Agri-Pulse Open Mic Interview

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 Zea says an outdated and antiquated locks and dams infrastructure continues to support a large percentage of the nation’s GDP.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...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill. As a member of the House Committee on Agriculture and chairwoman of the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee, Bustos is encouraged by President Joe Biden’s commitment to agriculture, renewable fuels, climate and rural issues. The Illinois Democrat says the 117th Congress has work to do to win the support of rural voters b...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Barron Segar, president and CEO of the World Food Program USA. In a week where the nation celebrates the productivity of the nation’s farms and ranches, the focus of this interview is the daunting challenge of the millions of men, women and children that are malnourished and regions where famine is a looming threat. The United Nations World Food Programme was awarded...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Dave Puglia, president and CEO of Western Growers. Few industries have been challenged more than produce growers and shippers during the COVID pandemic. In addition to “senseless regulation,”  challenges from reduced water supplies and a lack of adequate labor, Puglia says some growers are looking outside the U.S. for opportunities to raise crops. Puglia says he’s opt...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Rob Larew, President of the National Farmers Union. Along with other farm groups in this pandemic season, the NFU held its 119th annual meeting virtually with an impressive display of political leaders discussing issues facing the industry in the year ahead. Larew says there was a tone of optimism in the membership ranks approaching the new season. NFU members are anx...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Bill Even, CEO of the National Pork Board. Last year proved challenging for the nation’s swine producers and the pork industry despite a record-setting pace for global pork sales. While the new year offers challenges from higher feed costs, Even suggests the packing industry is processing animals at near capacity and demand for pork remains robust from both domestic a...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Steve Censky, CEO of the American Soybean Association. After serving as USDA Deputy Secretary in the Trump administration, Censky is back in St. Louis serving the nation’s soybean farmers. Censky is encouraged with the nomination of Tom Vilsack to return as Ag Secretary and is confident with other names that will assume leadership roles at USDA and the Biden cabinet....

This week’s Open Mic Guest is Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. The Georgia farmer spent time at a socially distanced county president’s conference in Kentucky last week. On the sidelines of the event, Duvall shared his thoughts on the pending debate about climate policy and agriculture’s efforts in sustainability. Duvall reflects on conversations with Ag Secretary No...

This week’s Open Mic guest is Chuck Conner, president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. The group’s annual meeting will be virtual this week with no shortage of topics to embrace for the new year. Conner says the group is hopeful the Biden administration will reconsider tax changes offered in the last hour by the previous administration and that legislators will be willing to...