Agri-Pulse Open Mic Interview

This week’s Open Mic guest is Rep. Rick Crawford. The Arkansas Republican was elected to a 7th term in last week’s election. Looking forward, Crawford doesn’t expect significant legislation to come from a limited lame duck session and suggests narrow margins in the next Senate and House will require compromise and a bipartisan effort to accomplish much. Crawford suggests a more conciliatory tone from the White House could bring legislative victories in the new year. He expects a new farm bill to be marked up next year and doesn’t expect significant policy changes, but says reference prices for many commodities will need to be adjusted. Finally, Crawford offers caution when dealing with the Chinese.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Errico Auricchio, chairman of the Consortium of Common Food Names. The European Union has been successful in negotiating trade agreements that prevent producers of certain foods from selling in those markets unless they’re produced by EU member countries. Auricchio brought his family’s tradition of producing fine cheeses to the United States in the late 1970’s. Now, Wisconsin-based BelGioioso cheese, vineyards and other food companies are seeing limited access to global markets because of the EU’s GI claims. Auricchio and other members of the CCFN are urging Washington to step up efforts to maintain global opportunities for American food companies.

This week’s Open Mic guest is House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern. The Massachusetts Democrat is an outspoken supporter of government food and nutrition programs. McGovern strongly approves of President Joe Biden’s attention to health and nutrition and ending hunger in the United States by 2030 and says he will not support a new farm bill that does not support the White House initiatives toward ending hunger. McGovern scoffs at critics who suggest Democrats are to blame for inflation and a troubled economy. He questions sanctions without review and says relations with China require a delicate balance.

This week’s guest on Open Mic is Todd Van Hoose, President and CEO of the Farm Credit Council. While there are challenges with various commodities in different regions of the country, Van Hoose says generally 2022 should be profitable for most producers. However, the outlook for 2023 and beyond appears much more daunting with higher interest rates, increased input costs and uncertain outlook with both government regulations and legislation. In this interview, Van Hoose discusses potential changes to farm risk management tools, permanent disaster assistance and land values.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Terry Wolters, president of the National Pork Producers Council. Justices on the Supreme Court recently heard arguments on both sides of the California ballot initiative known as Proposition 12. Minnesota producer Terry Wolters says the measure would cause problems for producers and processors and increase food costs for consumers. In this interview, Wolters offers his observations of the discussion and expands on the possible implications of the ballot measure. Wolters offers insight on trade, border security, labor and USDA’s processing protocols.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation. The calendar year 2022 has yet again proven challenging and full of surprises for the nation’s farmers and ranchers. In this podcast, Duvall discusses current agriculture- related cases before the Supreme Court as well as ongoing regulatory decisions that are pending from the Environmental Protection Agency. Duvall is encouraged that disaster assistance funds may be considered by Congress in an Omnibus spending package after the November elections. The Georgia farmer applauds the Biden administration’s efforts to address hunger and nutrition and believes agriculture technology, research and development should be a part of the discussion. Farm bureau members are currently working on farm policy proposals that will be debated at their national convention, set for Puerto Rico in January.