Legislative Wrap Up From 2023 Session

The Legislative Committee met on Wednesday to get a recap of the bills and appropriations that were passed into law, and to look forward to topics likely to be active in 2024.

Legislation of significance to AAI members:

All Systems Overweight Permit

Allows movement on all paved streets and highways, except where prohibited on the interstate or where local authorities have indicated the all-systems permit is not valid. Does not allow the exclusion of farm market roads or truck routes but requires highways and streets under local control to be connected to highways and streets under state control to be valid. Removes amber light requirement for trucks over 80,000 pounds.

IDALS Bill Items

Extends maximum duration for credit sale contract to 15 months.

Extends trigger date for Grain Indemnity Fund from July to September

Truck Accident Liability Limits

Limits the liability for employers of a driver of a company vehicle. Defines commercial vehicles. Makes the per plaintiff cap on non-economic damages $5 million, with adjustments for inflation in future years. Makes exceptions to the cap for drunk or impaired driving, and other driving and felony offenses or if the driver did not have a valid CDL. Limits the award of punitive damages.

Restricted Farm CDL

Strikes current provisions exempting various agricultural drivers from CDL requirements. Requires the DOT to issue a restricted CDL to certain agricultural drivers. Waives skills and knowledge test requirements but imposes requirements for a good driving record, limits the miles and areas a driver with a restricted CDL can operate and limits the restricted CDL to 210 days. Establishes an $8 fee for restricted CDL.

Boiler Inspections

Allows any boiler or pressure vessel that is compliant with OSHA standards and that the owner can show such compliance and that is included as process safety management process equipment to qualify for specific inspection schedules. Allows the owner to request that the internal inspection schedule be set for more than four but not more than seven years. Requires the Labor Commissioner to give the owner notice of an intended denial and to allow the owner to address the reasons. Includes additional recordkeeping requirements for the longer schedule.

Funding

Funding was provided at levels supported by AAI for the following entities:

Nitrogen Initiative | Water Quality | Veterinary Disease Lab Renovation Phase 2 | Foreign Animal Disease | Equipment for Foreign Animal Disease | Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program (also received one time additional funds)

Over the coming months, members of the committee will be engaging on any discussions of the Highway 5/65 bypass changing designation to an interstate highway which some felt may surface during the 2024 legislative session. The committee also talked about plans that members have for educational and relationship building with legislators through visits to facilities over the summer.

The next legislative committee meeting is planned for August.

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/

SCOTUS Issues WOTUS Ruling

Article Courtesy of TFI

The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) today released its decision in Sackett v. EPA, a case central to EPA’s authority to determine what constitutes a “waters of the United States" (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). 

The Court’s decision was unanimous, though the reasoning behind the decision varied between Justices. 

While there is a great deal of information to go through relating to the decision, how the EPA may respond, and what exactly this means for the agribusiness industry, some key takeaways are provided below. 

Key Takeaways:

• SCOTUS reversed and remanded the 9th Circuit Court’s decision on Sackett v. EPA (i.e. SCOTUS ruled in favor of Sackett).
• It was a unanimous ruling in the fact that all justices agreed to reverse the 9th Circuit decision, but the Justices were divided in their reasoning.
• Key takeaway: SCOTUS says EPA has no statutory basis to impose the significant nexus test.
• Alito delivered the majority opinion which was joined by Roberts, Thomas, Gorsuch, and Barrett.
• Majority opinion is similar to the plurality decision in Rapanos.
• So, what’s the test? Look to page 22 of the opinion:
• In sum, we hold that the CWA extends to only those wetlands that are “as a practical matter indistinguishable from waters of the United States.” Rapanos, 547 U. S., at 755 (plurality opinion) (emphasis deleted). This requires the party asserting jurisdiction over adjacent wetlands to establish “first, that the adjacent [body of water constitutes] . . . ‘water[s] of the United States,’ (i.e., a relatively permanent body of water connected to traditional interstate navigable waters); and second, that the wetland has a continuous surface connection with that water, making it difficult to determine where the ‘water’ ends and the ‘wetland’ begins.” Id., at 742.
• There were 3 concurring opinions:
• Thomas filed a concurring opinion joined by Gorsuch. 
• Kagan filed a concurring opinion joined by Sotomayor and Jackson.
• Kavanaugh filed a concurring opinion joined by Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson.

Read the full SCOTUS opinion:

Sackett v. EPA

CISA Issues Cybersecurity Warning

On Thursday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the Communications Security Establishment’s Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), the New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ), and the United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK) published a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), “People's Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actor Living off the Land to Evade Detection,” to highlight a People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-sponsored actor, also known as Volt Typhoon, that is working to compromise networks and conduct malicious activity.  

Click Here for Joint Cybersecurity Advisory

Click Here for additional information about Volt Typhoon

This report provides the cybersecurity community and critical infrastructure organizations with new insights into the specific tactics, techniques, and procedures used by PRC cyber actors to gain and maintain persistent access into critical infrastructure networks. It highlights how PRC cyber actors use techniques called living off the land, which enables these actors to avoid detection by using legitimate network administration tools. This tactic enables the actor to blend in with normal system and network activities, avoid identification by many endpoint detection and response (EDR) products, and limit the amount of activity that is capture in common logging configurations. Some of the tools used by these cyber actors to maintain anonymity within IT infrastructures are PowerShell, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), and Mimikatz.   

The CSA provides technical information that can be used by network defenders to hunt for this activity on their network, including a summary of relevant indicators of compromise (IOC) for quick reference. Recommended mitigations align with the Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) and can help organizations prioritize their investments to most effectively mitigate this activity, such as:  

• Baseline protections include harden domain controllers, monitor event logs, limit port proxy usage within environments, and investigate unusual internet protocol (IP) addresses and ports.  
• Logging recommendations include setting audit policy, hunt for windows management instrumentation (WMI) and PowerShell activity and enable logging on their edge devices.  
• Prioritize mitigation of known exploited vulnerabilities (KEV), including those listed in the joint advisory and also in our KEV catalog. 

CISA and our partners will continue to provide targeted guidance and capabilities to help organizations address the risk of persistent access by adversaries using living off the land techniques, including through our Remote Monitoring and Management planning effort currently being undertaken by the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC).  

All organizations are strongly urged to review this advisory and take necessary actions to detect if this activity is on their network, apply mitigations to improve cybersecurity posture, and strengthen resilience to reduce impact of adversarial activity. With our partners, we will continue to help organizations address the risk of persistent access by adversaries using living off the land techniques.  

CISA KEV Catalog:

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

Joint Ransomware Task Force guide to mitigate ransomware risks:

#StopRansomwareGuide

AAI Golf Outings - Get Your Foursome Ready!

AAI Drone Workshop - June 19

Get the latest from regulators, suppliers, and users

REGISTRATION FEES

Member Rate: $30 per person

Non-Member Rate: $35 per person

Exhibitors: $100

Workshop:

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Lunch is provided

Location:

ECC Agriculture Renewable Energy Center

709 Ellsworth Avenue

Iowa Falls, Iowa 50126

Click Here for Google Map

Nurse Tank Testing Workshop - June 27

Limited Seating - 50 29 seats available

REGISTRATION FEES

Member Rate: $195 per person

Non-Member Rate: $240 per person

Class fee includes a regulation book, student book, and lunch

Location:

CNH Industrial Ag Information Center | 23942 590th Ave | Nevada, Iowa

Click Here for Google Map

Secretary Naig Invites Farmers and Landowners to Utilize Water Quality Cost Share Funding

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced that farmers and landowners may now sign up for water quality and soil conservation cost share funding as part of the state’s Water Quality Initiative (WQI). These funds assist farmers with adopting proven practices, including planting cover crops, transitioning acres to no-till/strip-till or applying a nitrogen inhibitor.

Farmers who are planting cover crops for the first time are eligible for $25 per acre through the cost share fund. Farmers who have already experienced the benefits of using cover crops and are continuing the practice can receive $15 per acre. Producers transitioning acres to no-till or strip-till are eligible for $10 per acre. New users can also receive $3 per acre for utilizing a nitrogen inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer.

With statewide cover crop utilization at more than 2.8 million acres as of 2021, Iowa farmers continue to be leaders in conservation. Last fall, over 3,900 farmers and landowners enrolled in this cost share program. More than 430,000 acres of cover crops, 14,200 acres of no-till/strip-till and 5,800 acres of nitrification inhibitors were enrolled in the program in 2022. An estimated $14.5 million of private funding was invested to match the $7.5 million contributed by the State.  

Cost share funding through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is limited to 160 acres per farmer or landowner. The funds will be made available in July, but farmers may start submitting applications immediately through their local Soil and Water Conservation District offices. Farmers are encouraged to visit with their Soil and Water Conservation District staff to inquire about additional cost share funds available through other programs.

TechHub Live in Des Moines - July 24-26

Use code JOINUS for additional $50 off registration fee.

TechHub Live offers an innovative, forward-looking experience with an expansive range of features encompassing all segments of data-driven agriculture and attracts the largest gathering of ag retailers, distributors, consultants, manufacturers, and other stakeholders in the ag supply chain, all committed to leveraging the latest tech innovations for practical business advantages on the farm.

Powered by CropLife Media Group®, the nation’s brand leader in ag retail communication, Tech Hub LIVE conference programming will provide practical solutions that can be implemented this growing season. This a one-of-a-kind event brings together experts, innovators, and business leaders to explore the latest trends and innovations in the industry. Visit TechHubLIVE.com to learn more and view the complete schedule of events.

Visit the Registration Website for more Info:

https://techhublive.com/register/