Agricultural News
Ron Hays Has Conversation with National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson at 2015 AFR
Mon, 16 Feb 2015 07:05:41 CST
One of the featured speakers at the 2015 American Farmers and Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union Convention was the President of the National Farmers Union, Roger Johnson. On Saturday morning, Johnson was joined on stage by the NFU Vice President, Donn Teske of Kansas and the President of the New England Farmers Union, Roger Noonan. In his remarks to the Oklahoma convention, he covered a variety of issues- including COOL, RFS, TPP and the changing of the leadership on Capitol Hill as the GOP seized control of the US Senate.
Johnson offered praise for the job that Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas did as Chairman of the House Ag Committee, especially his work in getting choices for farmers when it comes to the federal farm safety net. Johnson called the Chairman's work "pretty darn phenomenal" in helping craft a farm bill as he worked with House Leadership that was not that interested in getting a farm bill done.
While Johnson was at the 110th Annual Meeting of the AFR/OFU, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays talked with him at length about a variety of issues- you can hear that wide ranging conversation by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
Among the topics covered by Hays and Johnson- Farm Bill Implementation, the Desire to see the Farm Law left alone during the upcoming Appropriations process, the COOL rule and the soon to come WTO ruling on COOL, Dietary Guidelines and NFU's involvement in the Beef Checkoff Working Group. On that last issue- Johnson told Hays that he was very comfortable with the decision by NFU to withdraw from the efforts- saying the MOU that is being considered by the eight groups that remain a part of the working is pretty much the same proposal that was circulating when NFU walked out.
Johnson contends that the biggest problem that his organization has with how the Beef Checkoff is set up is NCBA, as a policy group, being too cozy with the control of beef checkoff dollars. He calls that unacceptable.
Ron Hays talks with Roger Johnson of the National Farmers Union about a wide range of issues.
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