Agri-Pulse Open Mic Interview

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 energy needs and is excited about sustainability projects. She is encouraged by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s ability to address ag export issues. Walorski also believes cybersecurity is a huge and growing threat to the nation and suggests action is needed against Russia’s actions on this front.

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 seek dairy products. Tom Gallagher says the industry is adapting to marketing concepts that reach younger consumers and sharing the dairy message of sustainability to an information thirsty consumer.

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 and experienced resistance to genetically enhanced crops face to face in Rome. In this interview, Glickman discusses the need for an infrastructure package, immigration reform and the government’s role in climate policy.

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 regulatory burden in addition to one of the worst droughts the state has ever experienced. Johansson discusses the ideological disagreement with those who call for land preservation and oppose working lands. Johansson says a shortage of farmworkers is an ongoing issue for California farmers and is impacting the variety of crops grown in his state.

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. LaHood believes Washington should play a role in developing climate-based revenue opportunities for farmers but doesn’t support heavy-handed mandates to accomplish environmental goals. LaHood favors reform of the WTO and a return to the CPTPP to expand exports.

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 investment in rural infrastructure but has reservations about changes in tax laws to pay for projects. Van Hoose is encouraged by the Biden trade agenda and believes Washington has a role to play in facilitating climate smart revenue opportunities for farms and ranches.

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 accomplishing positive environmental outcomes. Reed ways Washington is playing “catch up” to the industry’s efforts toward sustainability, but can still play a critical role to desired outcomes.

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 agriculture worker component and hopes for new efforts to expand market opportunities for farmers and ranchers.

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. In this interview, Braun speaks to the global climate summit last week hosted by President Joe Biden as well as details of what’s in the GCSA’s language. Braun, a fiscal conservative, speaks to the broader language of Biden’s pending infrastructure bill and favoritism for electric vehicles in the plan.

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 much of the foundation’s overall focus. Rockey says agriculture is the only industry that can actually limit the extent of climate change. FFAR intends to provide research farmers can use to make science-based decisions to increase productivity and help the environment. FFAR and the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action recently announced that PepsiCo has joined the AgMission initiative to reduce greenhouse gasses in agriculture as a founding partner.