Agri-Pulse Open Mic Interview

This week’s Open Mic guest is Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The beef producers have seen their fair share of adversity from the COVID-19 pandemic, but have also seen a resurgence in consumer demand with more meals consumed at home. In this interview, Woodall discusses opportunities for direct marketing to consumers and the need for additional regional processing facilities. Woodall speaks to NCBA’s efforts to increase price discovery in the auction market and addresses reform efforts of the beef checkoff. Woodall says NCBA stands ready to work with the incoming Biden Administration’s regulatory and legislative agenda and is also working on sustainability strategies.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va. After gaining another term to represent her state’s 7th district, Spanberger is ready to begin work on developing agriculture’s role in combatting climate change. Spanberger says the base of a green economy should give farmers a seat at the table when discussing national issues like health care, rural broadband and developing innovative policies to sequester carbon and promote rural economic growth. She supports investment in the nation’s infrastructure and believes the Biden administration will be instrumental in repairing challenged trade relationships and developing new global marketing opportunities for farmers and ranchers.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Betsy Ward, president and CEO of the USA Rice Federation. As an umbrella trade organization representing the sum of the rice industry, Ward speaks to the opportunities and challenges seen in global and domestic markets as well as the impact of the COVID pandemic on consumers around the world. Trade barriers have been an obstacle to the bottom line of U.S. rice producers, but recent trade agreements are bringing new opportunities for her members. Ward says government risk management programs have been successful in helping producers survive the cyclical nature of the industry and looks to build new relationships in Washington to maintain a healthy and viable industry.

This week’s Open Mic guest is EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. In a conversation just days before the election, Administrator Wheeler discussed the agency’s recent decision to extend the registration of certain dicamba products and amendments to the exclusion zones for ground and aerial pesticide application. Administrator Wheeler discusses the judicial challenges that threaten EPA jurisdiction of various chemistries as well as the request for information surrounding the agency’s decisions to grant RFS exemptions to some of the nation’s small refineries. Wheeler says EPA should regulate, but not dictate, options for the nation’s energy needs.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Jim Collins, CEO of Corteva Agriscience, who describes his company as a “startup with a rich history.” In this interview, Collins discusses the challenges of meeting global demand for food, fiber and fuel and the opportunities of a new production paradigm rewarding farmers for sustainability goals as well as the crops they produce. Collins says Corteva is rapidly developing new crop protection products to replace older chemistries that meet both producer needs and consumer demands for greener and safer products.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Dan Halstrom, president and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. While the global food distribution system may have been altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Halstrom says consumer demand for U.S. beef, pork and lamb continues to grow. USDA data suggests strong demand for red meat thanks to recent trade agreements giving U.S. producers a more level playing field to compete in global market. Halstrom expects recovery from the pandemic in certain countries as well as online trends in consumer shopping to lead to greater U.S. market share in global markets.

This week’s Open Mic guest is John Piotti, president and CEO of the American Farmland Trust. In this week’s conversation, Piotti expands on the group’s mission to preserve valuable farmland and to expand opportunities for farmers to use their land as a carbon sink to battle climate change as well as produce food for a growing planet. Piotti sees support from private industry as well as government policy to reward farmers for agronomic practices that sequester carbon in the soil and improves soil health. Piotti says changes in land ownership is an obstacle to developing new support programs for farmers and discusses the reasons behind farmland losses.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Brian Jennings, CEO of the American Coalition for Ethanol. The renewable fuels industry struggled from a number of significant challenges leading up to this year, highlighted by reduced volume demand by the EPA’s Small Refinery Exemptions. Jennings says 2020 has brought even more financial hardship including reduced fuel demand from COVID, a crude oil price war and lost export market opportunities. While many farmers and industries have seen financial support from Washington, the nation’s ethanol producers have been left out. Jennings shares thoughts on consequences to the industry if Congress remains deaf to their needs. He also discusses renewable fuel as a major issue in the November 3rd election.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Jen Sorenson, president-elect of the National Pork Producers Council. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic proved to be the latest challenge to the nation’s swine industry. Following a period of lost global markets due to trade conflicts, Sorenson says producers' profit hopes were crushed under the weight of lost domestic markets and reduced processing capacity because of COVID. While direct payments and other government assistance programs have helped, the Iowa hog farmer says many producers have been forced out of business and many more may be lost without additional government support. Sorenson hopes legislators will amend the CCC charter allowing compensation for euthanized and donated animals and bring reform to immigration laws. NPPC also supports aggressive trade negotiations to create additional global markets for U.S. pork.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Mark Stewart, President and CEO of Agriculture Future of America. Following the vision of the Kemper Family of Kansas City, an agriculture youth development organization was born in 1996 to help in the evolution of future ag leaders and to support their spirit of entrepreneurship. Today, Stewart says that same vision has expanded to over 200 college campuses and 150 different agriculture majors. As the group celebrates 24 years, it plans to continue working on developing human capital, addressing racial diversity and aligning academic programs with employer needs. Stewart says the organization brings people together to build bridges and tries to entice young people to find their personal mission and find pathways for feeding the world more sustainably.