Agri-Pulse Open Mic Interview

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. Sustainability has long since been a focus of ASA and Censky says soybean farmers are encouraged about the opportunity to participate in the nation’s climate debate. Censky says ASA is ready to work with the Biden team on global trade opportunities and the nation’s energy policy and renewable fuels.

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 Nominee Tom Vilsack and EPA Administrator Nominee Michael Regan. Duvall is hopeful the Biden trade team will work diligently to keep trade flowing with China, consider joining the other nations of the CPTPP and find a meaningful trade deal with the U.K. He remains adamant that Washington find a solution to the ag labor crisis and is hopeful a solution could come with this Congress and administration.

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 embrace much-needed changes to immigration reform. Conner expects antagonists to use the upcoming climate debate to attack livestock producers but believes agriculture has enough positive evidence to win the day. Conner offers comments on using the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation to facilitate a carbon bank and the need for global market diversification.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. The nation’s ethanol industry was already in a state of financial stress before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the nation and sharply reduced demand for liquid motor fuels. In this interview, Skor discusses the challenges from the Trump administration’s approval of small refinery exemptions and the need for investment in retail infrastructure to meet consumer demand for fuels with higher ethanol blends. Recent studies support higher ethanol blends will help achieve climate goals for the U.S. and for global customers.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Tom Halverson, president and CEO of CoBank. The balance of debt stocks of U.S. farmers has grown during the downturn in the overall farm economy, but thankfully, the load of debt service has been eased by the tailwinds of increased global trade and higher commodity prices as well as very low interest rates. CoBank’s Halverson expects borrowing rates to remain low and farm income to improve as global commodity stocks remain tight in the near future. Halverson is hopeful the Biden administration will pursue an aggressive global trade strategy and says the ag industry must be prepared to defend its position as part of the solution in any climate policy.  

This week’s Open Mic guest is Jim Sutter, CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council. In a matter of a few short months, the value of soybeans has seen an astronomical market spike. Sutter says China’s renewed appetite for U.S. soy is a big reason, but not the only bullish influence in the market. Sutter says collaboration with other commodity organizations and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service has helped revive global demand and improve the industry’s balance of trade. Sutter says the U.S. soybean sustainability message is strong and could help other countries achieve their climate objectives. Sutter says the Biden administration's trade agenda will be a critical influence on the soybean market’s long term outlook.