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After the great debate this morning, I had the opportunity, along with Kansas Ag Network reporter Greg Akagi, to spend some time with retired economist Barry Flinchbaugh. We began by asking what the biggest issues are facing the ag community. His response: climate change and healthcare.
“Front and center is renewable fuels and climate change and you can’t separate the two. And the question is global warming a hoax is a stupid question because the political system worldwide has decided that its for real and things are going to happen. The Supreme Court gave the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. So to pretend we can whip this, we being agriculture is ridiculous. We can’t whip this and we need to get inside the tent and help make the decisions.”
Although his comments on how current climate change policy will affect both America and the international communities are insightful, I wanted to know how the cap and trade bill would affect the profitability of farmers in America.
“I think we can come out a net winner but we need to refine the current law to do this.”
When asked if we can come out a net winner after adding indirect land use, the answer, “No. Absolutely not. And this whole indirect land use issue is a bogus, emotional issue.”
You can’t miss out on the full interview with Barry so listen to its entirety here: