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Johanns: The manMike Johanns served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture a few months short of three years. Neither on his resignation as Governor of Nebraska to take the job, nor in the Rose Garden of the White House to end it, was there any dishonor or question of why he was making the move. In his tenure at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he may well have become the prototype for a new generation of Cabinet level administrators who work at a fever pitch in a high profile position. I wrote about him when he entered the USDA's Whitten Building and began his duties at the huge federal agency. I reported on his actions in domestic and international trade and I traveled with him to Iraq as he carried the president's message that America would help rebuild the country's agriculture. If you wish to consider me biased, you may, but I had the chance to see him from multiple perspectives and his character had no flaws from any angle I observed. The key to understanding Mike Johanns was "loyalty." He immediately took the job at USDA when asked to do so by President Bush. He was never at odds with the president and he answered every call to be a negotiator or ambassador, by getting on an airplane and going anywhere across the country or around the world. His demeanor reminded me of John Block, Secretary of Agriculture for six years of the Reagan administration. Block was a marathoner but Johanns was an ultra-marathoner in his travels and appearances. He never exceeded his authority and he was politically very sharp in being able to stay with the talking points and not get painted into a corner by a senator or a reporter. When former Nebraska football coach, Tom Osborne, decided to leave the U.S. House of Representatives and run for Governor of Nebraska, Johanns was in a bind. The Lieutenant Governor, Dave Heineman, was his friend and Osborn was a fellow Republican. I had moderated one of Johanns famous "listening sessions" on the upcoming farm legislation at the Iowa State Fair. After two hours of hearing everyone from FFA members to food activists, Johanns and I walked into a small break room to allow him to drink a bottle of water and gear up for his next event. I casually asked him what he thought of the Nebraska governor's race and the complex set of players who were running in the Republican primary. He looked me in the eye and, without ever uttering a word, made me understand that there would be no comment from him about the race. Earl Butz and Mike Espy could have learned a lot from him! (Heineman won and the legendary coach lost.) Interestingly today, Johanns is following a similar path to Osborne, as he plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Chuck Hagel in 2008. He's still extremely loyal to this Republican president and the seat appears to be one of the most hotly contested in the upcoming election, especially if another former Nebraska governor and senator, Bob Kerrey, returns from New York to run. Johanns saw the profiles of food safety, trade and food prices increase during his tenure. He responded strongly to restore beef exports to Asia, in the wake of the BSE crisis that began before his watch. He also worked to reopen trade with Canada, from whom we received most of our BSE cows, and endured the protectionist lawsuits from R-CALF and affiliated organizations. He showed his frustration with the slow pace of the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization. He continually said, "We'd rather have no deal than a bad deal." The hang-up still seems to be tied to foreign market access for U.S. farm products. He always showed compassion for agricultural people and support for enterprising individuals and corporations. He held the budget line very tightly, especially on payment limits for commodity producers. He would not break with the administration even over popular projects like the Water Resources Development Act and its ultimate goal of rebuilding locks and dams on waterways in the upper Midwest. At this writing, the WRDA bill still lies, unsigned, on the president's desk. Mike Johanns was the head of the federal agency that farmers view as their own, but he was an instrument of the President of the United States. He was eager to open up new markets for American farm products, but he was also ready to bring back trade deals that allow imports of foreign goods, even if they competed with U.S. production. He saw the consumer as a key component in our food system and worked to address food safety problems with the goal of consumer assurance and acceptance. He also argued for broader uses of U.S. commodities and supported conversion of corn and soybeans into biofuels as well as plastics, pharmaceuticals and other new products. Johanns left agriculture in better shape than he found it, if you measure net farm income and value of exports. He presided over what may be the greatest years of rising farm prices. But he also set the stage for agriculture to make its money from the marketplace and not from the coffers of the U.S. Treasury. The coming farm bill will be a major part of his legacy. In my first story about him, I said he was "The President's New Man" and now, looking back, I'd say that the president would have been hard pressed to find an agriculture secretary who was as dedicated to the cause and successful at carrying his banner. Editor's note: Ken Root is now celebrating his 34th year as an agricultural professional. His career began as a vocational agriculture teacher then turned to agricultural broadcasting and writing as well as environmental consulting and association management. He was the original host of AgriTalk (1994-2001) and now is lead farm broadcaster for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa. 10/8/07 Date: 10/4/07 Advertisement
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