From Washington with Karina Jones is brought to you by BillionAuto.com one of the nation’s largest automotive websites!
Karina Jones is a real-life ranch wife in the Nebraska Sandhills, Field Director for R-CalfUSA and one of the most highly sought-after speakers in the cattle industry nationwide!
And now the NEW VOICE of Farm & Ranch Country, Karina Jones –
Good day everyone in farm and ranch country!
The news out of Washington DC is all over the place. Lawmakers are scrambling to introduce last-minute legislation before the lengthy August recess when they get to go back home for a few weeks and mingle with the common folk, if they wish. These pieces of legislation may or may not see the light of day in the next Farm Bill, which could have first drafts coming to the surface in the next few months.
Occasional glances at mainstream ag media leave nothing to the imagination. More than the mercury is rising in DC, tempers seem to be getting pretty hot too. Op-eds and articles are being venomously splashed on screens accusing supporters of the Opportunities and Fairness in Farming Act, or the OFF ACT of being animal activists and extremists. But, what I have seen is sincere and genuine concern from farmers and ranchers who are seeking transparency and truth with how the money they are forced to pay is spent. Is that really a bad thing? I guess if you are the recipients of millions of dollars of commodity checkoff money and perhaps you have a guilty conscience. While there is a certain degree of audits that do happen to commodity checkoff programs, most appear to be financial audits, not compliance audits. So the spending is really not examined to any discerning degree. So the extraction of money out of rural America to fund six figure salaries and pay for lavish trips, continues to go largely unchecked, while the population of farmers and ranchers dwindles under immense financial pressures.
The month of August does bring opportunity! Opportunity for all of us to check in with our two Senators and Representative to Congress while they are back on their home turf. Whether it be a visit at the county fair or attending a town hall meeting, government needs to be a verb, not a noun. That will require all of us to engage in civic duty. You are the expert to represent your operation and its future as well as the industries that you are actively producing in. Do not just pay your dues to ag lobbying organizations. I always encourage people to speak for and represent themselves. If you don’t know where your Senators or Congressman will be while home on recess, give one of there in state offices a call and just ask. Don’t let them sit at home and watch cartoons for a month, I’m kidding! I am going to choose to believe that they really do want to get out be with the people whom they are supposed to represent during this time away from DC. If you are in agriculture, use this time to express your Farm Bill concerns and priorities. Nobody knows agriculture better than you!
This Farm Bill will be critical is helping to shape the trajectory of American agriculture. Inflationary input costs continue to sky rocket past the point of profitability despite stronger market conditions. The recent USDA cattle inventory report was no surprise to those of us out here in rural America. Another 2% shrink in the domestic cowherd continues to prove that there is no herd building in sighter. Herd liquidation began back in 2018, with a sharp decline since 2020 continues to analysts grappling with the question of why we aren’t rebuilding. Why some would like to blame it on the drought, those of us in the industry know better. Dwindling morale has sent cows to town when market volatility coupled with concentrated supply chain power and increasing input costs have been too challenging.
We will continue to watch the ebb and flow, the ups and downs, the twists and turns as they develop in Washington and especially as to how they relate to American agriculture. So tune in next week as I bring you more ag news from our nation’s capital.
To catch up on a full menu of ag news and markets check out the Your Ag Network app or website. Market analyst Brian Hoops and award winning Hot Barn Report broadcaster, Monte James, keep you up to date on all the markets in the grain belt and cattle country! If you are looking for a daily dose of ranch life with my family, you will find it on Ranch Raised with Karina Jones.
Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 4 children near Broken Bow, NE. She grew up in western NE, with roots also in southwest SD. The cattle industry and raising kids is her passion.
Tune in Fridays on The Hot Barn Report, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and highlights industry reforms or listen to Ranch Raised with Karina Jones a slice of daily life on the Jones Ranch.
