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THANKS TO OUR 2016 MWFPA CONVENTION SPONSORS
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The MWFPA News Bulletin is underwritten in part by Bug Blocker Doors & Screens
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Trump Pulls Out Impressive Win, GOP Maintains House, Senate Majorities
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 After a long, contentious and blistering 2016 national election, President-elect Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans scored impressive victories despite widespread expectations that Democrats would win the White House and make major gains in the House and Senate.
Republican House and Senate incumbents and candidates turned back Democratic advances in the vast majority of close election contests, successfully securing majority control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives.
The GOP
scored wins in a handful of tight Senate races among the 34 being contested preserving their majority by a margin of 51 to 48. However, failure to obtain a Senate "supermajority" (60 seats) to move major legislation could result in continuing gridlock on both major and minor issues.
In the House, all 435 seats were on the ballot across the country and Republicans held their majority, though with a slimmer margin, 241-194. The GOP had the majority in the U.S. House. Republicans held 246 seats compared to Democrats' 186 seats, while three seats were vacant going into this year's election.
Looking forward to the 115th Congress which will begin in January 2017, President-elect Trump and Republican majorities are poised to advance priorities in infrastructure, regulatory reform, energy, tax and other issues previously stymied under a divided government. Trump has begun to assemble his cabinet and has made one notable appointment thus far - Reince Priebus - the Republican Party chairman from Wisconsin who helped engineer Trump's stunning presidential victory - was tapped to become White House chief of staff.
House lawmakers returned to Washington this week focused on
getting themselves and their agenda organized for the 115th Congress beginning in January.House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was unanimously re-elected as speaker. Prior to the election Ryan had appeared under fire from both hardline conservatives and libertarians in his conference as well as Trump, who had called him weak and ineffective.
After a week break for Thanksgiving, House lawmakers will be back in Washington for a scheduled four week stretch starting Nov. 29 and running through Dec.16.
Read the MWFPA post-election summary and outlook for members only.
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IL GOP Makes Small Gains In Statehouse Races, Dems Remain In Control
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 The 2016 election for the Illinois General Assembly did little to affect the political stalemate that has led to the state's historic budget impasse.
Republicans gained four seats in the state House and two in the state Senate, but Democrats retained control of both chambers, which means Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner still needs their cooperation to pass any portion of his pro-business "turnaround agenda."
Read MWFPA's post-election summary and outlook available to
members only.
IL lawmakers returned to the Capitol this week for their fall veto session.The new Legislature that was elected last week won't be seated until January, so House Democrats retain their 71-member, veto-proof majority, every member of which would be needed to override any of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's dozens of vetoes.
Lawmakers are scheduled to be in session Tuesday through Thursday and Nov. 29 through Dec. 1.
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GOP Dominates WI State Elections
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 Republicans dominated Wisconsin's legislative races, not only maintaining their majorities in the Senate and Assembly but growing them to levels not seen in decades.
Democrats saw a chance to at least make some gains in the State Senate, where Republicans held an 18-14 edge with one open seat. However, as on the national level, Republican incumbents survived Democrat challenges and GOP challenger Dan Feyen bested Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris for the open seat while Patrick Testin knocked off incumbent Democrat Julie Lassa of Stevens Point. This gives the GOP 20-12 advantage, their biggest majority since 1971.
Republicans didn't lose any Assembly seats and Mondovi Mayor Treig Pronschinske defeated Democrat Chris Danou of Trempealeau to bring the GOP majority to 64-35. That's the largest advantage Assembly Republicans have held since 1957.
Read MWFPA's post-election summary and outlook available to
members only.
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GOP Takes Control Of MN House, Senate
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 Republicans held on to the Minnesota state House and took control of the state Senate. It made a couple of Minnesota U.S. House races extremely close.
Minnesota House Republicans held a 12-seat advantage over Democrats, 73 to 61, in the Minnesota House before Election Day. Democrats needed to gain seven seats to win majority control.
Democrats held a 10-seat advantage over Republicans in the state Senate, 38 to 28 with one vacant seat. Republicans needed to gain six seats to take control of the body.
At the top of the ticket, Hillary Clinton squeeked out a victory in Minnesota, a state that hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1972.
Read MWFPA's post-election summary and outlook available to
members only.
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MWFPA Offers Exclusive Insurance Program For Members
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 The Midwest Food Processors Association is pleased to announce that
MWFPA members now have access to an exclusive insurance program that is written specifically for our industry. With assistance from the risk management firm Hays Companies, this program offers a customized Property and Casualty insurance program.
The program offers a complete insurance program for all business types, from processor to manufacturers, logistics to wholesaler and anything in between. No market segment is excluded, and no organization is too large or too small. Here is a summary of coverage...
- Commercial property insurance for buildings, inventory/stock, machinery & equipment...to include equipment breakdown coverage, builders risk and inland marine/mobile equipment
- Commercial casualty coverage that includes general liability insurance, medical liability and fire legal liability, pollution liability, products recall, cyber liability, surety/bonding, commercial auto & fleet and commercial umbrella
- Workers compensation
- Executive Risk, which includes crime coverage, errors & omission coverage and directors & officers coverage
Learn more about what the MWFPA Insurance Program can do for you by visiting the program's website:
https://mwfpa.haysprograms.com/.
Look for the Hays/MWFPA information booth at the convention near the registration counter if you want to talk specifically about any insurance-related questions or concerns, click on this link:
Our main contact for the program is Brad Van Swol and he can be reached via:
Phone: (414) 290-3581
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Publication of this draft guidance coincides with the 2016 Food Facility Registration biennial renewal period, which began on October 1, 2016, and will end on December 31, 2016.
This draft guidance was developed to answer frequently asked questions relating to the registration requirements of section 415 of the FD&C Act. Food facilities that manufacture/process, pack or hold food for consumption in the United States are required to register with FDA and renew such registrations biennially in even-numbered years.
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A study published in the Journal of Environmental Protection shows that a global ban on genetically modified (GM) crops may raise food prices and add the equivalent of nearly a billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Using a model to assess the economic and environmental value of GMO crops, agricultural economists found that replacing GMO corn, soybeans and cotton with conventionally bred varieties worldwide would cause a 0.27 to 2.2 percent increase in food costs, depending on the region, with poorer countries hit hardest.
According to the study, a ban on GMOs would also trigger negative environmental consequences: The conversion of pastures and forests to cropland - to compensate for conventional crops' lower productivity - would release substantial amounts of stored carbon to the atmosphere.
Conversely, if countries that already plant GMOs expanded their use of genetically modified crops to match the rate of GMO planting in the United States, global greenhouse gas emissions would fall by the equivalent of 0.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide and would allow 0.8 million hectares of cropland (about 2 million acres) to return to forests and pastures."
Read the news release here. Read the study here.
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Welcome New Processor Member
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 A warm welcome to our newest processor member - Brakebush.
Brakebush is a value-added processor of great tasting chicken products privately owned and U.S. operated since 1925. It maintains three processing facilities in Westfield Wisconsin (headquarters), Wells Minnesota and Irving, Texas.
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Convention Comedy Becomes Magical With Ken Mate
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 Join us for a free-flowing, fast-paced assortment of comedy and magic with nationally known comedy magician Ken Mate, our closing convention luncheon keynote speaker on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Kalahari Resort.
He has performed his blend of stand-up comedy and magic in concert and on TV for over three decades. Ken has appeared with more than 80 stars as the guest opening act, including the bands Alabama, the Beach Boys and Chicago, and artists as varied as Ray Charles, Charlie Daniels, Crystal Gayle, Smokey Robinson and the Smothers Brothers. He has hosted live shows for Oprah Winfrey, Grand Prix Auto Racing, and 1000's of meetings for major corporations at conferences and conventions.
Ken was featured on the NBC-TV special "The World's Greatest Magic", taped at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. And his magic hands have appeared in commercials including McDonald's, Chevy, and "The Incredible Edible Egg."
His unusual twists to modern magic, laced with comedy, create both amazement and laughter. End the convention on a fun note and prepare to be astonished.
SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS EVENT IS STILL AVAILABLE
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3 Easy Ways to Register
Keep Up With Us
Keep up with the convention
conversation at #mwfpa16.
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MWFPA Events You Won't Want To Miss
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November 29- December 1, 2016:
MWFPA 112th Annual Convention and 89th Processing Crops Conference. Kalahari Resort & Convention Center, Wisconsin Dells, WI.
May 31 - June 1, 2017:
MWFPA Spring Summit & Scramble.Trappers Turn Golf Course, Wisconsin Dells, WI
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Other Educational Opportunities
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December 1, 2016:
Efficient Industrial Refrigeration Operations and Management. Holiday Inn Fond du Lac, 625 W Rolling Meadows Drive, Fond du Lac, WI. What are the key efficiency opportunities in industrial refrigeration? How does each refrigeration component operate? What is that electric bill telling you? During this course, we'll answer these questions and more. For more information, click
here.
December 2-3, 2016:
Feast! Local Foods Marketplace 2016.
Rochester Mayo Civic Center,
30 Civic Center Dr. SE, Rochester, MN.
Farmers and food-makers will showcase and sell their products at over 100 exhibit booths, chefs will demonstrate locally sourced recipes, and more. The festival will include a children's activity area, DIY and healthy living workshops, and a local beer and wine tasting event. For more information, click
here.
February 13-17, 2017:
Industrial Refrigeration Workshop. Crowne Plaza Charlotte Executive Park Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. This one-week course is intended for those who make decisions such as the purchase of new components, and the enlargement or modification of the plant. Manufacturers of components learn how their products fit into the entire system. For more information, click here.
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