As the country gets ready for the first presidential debate of the 2024 race, Tyne Morgan and Clinton Griffiths invited Washington insider Jim Wiesemeyer to appear on Unscripted, their new podcast, to discuss what he’s hearing. “I think if Donald Trump has any chance of winning, he has to be more presidential,” Wiesemeyer says, adding the Republican candidate has recently toned down his anger and taken a more practical approach. “Independent voters will watch to see if he can contain himself.”
Wiesemeyer believes the debate is an equally important test for incumbent candidate Joe Biden, “This debate will be the barometer for him,” he says. He believes if Biden falters in the debate, Democratic delegates could try to replace him on the ticket.
Moving on to other political news, Wiesemeyer reports little progress has been made in Congress on the long-awaited farm bill. While he remains somewhat optimistic the bill will pass before the end of the year, he’s not able to say what will break through the current impasse.
“When you listen to the farm-state lawmakers, you hear their frustration,” he says. “I’m still not giving up on it because the pressure on the senate will grow if the house passes it.”
But the conversation on the latest episode of Unscripted — Farm Journal’s candid, off-the-cuff discussion of the week’s most compelling or surprising headlines and stories — wanders far from politics. Hosts and guest dive into updates about the bird flu, which a former CDC director said could become the next pandemic, as well changing food demands due to the popularity of prescription weight-loss drugs. Morgan reports producers are starting to see a decline in demand for meat because “People are drinking protein instead of eating it.”
On another note, Morgan reports farmers in Indiana and Illinois are receiving unsolicited offers — as high as $3,200 and $4,500 per acre — from solar energy companies to lease some of their land.
“All they want is 20 to 50 acres,” Griffiths says. “How do you say ‘no’ to that?” Morgan has talked to an Indiana attorney who says typical offers tend to be in the $1,000 to $2,000 per acre range. Her advice to farmers: “Step one, get a lawyer.”
