This week’s guest on Open Mic is Ed Elfmann, Senior Vice President for Ag and Rural Banking Policy with the American Bankers Association. Rural bankers are cautiously optimistic as they face a challenging agriculture economic climate in the year ahead. In this week’s interview Elfmann addresses the impact of higher interest rates on farm loans, identifies priority issues within the new farm bill and outlines unique regulatory hurdles rural bankers must endure to serve farmers, businesses and individual in communities across the country.

This week’s guest on Open Mic is House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway. In this interview, the Texas Republican offers support for the GOP tax plan and identifies agriculture’s gains from the House proposal. Conaway embraces the challenge of the NAFTA renegotiation and offers full support for President Trump’s efforts to get a better deal for both farmers and industry. The chairman outlines ag committee preparation and work toward writing a new farm bill and supports significant change in the nation’s renewable energy policy and RIN’s structure.

This week’s guest on Open Mic is U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp. The North Dakota Democrat talks about how weather and other hardships have impacted producers this year and evaluates current farm bill provisions. Heitkamp recently met with Trump Administration officials on trade issues and is keeping a watchful eye on RFS decisions from the EPA. She says her constituents are concerned about both the nation’s complex tax code and growing national debt.

This week’s guest on Open Mic is U.S. Senator Joni Ernst. The Iowa Republican was among a group of farm state legislators who held the Trump administration accountable to their commitment to support for the Renewable Fuel Standard. In this interview, Senator Ernst discusses possible concessions for the oil industry. Ernst and other leaders are keeping a watchful eye on the trade front as well as tax reform debate in the House. Senator Ernst outlines proposals she’s offered on conservation and risk management provisions in the 2018 farm bill.

This week’s guest on Open Mic is Chuck Conner, President and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. In this week’s interview the former Deputy Ag Secretary discusses pending legislative issues that could have a dramatic impact on the nation’s farmers and their cooperatives. Conner gives caution to a House tax reform proposal, shares concern about ongoing trade negotiations and offers an ultimatum on the failure of the Congress to address agriculture’s need for guest workers.

This week’s guest on Open Mic is Andrew Bahrenburgh, National Policy Director for the National Young Farmers Coalition. The nation faces many hurdles in transitioning farms and ranches to a new generation. Identifying land, securing capital, tax reform and training are just a few of the issues potential young farmers face. In this interview, Bahrenburgh discusses young farmer and rancher needs in the new farm bill and one major obstacle that no other generation has faced before.

As hundreds of barges sit stranded along the banks of the Ohio River, it’s no secret that are nation’s ailing locks and dams are in need of an update. This week’s guest on Open Mic is Mike Toohey, President and CEO of the Waterways Council Inc. He describes the struggle of keeping an antiquated system functional and efforts to find adequate funding to replace dilapidated structures which are so critical to the U.S. economy and agriculture’s global competitiveness. Toohey says proposed tax reform and the Trump administration’s proposal to invest in the nation’s infrastructure could help, but aren’t guaranteed.

This week’s guest on Open Mic is Jim Mulhern, President and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. With all eyes on the fourth round of NAFTA 2.0 talks in Washington this week, the dairy industry anxiously awaits the opportunity to challenge Canada’s dairy policy. In this interview, Mulhern expresses the dairy industry’s desire for immigration reform and the consequences of congressional delay. After three years of low prices and reduced income, Mulhern says the industry is ready to see dairy policy reform.

This week’s guest on Open Mic is American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. As the leader of the nation’s largest general farm organization, the Georgia farmer continues to call for one voice from agriculture on Capitol Hill. In this interview, Duvall speaks to funding for the new farm bill as well as pending action on immigration reform and new tax laws for individuals and corporations, the Renewable Fuel Standard and the industry’s reliance on open trade policy.

This week’s guest on Open Mic is Tom Stenzel, President and CEO of the United Fresh Produce Association. Fresh off a very successful Washington Conference last week, Stenzel and the leaders of the produce industry are keeping a keen eye on the current round of NAFTA negotiations in Ottawa. Stenzel outlines the group’s policy goals toward the 2018 farm bill including a difficult debate on nutrition restrictions or incentives for the SNAP program. Stenzel outlines the two biggest issues in the farm labor debate and discusses House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s proposed H2-C labor proposal.