Ag Secretaries Call for New Ag Vision

MANHATTAN, Kan. (DTN) -- Former Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns voiced his concerns Sept. 26 about the soybean market, competition with Brazil and the need to continue building out the biofuels industry to support domestic markets.

"I feel very, very strongly that if you're going to have this kind of trade policy, you absolutely have to build a market and you get, you have to, you've got to get 1-million percent on board with doing everything you can to expand this biofuels industry," Johanns said.

Johanns led USDA from 2005 to 2007 under the George W. Bush administration when the ethanol industry was aggressively expanding under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Johanns said a similar injection of domestic investment is needed for the soybean industry with the development of sustainable aviation fuel.

The former secretary noted that 20 years ago, the U.S. didn't have the same international competition that the country now faces because of South America. He pointed to the fact China has yet to make any purchases of 2025-26 U.S. soybeans.

"I probably worry most about the soybean piece of our ag production, just because Brazil is not going away. They're going to keep building," Johanns said. He added, "What does that tell me? Man, if I was in the secretary's office now, I'd be pounding the table to build out biofuels. Really, really focusing some real attention on aviation fuels."

INAUGURAL FLINCHBAUGH FORUM

Johanns spoke on a panel with fellow former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, a Kansas native. The pair participated in the inaugural Flinchbaugh Forum at Kansas State University to honor Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh, a flamboyant agricultural economist known for his cigars and blunt speaking style.

"I've had a wheelbarrow full of manure delivered to my office front door and I've been burned in effigy," Flinchbaugh once said to describe his popularity.

Flinchbaugh, who passed away in 2020, had been an adviser to secretaries of Agriculture and leaders on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. He had worked on farm bills going back to 1968 and had served at Kansas State University since 1971, where he had taught agricultural policy to approximately 4,100 students during that time.

The Barry Flinchbaugh Center for Ag and Food Policy was created to bring together policy and economic discussions around agriculture and rural America.

Glickman said Flinchbaugh was a driving force behind support for the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act, a farm bill that attempted to reduce the reliance of farmers on farm programs. Then-President Bill Clinton was leery about signing that version of the farm bill, but Glickman consulted with Flinchbaugh on the legislation.

"He had great influence on me and people in the academic world," Glickman said.

AGRICULTURE AT CROSSROADS

Johanns and Glickman each noted agriculture is at a crossroads because of trade and Brazilian competition. They called on current Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to consider putting together a commission that would look at a new direction for agriculture going into the next 20 years.

"Go out there and lead this effort and talks about what we want agriculture to look like in 20 years or 25 years," Johanns said. "How are we going to compete? What brings a new day for agriculture? How do we keep people on the farm and on the range?"

Glickman noted Flinchbaugh had advocated for a commission that would basically look at long-term challenges. One of the problems now among policymakers is that "everything is very short-term now," Glickman said.

FLINCHBAUGH'S LEGACY

The forum just off the Kansas State University campus included alumni from around the country who shared stories of humor and policy over Flinchbaugh's four decades at the university. A crop of current leaders explained how Flinchbaugh could communicate complicated issues simply.

"Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh had a profound influence on shaping ag policy at every level of government and influenced the lives of countless leaders in the industry," said Brad Lubben, an agricultural policy professor at the University of Nebraska and former student of Flinchbaugh.

Michael Torrey, who now leads Torrey Advisory Group in Washington, D.C., said he got to know Flinchbaugh by going into his office as a student and disagreeing with him. Flinchbaugh once told him, "I should have given you an 'F.'" Back to Freedom to Farm, Torrey recalled how Flinchbaugh came out to Washington to talk to policy leaders trying to negotiate the bill.

"He came out there, and he was able to help educate and to teach," Torrey said.

Another former student, Gregg Doud, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, credited Flinchbaugh as the godfather of the farm safety net. Flinchbaugh, though, also cautioned that the relationship between farmers and the government comes with strings attached.

Quoting Flinchbaugh, Doud said, "Always remember, when you get in bed with the government, you get more than a good night's kiss."

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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