outdated and antiquated locks and dams infrastructure continues to support a large percentage of the nation’s GDP. While legislation authorizing the upgrade of a number of facilities has b...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Karsten Temme, CEO of Pivot Bio. Genetic engineering of commercial crops has brought tremendous increases in productivity and sustainability. Microbial science is proving its worth in preserving plant health and providing much-needed nutrients for sustainable production. Pivot Bio offers biological solutions to plant nutrition to displace synthetic fertilizer with nit...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI-The Food Industry Association. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a tremendous strain on nearly every aspect of the food industry and seemingly overnight changes in consumer shopping patterns. Sarasin suggests many of those new paradigms are here to stay. FMI’s Grocery Shopper Trends survey indicates technology will play a greater r...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind. As Congress and the White House continue to wrangle with economic stimulus policy and a national infrastructure plan, the Hoosier member of the House Ways and Means Committee is deeply concerned with the direction, price tag and potential tax increases in pending legislation. She supports a full array of sources to supply the nation’s ener...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Tom Gallagher, CEO of Dairy Management Incorporated. Few commodity groups in the nation have seen greater challenges than dairy farmers over the past several years. The COVID pandemic, higher feed costs, consolidation in the processing industry and drought are just a few of the challenges producers have endured. Yet, prices have stabilized and consumers continue to se...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Dan Glickman. After serving 18 years in Congress representing the Kansas 4th district, Glickman served as Secretary of Agriculture from 1995 to 2001. He chaired the Motion Picture Association for six years and recently authored a book, "Laughing at Myself. My education in Congress, on the Farm and at the Movies." As head of USDA, Glickman dealt with diversity issues a...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Jamie Johansson, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation. Johansson is a first-generation olive and citrus grower and well versed in the environmental, regulatory and social obstacles of farming on the West Coast. With a push toward climate-smart agriculture from the state and federal government, Johansson says farmers in his state shoulder a tremendous reg...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill. As a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, the subject of funding President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package was before members last week. The Illinois 18thDistrict Representative says the nation’s roads, bridges, railways and inland waterways desperately need an influx of federal dollars, but not from increased taxes. LaHo...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Todd Van Hoose, President and CEO of the Farm Credit Council. An upswing in commodity prices is leading to a better economic outlook for many farms across the nation. Van Hoose suggests higher crop prices have helped the balance sheet of a number of operations but is also challenging livestock and dairy producers. As a member of Rebuild Rural, FCC is supportive of inv...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Debbie Reed, executive director of the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium. ESMC was established in 2017 from the Noble Foundation’s desire to discover market-based solutions to improve soil health. With tremendous energy from the private sector toward reducing greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, Reed says agriculture and forestry can play an important role in accom...

This week’s Open Mic guest is U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin. The Illinois Democrat has long been concerned about a changing climate and the challenges it poses for the nation and its farmers. Durbin supports the American Jobs Act and recognizes the agriculture industry’s concerns over tax amendments to pay for the investment. He continues to work for immigration reform with a strong agricu...

This week’s Open Mic Guest is Sen. Mike Braun. In barely more than two years of serving Hoosiers on Capitol Hill, the Indiana Republican has partnered with Senate Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. to bring the Growing Climate Solutions Act through the committee. Braun is optimistic as the bill is postured for floor debate in that over 40 members from both parties are backing the legislation....

This week’s Open Mic guest is Dr. Sally Rockey, executive director for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. Born from the 2014 Farm Bill, FFAR is tasked with finding matching funds for research in the food production system from the nation’s farms to consumer’s plates. While research is targeted in six different challenge areas, Rockey says climate and nutrition are themes that cross...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the North American Meat Institute. Few segments of the food industry were forced to adapt as quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic to meet consumer demand as members of the North American Meat Institute. Now, Potts says, the meat industry is looking forward to a new normal and embracing new challenges including a court challenge to Ca...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Corey Rosenbusch, president and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute. The United States accounts for a little over a tenth of the global nutrient market while maintaining a leading producer of agriculture products in the globe. Rosenbusch says fertilizer prices have moved higher into the U.S. planting season, but supplies are adequate to meet farmer demand for this year’s...