A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation. | | |
Governor Reynolds signs Harvest Proclamation | |
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation relating to the weight limits and transportation of agricultural commodities on state highways during the fall harvest.
The proclamation is effective immediately and continues through October 1, 2022. The proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage and stover to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit for the duration of this proclamation.
This proclamation applies to loads transported on all highways within Iowa (excluding the interstate system) and those which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non-primary highway maximum gross weight table in Iowa Code § 321.463 (6) (b), by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.
View the official proclamation
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Grain Indemnity Fund, Heavy Weight Trucking Get Attention From Grain & Transportation Committee | |
The Grain and Transportation Committees held a joint committee meeting this week and invited representatives from the Iowa Department of Transportation, and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) Grain Warehouse Bureau to participate. Among the items on the agenda were a new law for running heavy trucks and an old law that hasn't been invoked for more than 30 years.
Grain Indemnity Fund Assessment
Jim Kennedy from the IDALS Grain Warehouse Bureau provided an update on the Grain Indemnity Fund. The fund was put in place in 1986 as a way to protect those with grain interests at a state of Iowa licensed grain warehouse from grain warehouse business failures. Federally licensed warehouses are not cover by the fund and neither are credit sale contracts.
The most recent grain warehouse bankruptcy in the state is anticipated to generate a payout from the grain indemnity fund of roughly $1.1 Million. Those obligations will reduce the fund to less than $3 Million, the threshold which triggers an assessment from state licensed grain warehouses to replenish the fund. That assessment will begin starting July 1, 2023.
Between now and the time the assessment begins, IDALS will be working with AAI and the grain industry to educate state licensed grain warehouse operators about how the fund works and what is covered by the fund. The bureau also will be educating farmers and others in the grain production community about the assessment.
Heavy Truck Law
During the 2022 legislative session, a new law was passed that will allow trucks to run on state and county roads at up to 12% over the regular axle weight if a payment is made for a special permit. But many unknowns currently remain. One challenge is that counties must opt in to allow the heavy trucks to run on their roads and the counties must designate which roads the heavy trucks may run on.
The IDOT is working on the application process for the heavy truck permits that will be available January 1, 2023. The Agribusiness Association will work with other trucking industry interests in the state to provide input to IDOT for better understanding and ease of application for the membership.
Additional items covered during the meeting included an update from Max Fisher, National Grain and Feed Association, on rail issues and the work NGFA is doing to encourage a quick end to any railroad worker strikes that may arise; and information from IDOT about Commercial Driver’s License changes and regulations.
Get Involved!
The direction and impact of the association is a direct result of committee activities. Committees provide input and direction for the Board of Directors actions. You or someone within your company can serve on a committee by emailing aai@agribiz.org, calling the AAI office, or filling out a form online at https://www.agribiz.org/benefits-of-membership/join-a-committee/.
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Third Session of Leadership Academy Focuses On Business Acumen | |
On August 25 and 26, the current participants of the Iowa Agribusiness Leadership Academy spent time at the AAI home office in Des Moines for their third session. The two days focused on Business Acumen and included sessions with industry leaders who provided insight from their extensive experience.
The sessions included information on ethics, managing financial statements, negotiations, and business diversity. Speakers were Ron Alverson, Lake Area Corn Processors; Bob Haney, AgriSompo; Micah Craven, Integrity Communications; Marji Alaniz, Farm Her and AgriSompo; and Steve Bruere, People’s Company.
The final session of the 2023 Leadership Academy will take place in September.
If you are interested in taking part in a future Leadership Academy, have an employee you would like to see participate, or are interested in being a mentor for the Academy participants, please contact Sally Thompson, sally@agribiz.org, or Bill Northey, bnorthey@agribiz.org.
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See You Next Week!
Final AAI Golf Outing
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AAI Golf Outings
September 7
Amana Colonies Golf Club - Amana, Iowa
July 21
Emerald Hills Golf Course - Okoboji, Iowa
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AAI Out & About
Meetings and events attended by AAI
National Association of Farm Broadcasting Dinner at the Farm Progress Show
Keynote by AAI CEO Bill Northey
Iowa Nitrogen Initiative Seminar at the Farm Progress Show (Hosted by Iowa Corn Growers)
Attended by: Ben Gleason, INREC Executive Director
More information at: Iowa Nitrogen Initiative - Department of Agronomy
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AAI Main Office closes at Noon on Fridays through Labor Day
September 5
AAI Offices Closed for Labor Day Holiday
September 7
AAI Golf Outing - Amana Colonies
Amana, Iowa | Click Here to Register
September 8
AAI Board of Directors Meeting
8:00 AM | Amana, Iowa
Membership Committee Meeting
1:00 PM | Amana, Iowa
September 12
Joint Agronomy & Environment Committees Meeting
10:00 AM | AAI Board Room
September 12 & 13
Agribusiness Leadership Academy Session #4
AAI Main Office
September 23
Showcase Committee Meeting
10:00 AM | AAI Board Room
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WATCH THE AGRIBUSINESS REPORT | |
(FREE) Hazard Communication & Chemical Hazards Training
Iowa State University and OSHA are offering FREE information and training to prepare employees, supervisors, and owners of manufacturing and construction companies for OSHA requirements, suggestions, and strategies for worker protection from Chemical Hazards in the workplace.
The program will offer attendees the opportunity to ask questions, share experiences and learn about Hazard Communication and Chemical Hazards, as well as keep up to date on information as OSHA gives updates.
Training sessions are offered virtually or on-site. Instructors are Professors of Occupational Safety.
Facilitators will be happy to provide a complementary 1-hour safety review for facilities hosting an on-site training session.
Information on each session, dates, and registration links can be found on the course website link here: http://sh.ae.iastate.edu
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Iowa Lean Consortium Annual Conference
This year's event will be a hybrid format, allowing participants to attend sessions, network, and engage with vendors and each other in-person or virtually.
Conference Information Page
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China is one of the top importers of agricultural products in the world, but it has non-tariff measures that prevent its imports from growing even larger. Economic theory suggests that a country would import products when foreign prices are lower than domestic prices, decreasing domestic prices and narrowing the “wedge” between domestic and international prices. In a newly released USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) report, eight agency economists examine China’s import market potential using a price wedge approach—the difference between domestic and imported prices—for commodities that are imported by China.
“China imported more than $157 billion of agricultural products in 2020, including more than $35 billion from the United States, yet China appears to remain short of its full import potential, especially for certain commodities,” noted the economists. “Strong demand and wide differentials between the prices of commodities in China and imported commodities signal that China could import more.”
For the study, the economists estimated the impact of removing these barriers for the four highest wedges using a global economic model. They discovered that domestic prices in China exceeded foreign prices by large margins for the four commodities considered, as follows: pork (213%), beef (58%), corn (64%) and wheat (42%).
Two scenarios were formulated to provide examples of how removing barriers could affect imports. The first one was a short-run scenario (i.e., a year) where production and trade responses were somewhat limited as resource mobility is restricted. The second scenario was a medium/long-run timeframe (i.e., 5–10 years) where agricultural producers could shift land, labor, and capital.
[...] Read Full Story
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Source: Progressive Farmer
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EPA has 29 days to decide whether to grant or deny a petition calling for the regulation of pesticide-treated seeds, after a federal court on Wednesday approved a consent decree between the agency and the Center for Food Safety and the Pesticide Action Network North America.
Pesticide-treated seed is used widely across the country, meaning a decision could affect nearly every acre of corn and soybeans, as well as other crops.
The consent decree comes as a result of a lawsuit filed by the groups last December.
For years treated seeds were exempted from regulation as a pesticide as part of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA. The environmental groups sued because the agency has not responded to a 2017 petition to regulate treated seed.
By Sept. 30, the EPA will decide whether to draft regulations on treated seeds or to deny the environmental groups' demands, according to the decree approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California in San Francisco.
"After EPA has granted, denied, or granted in part and denied in part the 2017 petition requests, and after the parties have resolved the issue of costs of litigation (including reasonable attorneys' fees), defendants may move to have this consent decree terminated," according to the decree.
[...] Read Full Story
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An ag economist says the cost and availability of nitrogen could limit global corn production during the next growing season.
Kevin McNeil with Farmers Business Network says natural gas supplies that help create nitrogen are extremely tight. “We think the rest of the world especially in Europe, especially in South America where they don’t have natural gas inventories like we do in the U.S., they’re going to face really, really steep challenges getting low-cost nitrogen.”
He says the last two years nitrogen costs have increased 400 percent and in Europe it’s jumped 3600 percent, but there’s good news for U.S. farmers. “They are well positioned to capitalize longer term because of our availability of natural gas and hence get lower cost, relatively lower-cost nitrogen versus the rest of the world.”
McNeil tells Brownfield some farmers could pull back on planted corn acres because of the cost of nitrogen and other factors, which might add some support to the markets. “Not only because of moisture problems, but also because of runaway inflation and hyper costs associated with corn production. If anything, I’m talking with farmers about this is the time to be holding on to corn in the U.S. and maybe being a little more aggressive at selling your beans because South American growers will probably be more aggressive with beans than corn this year.”
[...] Read Full Story
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You’ve vaccinated your dog, cat, and maybe your horses for rabies, but what about your raccoons? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun air-dropping rabies vaccines over 13 states this month to prevent a strain of the virus to reduce interstate spread. The oral vaccines are covered in fishmeal to attract raccoons and other wildlife that are at risk of contracting and spreading rabies.
Distributions began on August 6 as part of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s annual RABORAL V-RG vaccination program. The oral vaccine bait is distributed in select areas of the eastern United States to prevent the spread of raccoon rabies into America’s heartland.
The August phase of the program is primarily focused on Maine and West Virginia, with nearly 350,000 vaccines distributed in northern Maine and 535,000 in parts of western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and southwestern Virginia.
Another 70,000 vaccines will be distributed in September and October to the peninsular areas of Michigan. Southern states will receive further distributions of more than 880,000 vaccines to North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. An additional 820,000 vaccines will be distributed to Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Finally, Alabama will receive another 1.1 million vaccines.
[...] Read Full Story
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THE AGRIBUSINESS REPORT
Follow host David Geiger on Twitter:
@geigerreports
Watch daily broadcast live:
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Watch online any time:
https://agribiz.org/report
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