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On September 11 - 13, AAI's CEO, Joel Brinkmeyer, and CFO, Joan O'Brien, attended the annual conference of State Agribusiness Executives, in Michigan.   

The meeting included approximately 25 state staff leaders representing state associations from the Midwest and from California to New York.   There were lots of opportunities to learn about proven operational practices being utilized at various state associations, and the program was designed with a hands on agenda to learn from others.   In addition, attendees were provided National policy updates from the National Executives from TFI, ARA, Crop Life America, Field Watch, and the American Seed Trade Association. The group shared state legislative and regulatory issues that were a concern in the states, which provided opportunities to strategize about best managing emerging issues. The attendees were hosted by several crop protection companies who also attended and participated in the conference. 

Dave Tierney, AAI Chairman, was an active participant in the meeting, representing Monsanto as one of the event sponsors.   During the awards presentations, Brinkmeyer was presented the top honor by his peers of Association Executives for "The Best Thing I Did This Year", recognizing AAI's successful efforts in the formation and implementation of the Agricultural Legal Defense Fund.

 

Brinkmeyer and Tierney also attended the Midwest Issues Summit, hosted by Crop Life America which included executive staff from the Midwest region and several crop protection companies.  This event was also held in Michigan, on September 13 and 14, immediately following the State Executive Conference.

Particularly focused on legislative issues both at the state and national levels, this meeting included additional details of the Federal Labeling Law, Iowa's recently passed Ag Value Fund legislation, and many crop production legislative issues.

by: Agricultural Retailers Association 

The agency needs to learn about the importance of these products to your customer's crop production. The comment period closes on October 5, 2016.

Send your message to the EPA here!

Last night, prior to passage of a continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government through Dec. 9th, the House of Representatives passed its Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) authorization bill.  The WRDA legislation, H.R. 5303, passed by a vote of 399-25 -  see full bill here.

 

The House and Senate will now begin work to reconcile differences between the two bills.  There will likely be some challenges as the Senate bill includes approximately $5 billion for certain provisions (not in the House bill) that are outside the typical scope of a WRDA bill.

by: IDALS

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today reminded farmers that grain impacted by flood waters, whether in the field or in a bin, is considered adulterated and cannot be used for feed or food.  The grain still in the field should be destroyed and not blended with uncontaminated grain.

"There is the potential for a wide variety of contaminants to enter grain through flood waters, so any corn or soybeans that have been submerged are considered adulterated and must be destroyed," Northey said. [...] read more.

Iowa Biotech Association (IowaBio) invites you and your colleagues to attend our next Legal Symposium focused on Regulatory, IP, & Tax issues faced by biotech companies today.  This event will be held twice at two separate locations across the state for your convenience.  Please see the attached flyer for location, cost and agenda details. 

Both event dates have been approved for 5.75 credit hours of CLE and will feature top experts in the field. To attend this event, please visit www.iowabio.org/legalsymposium and register one week prior to the event date.  If you have any immediate questions, please contact IowaBio at info@iowabio.org or 515-327-9156.