 Mr. President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a privilege to participate on this panel with the President of the United States. It's also most appropriate, Mr. President, that the farmer, agribusiness, and government be participants here this afternoon, for we must function as a team. The farmer produces, agribusiness processes, and government must set policy that encourages both. Advancing technology has broadened the horizons of the farmer and agribusiness, and the future enhanced by biotechnology and genetic engineering is unlimited. But we are concerned, Mr. President, that US agriculture may not have the economic strength to realize its full potential. This concern centers around the aggressive protectionism being practiced by our foreign competitors. I am not referring to policies of third world countries designed to achieve an adequate food supply for their hungry people. Rather, I am talking about the practices of developed nations that go beyond protecting their agri-industries to the promotion of their expansion by closing their doors to our products and by subsidizing exports into world markets. The impact of this aggressive protectionism on our agricultural sector can be measured today in terms of shrinking share of world markets, burdensome surpluses, closed processing plants, and lost jobs. The obstacles to achieving free trade are many and complex, as you well know. There are no simple, quick solutions. The problems created by protectionism have been developing for decades. Unfortunately, there are clear signs that they will become more severe unless faced realistically. Your administration, Mr. President, has taken important steps in that direction by protecting our domestic sweetener industry from the unfair competition of heavily subsidized foreign sugar. And by standing firm against the European community's threats to limit the access of our corn gluten feeds to their markets. It is our hope, sir, that you will continue on this course. Let me assure you, Mr. President, that we share your desire for a free market. But first, we must have a fair market. Neither the farmer nor agribusiness can compete with the treasuries of foreign governments. In drafting the 1985 Farm Bill, our lawmakers must not hand over more of our declining share of world markets to foreign competition. History proves that our domestic farm legislation cannot unilaterally create fair global agricultural policies. We must have the full cooperation of other nations, which has not yet occurred. In working toward more equitable world policies, the US must first be prepared on a selective basis to use our economic power and comparative advantage to maintain our share of agricultural trade. Exemplary action and patience have not worked. We must face up to the world of agriculture as it is, not as we would wish it. Working as a team, the farmer, agribusiness, and government can decide upon a program of self-defense to be used judiciously and in a responsive manner, but nevertheless to be used. For the hour is late for American agriculture. Thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me to share these comments with you. To all producers of those commodities, a one-size-fits-all concept. And 70% of US farmers have annual gross sales of less than $40,000. Producing only of our nation's farm production. It is time such divergent economic realities caused us to take a new approach in Mr. Nolan. Mr. President, honored guests, and fellow agriculturalists, it is not every day that a farmer from Blue Mountain, Illinois has the opportunity to speak to the President of the United States and to an audience of this caliber. When asked to participate in this forum, I felt like the little boy who fell into the vat of chocolate and was heard to pray, dear Lord, make my tongue adequate for the job. I am pleased, honored, and humbled to speak with you today, representing the American farmer. My father, Neil, younger brother Dennis and I, farm a 1,300-acre grain and livestock farm, 12 miles southwestern Decatur. I left a position as an agricultural banker in 1981 to begin farming with my family, so I am positive and bullish on American agriculture. However, during my short tenure as a farmer, I have been afflicted by a grain embargo, huge surpluses, depressed commodity prices, record interest rates, and a devastating drought. If I am to continue farming, the land that has been in my family for over 150 years and give my four-month-old son that same opportunity, we must confront two obstacles in agriculture, interest rates, and foreign trade. Agriculture is a highly capitalized industry. It requires much more than a hard hat and lunch pail to operate my farm. I spend over 15% of my gross farm income to pay interest expense, two to three times my annual salary. Many young farmers spend up to one-third of their income to make interest payments. Interest rates must be reduced to relieve the economic pressure on farmers. Agricultural trade is crucial to the farm economy of the United States. One out of every two acres of soybeans I produce and 25% of my 500 acres of corn is shipped into export markets. Embargos were devastating to our reliability as a supplier and encouraged competing production in other areas of the world. Price supports and acreage controls stimulate and underwrite production in other areas. Cargo preference regulations, domestic content legislation, and the overvalued dollar are all detrimental to our efforts to expand trade. Please do not burden me with the government regulations or programs. I know I have the efficiency, resources, and a comparative advantage to compete with any 27-year-old farmer in the EEC, Argentina, or Canada. Let's join at the bargaining table for aggressive negotiations and hold firm in opposition to protectionist attitudes. Help us to develop a long-term strategy to remain competitive in the export market. The American farmer has the tools. What we need is a comprehensive plan to compete in the world market and our country's desire to implement it. Thank you for this opportunity and your attention. Now speaking as an economist, the final speaker in honor of Reagan, President of the United States, Mr. President. Thank you all very much. Thank you very much, Roger Miller. And I want to thank Dwayne Andreas for his hospitality at ADA, where I have been able to see America, agribusiness at work, and my greetings to Governor Thompson and Senator Percy, who've been with me here on the visit so far today. I hope that I'll be able to continue for some time extending greetings in Illinois to Governor Thompson. I hope that I will be able to extend those greetings on a daily basis in Washington for some time to Senator Percy. That means both of us have to live in Washington. But I was thinking of the importance of Senator Percy's returning there because when I think the position we would be in, if we did not have what we have had in the Senate, well, I don't think we would be having the expansion you spoke of at such a level. I have to tell you how impressed I was. And once again, a nostalgia started flowing when coming in an Air Force One, I was seeing those rows of corn, cornfields, and the soybean stretching out there as far as I could see from the plane. I was going to say something about the importance of, I know anytime that I head toward a rural area anymore, I have to find out in advance. Now, do I go there and commiserate about the floods or the drought? Now, what I find neither here that you had some pretty good rainfall and that while all of the state couldn't say this, you were doing pretty well in this area. I do understand something about farmers' problems. I remember some years ago when Ezra Taft Benson was the Secretary of Agriculture and he was out in a time of hardship meeting with some farmers and hearing some of their problems. In one particular place, there was one man that was really giving him bad time. His complaints were numerous and he was going on about them. And finally, Ezra turned to a staff member and looked at some notes that were showing him and then turned back and said, well now wait a minute, you didn't have things all too bad here. Last year, you had 29 inches of rain. And the man said, yes, I remember the night it happened. But I do thank you for making us all feel so welcome here. Quite a bit more welcome than the first time I visited this distinguished university. That was back in 1929. I was playing right guard on Eureka College football team. Night football was quite a rarity. As a matter of fact, I think we might have been one of possibly the first of the games in night ball. The lights were not up to the same standard that they are today. Milligan's colors being blue and white. They appeared on the field with blue and white jerseys with circular white patches here. And the ball was white because of the dimness of the lights. We were there in our dark maroon jerseys. And I just want you to know that the... I'm a little embarrassed to say this score was 45 to six. The six was Eureka's. And I found that I was playing also opposite in the line of someone that is a citizen of your area of some prominence, George Musso. Now in the Football Hall of Fame after eight years all pro-tackers, you played both offense and defense in those days. And George outweighed me 100 pounds. And I decided that I wasn't going to go over him. I wasn't going to go through him. And I remember once I was going around him and I ran into our tackle on the other side coming around him on the other side. But, well, anyway, I still remember back also when the Chicago Bears used to be the Staley football team here in Decatur. And it seems to me they had a better record before they moved than they had recently. There must be something catching about the winning spirit in Decatur. I hope it's very catching. You've always been innovators. In fact, I remember when John Beale invented the corn shellar back in 1875. I was just a small boy at the time. You've never given up when the going got tough. I'm convinced that what you're doing will be a victory for all America. If people of America want to see the country at her best, if they want to see the bright light of adventure and innovation and hope, bringing economic growth, security and human progress to people throughout the world to let them come here to the heartland and to Decatur, Illinois. They'll see miracles being created from America's abundant renewable resources by the men and women of Archer Daniels Midland and A.E. Staley. It wasn't long ago that we were being told that our best days were behind us. The crippling inflation, the record interest rates, and the energy crisis were so severe they would destroy the greatest heritage of our past. Our faith and hope that have always brought us the harvest of a better future. Well, here in the land of Lincoln, I'm afraid you didn't listen very well to those cries of gloom. The progress, and I've heard described out at, and my visit to those plants here today, I've just heard described would inspire your countrymen and fill their hearts with pride. From corn and soybean processing that produce food products to feed a hungry world to exciting research and production in hydroponics to your pioneer work in ethanol that increases demand for farm products, creates new jobs and leads to greater energy security. For our country, it's all happening here because here in America's heartland, you are on the cutting edge of progress. When we took office in 1981, only 75 million gallons of ethanol fuel were being produced. This year, more than 450 million gallons will be produced, requiring more than 180 million bushels of corn. It just goes to show there's no limit to what free people can do when the gloom and doomers stand aside and get out of the way. In our food for peace efforts, the United States has delivered over 27,000 tons of food a day to recipient countries for three decades. The value of these U.S. farm products exceeds $33 billion, more than $3 million each and every day. And who could put a price tag on the good and simple virtues of decency and generosity that are the heart of food for peace and of the people who support it? Sometimes I wish more attention were paid to facts like these. They underline one of the most compelling lessons of the 20th century. Capitalism, not socialism, is the most progressive, revolutionary, and powerful economic force for good in the world today. For only where freedom lives is economic growth strong. Does opportunity thrive and are the forces of human betterment always at work? Socialist countries are held down by a gravity of their own making, an America something like a rocket shooting to the stars. Agriculture is a driving force in our economy and leaders like you can be proud that you have a record of productivity unmatched anywhere in the world. From our first day in office, we have been trying to help the farm community recover from past policy mistakes and economic difficulties. We know that the federal government has an important role to play as a partner to the farm community and not a senior partner. I think the gist of that role is to help farmers do what they can't always do on their own, seek out new markets. As you indicated, counter unfair trading practices for our trading partners, promote research, provide a measure of protection from erratic weather and natural disasters and create a proper environment for supply and demand forces to allocate resources efficiently. We began by insisting that the Department of Agriculture represent farmers first, which wasn't always true in the past. And representing those interests has led to several changes that I believe give us hope for a brighter future. The first was ending a cynical, wrong-headed, totally unfair grain embargo. I remember someone who now says he was opposed to that embargo privately, but he was speaking a little differently in 1980. He said the grain embargo was a strong, absolutely crucial action that would force the Soviets to pay a heavy price for their aggression in Afghanistan. I guess it's difficult to see the world clearly when you're scrooge down behind the American farmers. We, of course, know that it was they, or I should say you, who paid the heavy price, not the Soviets. They're still in Afghanistan. Farm prices declined, and our entire agricultural marketing system, elevators, barge lines, railways, millers and exporters was disrupted. The embargo cost farmers 17 million tons of grain sales to the Soviet Union. But the greatest loss was the loss of American credibility around the world as a reliable long-term supplier. Now I know it hasn't been easy trying to make a comeback from that situation, but make no mistake, we are coming back. In 1980, we had weak defenses, a weak economy, and that grain embargo that filled your bins and emptied your wallets. In 1984, we have stronger defenses, a stronger economy, and grain sales to the Soviet Union, the country our critics say won't deal with us, of over 20 million metric tons since last October. And if they want to buy more, we'll sell more. We've reached an agreement with Japan that will open up their markets to American beef. We expect that our beef exports to Japan will virtually double over the next four years. We eliminated huge crop surpluses, and we expect the value of farm exports to be up nearly 10% over last year. As we've moved to revive these markets overseas, we're strengthening the greatest market of all, the American market, with a powerful non-inflationary expansion, as you've been told. In the two-year period of 1979 and 1980, prices that farmers had to pay shot up nearly 30%, one of the worst two-year increases in history. And the purchasing power of farmers' net income plummeted 42% in 1980. But in the period of 1982 and 83, farm cost levels increased only 7.3%, the smallest two-year increase in 15 years. And we believe net farm income in 1984 will be the highest since 1973. Interest rates are down, although I couldn't agree with you more, certainly not down enough. And credit burdens are still too heavy, largely because of high-interest loans during the late 70s. The value of land that farmers use as collateral for their loans has dropped. But we're hopeful on interest rates because we haven't succumbed to the quick fix. So inflation has dropped to about 4% or less, even as our economy has expanded with terrific power. If we can keep inflation down and confidence is building that indeed we can, then I'm convinced interest rates will come down more. I want to reaffirm my absolute determination to protect the tax reforms we've made. Accelerated cost recovery to stimulate business investment, personal tax rate reductions, which have benefited many family farms, indexing to prevent inflation from pushing taxpayers into higher tax brackets, and estate tax changes, increasing the exemption to $600,000 by 1987, and of even greater help, abolishing the estate tax for a surviving spouse. We will resist any and all tax increases. Our plan is to simplify the tax system, make it more fair, easier to understand, and to bring your personal rates further down. Our agenda is an agenda for growth and opportunity for all Americans. Now let me discuss briefly today another issue of enormous importance to the farm community. As you know, my opponent made a big promise to the leadership of the AFL-CIO. He pledged his support for protectionist legislation called domestic content. This would force foreign and domestic manufacturers of automobiles sold in the United States to build their cars with an escalating percentage of U.S. parts and domestic labor. He couldn't have been thinking of American workers when he made his promise, because as the Congressional Budget Office itself pointed out, domestic content would destroy far more jobs than it would save. It would add substantially to the cost of a new car, and the cost of protectionism for one group of workers would be passed on to another group down the line. And if domestic content passed, every other industry would become a target for foreign retaliation. Dick Gallagher, President of the Iowa Soybean Association, said, we cannot afford a major surge in world trade protectionism that could be triggered by the domestic content bill. He's right. A true friend of farmers would renounce immediately his or her support for such misguided legislation. Our administration is determined to create jobs the right way with economic growth, technological innovation, and we've created 6.4 million new jobs in the last 19 months. You know, Albert Einstein once said that everything that is really great and inspiring is created by individuals who labor in freedom. And freedom is what we're trying hardest to preserve and strengthen for you, your children, and your children's children. And without freedom, we will surely fail. And again, I can only tell you that with all of the discussion that is going on today, increasing taxes is not in anything in our mind. We have no plans to do such a thing. Others may have taxes as a first resort for us. They are only a last resort, a last desperate resort. With this freedom, we can remain an inspiration to all the world and unlock the golden door of progress for years and generations to come. Gentlemen, I'm going to take back all that I've heard here today because we are having a comprehensive study made. Jack Block has been out all over the country, as you know, listening to farm leaders. He has over a thousand pages of written testimony in these problems. And we now, for the first time you know in a great many years, are faced with redrawing the government farm program. And we will be doing that on the basis of all of the input and the information that we have been receiving from around the country. So I assure you that all of the concerns that you mentioned will be getting our deepest consideration. And I want you to know that I feel just as closed-minded about protectionism as I sounded a moment ago about taxes. I am not in support of protectionism and I know that it is a two-way street that can be used against us. And we have been working with our friends and allies in the other industrial states. And I think we are making some sizable progress as I mentioned with regard to the one incident of Japan. Yes, we believe in free trade, but only if it's fair trade. And that will be our policy. I thank you all for welcoming us to your city and to this university. I thank you for your kindness. And I thank you more than anything because whether you realize it or not, you are the ones that brought about this return to the America that I think we all know and remember so well, not the America of the Doomcriers. Without you, without the people, none of the gains that we've made could ever have been accomplished. And so I thank you for making America the great and good nation that it is. Thank you, God bless you. Mr. President, we appreciate your willingness to hear and share the concerns of these representatives of American agribusiness. Millican University is pleased to have hosted this forum and welcome you back to this campus and to the city of Decatur. To our panelists, to our very distinguished guests, the media, members of the audience, I extend our sincere thanks for your attending this forum today. I would ask now that you all remain until President Reagan and the forum members have left the room. Thank you very much. We are adjourned.