Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Missouri Corn Talk, your go to weekly agriculture podcast delivering fast, reliable updates on market development efforts, ethanol demand, and the issues shaping today's corn industry. I'm your host, David Geiger. For corn growers, the August Congressional recess is more than a break in the legislative calendar. It's an opportunity to have conversations with the people making decisions in Washington, D.C. that affect farms here in Missouri. With the farm bill year round, E15 and trade all still on the table, the now is an important time for growers to make their voices heard. Joining us today is Missouri Corn Chief Executive Officer Bradley Shad. Bradley, as I just said, Congress is on recess. How is the Missouri Corn Growers association reaching out to Representatives during this August recess? What's left on the table that you want to make sure is addressed?
[00:00:46] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. August recess is a great time. As we know we're coming to the end of the fiscal year. There's a lot going on in Congress in the month of September. So it gives the congressmen and women opportunity to talk with our growers, their constituents and who they work for. I hope that everybody has the opportunity to pay attention and look for where our congressmen and women are coming to their area to listen to their constituents and get involved. Go out there, make your voice heard about what's going on in the farming community and let them hear your story of what's going on on your farm, how fertilizer prices are affecting you, how you need more markets like E15. It's critical to our future and we got to make sure that our voices are heard because if, if we're not letting them know, they don't know what to fight on. So we got to make sure that our congressmen and women know that agriculture is important to the state and to the country and make sure that our priorities are heard. And so we're doing that. We're reaching out to congressmen and women and making sure our voices are heard. But we hope our growers catch the opportunity to do that as well as they they work for each and every one of you.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: Is there some leverage farmers have right now, talking to Representatives before the election comes? Is there a way potentially to give them more motivation?
[00:01:59] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. There's 100%, a lot of additional pressure this year, being an election year, making sure that, that they're working for us. And it gives us a great opportunity to work on the key priorities that we have. The farm bill, it was unfortunate what happened in the Senate. I'm not getting the votes we needed to pass it out of committee. So that's something that, that is still in progress that Congress needs to do, including year round E15 as a part of that. Whether that be a standalone bill or whether it be within the farm bill itself, we've got to get that passed. It's been too long that Congress has not acted on this and it's, it's hurting the constituents, not only the farming economy, but as we see gas prices continue to, to stay high. We've got retailers doing everything they can giving opportunities to consumers to, to cheapen their fuel source with E15. It's saving the consumer a lot of money. So whenever you can fill up with it, it's a great opportunity to help find a market for the corn that we're producing. The corn crop looks great this year and so we're going to have plenty of it. And so ethanol has continued to be the most economical source of octane out there and we want to make sure that consumers have the ability to do that. And you know, in, in 2011 is when we first filed for the waiver to allow E15 and we still don't have it for the summertime months. Given those constituents the opportunity to purchase a lower cost, more efficient fuel is good for, for all of the United States and we need to make sure that that gets accomplished. Whenever they come back in September.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: I'd like to talk more about the farm bill. As you said, it wasn't passed despite there being a lot of optimism. And you know, we're about eight years since the last farm bill was passed. Was the impact on the farm for continually being unable to get this across the finish line?
[00:03:43] Speaker B: Yeah, we had a five year farm bill. We're past that now. We're going on eight years. These programs are critical to our growers and being able to continue farming because it's, it's not just the programs themselves, but knowing just whether we're going to be able to have those programs or not. They depend on them and putting that into their plan for the year of whether they're going to be able to have insurance, have the ability to continue raising a crop and make sure that they have backing if there was a crop failure. So crop insurance is key in the farm bill and we need to have some guarantees to make sure that, that that farm bill has passed so they know their future as well because it just takes the risk, some of the risk, not all of the risk for sure, but some of the risk out of farming to where we can continue doing our job and raising the most abundant food source, feed source and energy source out there.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: Moving over to trade, another big national topic. What's the status of trade disputes and agreements we've seen over the last few years?
Where are we now? And what do Missouri corn growers want to see happen as we move forward?
[00:04:44] Speaker B: Well, first and foremost, going back, that farm bill is key to that as well, because it provides some funding, partnership funding, that we work on exports out there with the MAP and fmd. But about a third of our corn relies on exports. And so it's the only trade surplus that we have really here in the United States that we're exporting more and more out there. It's been a great program. It's been great to see that the Trump administration has been working hard to get new agreements and really focusing on trade. We got to make sure that the usmca, it is so important to the Missouri corn farmers, but make sure that that gets extended for the full 16 years. It creates opportunities for growth, and we just need to keep building on demand both abroad and and around the world to make sure that our farmers have the most market that they can. As I said, a third of our corn crop relies on exports, and we got to make sure that that market is stronger tomorrow than it is today.
[00:05:39] Speaker A: So we spoke on this big impact on the farm, showing the reason why Missouri corn growers is here, making sure farmers have a seat at the table. Can you tell me about that voice and what it means as we get ready for a new year after the elections?
[00:05:52] Speaker B: It is a huge impact. Our farmers are already making decisions for next year and what they're going to plant. So we got to provide all the markets we can for them. It's a huge impact to the farm level. We continue to focus on those areas. I'll be traveling to India to try and open up that market even more in September. But these farmers are getting ready to harvest. Some of them have already actually started down in the southern part of Missouri. And we got to make sure that they have markets for the future because they're going to be harvesting and storing and next year growing. So we've got to make sure that these trade opportunities are open for these growers, but we also got to make sure that we have more markets here at home. And it's, it's not just the ethanol industry. It's the red meat, the, the amount that protein that we consume. We're seeing a lot more demand for protein, not only here at home, but globally. And we're going to fill that need. We have the ability to, we Just got to make sure that those markets are open for both our farmers and ranchers across the nation.
[00:06:48] Speaker A: Bradley, what else do you feel is important to mention to farmers about what's going on this August recess?
[00:06:53] Speaker B: Corn prices are definitely under pressure. We want to make sure that we have all the markets we can get, like E15, as we talked about, because input costs remain high. We think those are artificially inflated by the companies that. That be. That have a big market share. So we're doing everything we can. We appreciate the DOJ looking into practices that are out there. They're collecting information right now on that. So if we've got any growers out there that, that have information, we ask of you to. To reach out to the Department of Justice and make your voice heard there as well. Decisions in Washington make an impact on farm profitability. And so we got to make sure our voices are heard and that they understand what they do out in D.C. affects each and every kernel of corn that we raise on our farm. It's not just the total farm profitability, but each and every colonel. It makes a difference. And so we got to make sure that our voice is heard whenever we have the opportunity with our congressmen and women. You don't have to be a policy expert, but just tell your story whenever you're out there meeting with them. But more importantly, if you don't know how to get a hold of them or you want to make sure your voice is heard, reach out to this association. We work for you as well. We're in direct contact with our congressmen and women on a regular basis going out to D.C. multiple times a year. But more importantly, we've got a direct line of communication with their staff that we're on the call, if not weekly, every other week. So we've got some pretty good champions out there in D.C. for the state of Missouri. So we're very proud to work with them and excited for the future.
[00:08:21] Speaker A: Missouri Corn Chief Executive Officer Bradley Shad. Thank you so much for joining us.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: Absolutely. Thank you.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: The August recess gives Missouri growers a valuable opportunity to put a face and voice behind the issues affecting their farms. Whether it is E15, the farm bill trade, or the farm economy, growers do not have to be policy experts to make a difference. Have the conversation, make the ask, and let your elected officials know where you stand.
Thanks for listening to this week's Missouri Corn Talk made possible by the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council and the Missouri Corn Growers Association. I'm David Geiger. To stay up to date on Missouri Corn's policy priorities and to find ways to get involved, visit mocorn.org or follow on our social channels.
