November 23, 2022

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A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation.

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AAI IN ACTION

Happy Thanksgiving from AAI

The Agribusiness Association of Iowa offices will be closed November 24 & 25 for the Thanksgiving holiday.


Have a safe and joyful Thanksgiving as you celebrate the bounteous gifts in your life and business.

Harvest Proclamation Extended

Governor Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation relating to the weight limits and transportation of grain, fertilizer and manure.


The proclamation is effective immediately and continues through December 22, 2022. The proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage, stover, fertilizer (dry, liquid, and gas), and manure (dry and liquid) to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit for the duration of this proclamation. 


Motor Fuels Proclamation Set to Expire Sunday

A separate proclamation allows the same overweight transport of motor fuels including gasoline, diesel #1, diesel #2, ethanol, biodiesel, aviation gas, and jet fuel. The proclamation also temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of Iowa law pertaining to hours of service for crews and drivers hauling motor fuels. This proclamation is set to expire Sunday, November 27, 2022.


Both proclamations apply 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.


Full Harvest Proclamation

Full Motor Fuels Proclamation

Iowa DOT Current Informational Memos

Talks Continue But Rail Strike Now Looms

All rail unions have now completed voting on the negotiated agreement from September. Of the 12 unions affected by the contract, eight ratified the agreement and four voted against it. The unions that rejected the proposal represent roughly 55 percent of the rail workers who would be covered by the contract.


Our national association partners are now expecting that a rail strike is likely when the cooling off period ends at 12:01 AM on December 9, 2022. There is one union with an earlier deadline. If that date does not change to align with the other groups, we will keep you informed.


Also, you should expect rail shipments with hazardous contents (such as ammonia) to be halted starting five days before any strike date. As with the last deadline in September, the impacts will begin prior to any actual strike.


Current efforts of the association will be to join together with our national groups to further press Congress to be ready to take action if a strike comes to fruition. Any AAI members also are welcome to contact their congressional representatives to encourage action.


Thank you to The Fertilizer Institute, National Grain and Feed Association, Agricultural Retailers Association, and American Feed Industry Association for their efforts on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and for the continued updates.

AAI Supports Senate Confirmation of Ag Trade Positions

The Agribusiness Association of Iowa has signed on to a letter urging the U.S. Senate to confirm two nominees who are being held up for unrelated matters. The USDA Under Secretary for Trade nominee Alexis Taylor, and USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator nominee Doug McKalip have both been voted out of committee, but await a hearing.


An excerpt from the letter follows:


"Our food and agriculture sectors need Ms. Taylor and Mr. McKalip confirmed so that the U.S. can continue to grow overseas markets for our food and agriculture products...


While the U.S. has completed four trade agreements since 2010, including the modernization of NAFTA, China has entered into 10 new agreements, Japan has entered seven, the EU has entered eight, and Canada has entered eight. Several key U.S. trade partners are outpacing the U.S. in the benefits of their trade policies, with the EU and China experiencing lower tariffs and other reduced trade barriers on an estimated $553 billion and $420 billion in total trade, compared with the U.S.’ $171 billion.1 If we are not aggressively pursuing new market opportunities, we will also face long-term weakness in this sector with devastating impacts for rural America."

The Scoop 40 Under 40 Recognizes AAI Members

The Farm Journal publication The Scoop released their 2022 40 under 40 awardees. This year's awardees all work in various segments of ag retail to help best serve farmers. This program recognizes 40 individuals under the age of 40 as leaders in the industry. 


Two employees of AAI member companies are in the list this year.


Tyler Bottoms - AgVision, Ankeny, Iowa

Matt Brown - Landus Cooperative, Des Moines, Iowa


View bios and the full list of awardees

(Bottoms and Brown are on slides four and five)


REGISTER ONLINE

Out & About

Meetings and events attended by AAI:


Council Bluffs Zoning Board on behalf of Heartland Cooperative

In Attendance: AAI CEO Bill Northey


Discussion with Executive Director of Professional Agricultural Student Organization (PAS)

Meeting with AAI CEO Bill Northey


Iowa Institute of Cooperatives Annual Meeting

In Attendance: AAI CEO Bill Northey, AAI Membership Director Reilly Vaughan


Member and Industry Visits:


AgState, Cherokee

Nutrien, Wall Lake

Gross-Wen Technologies, Slater 

Linn Coop Oil, Newhall

Cargill, Cedar Rapids


ASSOCIATION CALENDAR

November 28

Showcase Committee

10:00 AM | AAI Main Office Board Room


December 8

Joint Agronomy & Environment Committee Meeting

10:00 AM | AAI Main Office Board Room


December 12

Membership Committee Meeting

10:00 AM | AAI Main Office Board Room


December 15

AAI Board of Directors Meeting

10:00 AM | AAI Main Office Board Room


February 14 & 15

Agribusiness Showcase & Conference

Knapp Varied Industries Building

Iowa State Fairgrounds | Des Moines, Iowa

Click Here to Register Online


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AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Cover Crop, Relay Cropping, and No-Till Workshop at Madison County Fairgrounds Dec. 1 

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with Madison County Soil & Water Conservation District, will host a cover crop field day on:


Thursday, December 1, 2022

12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

Jackson Building

Madison County Fairgrounds

Winterset, Iowa.


The free event is open to farmers and landowners and includes a complimentary meal. Reservations required to ensure adequate space and food. To register to attend, contact Alena Whitaker at 515-294-2473 or ilf@iastate.edu


Additional information and registration:

https://www.iowalearningfarms.org/events/madison-county-workshop

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NEWS

Petroleum industry, farm groups push E15

Source: Feedstuffs

The ethanol industry has long been in conflict with the petroleum industry over blending the renewable fuel with gasoline, but that may be changing. This week a coalition of farm, and energy, groups sent a letter to congress in support of federal legislation to “apply the same fuel volatility limit to all conventional gasoline blends during the summer ozone control season.” In essence, they’re pushing for year-round E15 – often referred at retail locations as unleaded 88.


The signees to this letter include not only the familiar farm groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation but also the American Petroleum Institute. API has not been a fan of ethanol blended in gasoline, but change happens. A recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the amount of ethanol blended with gasoline keeps creeping higher.


During his weekly media call, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, notes that a reason “you’ll find the American Petroleum Institute involved is because a couple of companies…are very much involved in biofuels.” The two companies moving into the biofuel arena include Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66.


When quizzed about API’s influence in the matter and whether its voice was for all petroleum companies, Grassley adds: “I’ll tell you the institute is for the whole industry and if there was much disagreement in the industry you would not have the institute involved.”


In the letter, the signees point out that legislation passed three decades ago establishing the Reid vapor pressure volatility allowance was set at a level for gasoline blends containing 10% ethanol. “Gasoline containing 15% is not provided the same RVP allowance as E10, even though the fuel is slightly less volatile than E10,” the groups note.



[...] Read Full Story

Ag companies make sustainability pledge

Source: World Grain

Fourteen of the world’s leading agribusiness companies earlier this week at COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference set out a shared roadmap outlining how they will work toward reducing emissions from land-use change.


Following the commitments made at last year’s COP26, the Tropical Forest Alliance, hosted by the World Economic Forum, with support from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, has facilitated the process for the agricultural commodity companies to develop the Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C.



The roadmap sets out plans for the cattle, soybean and palm oil sectors to ensure that production of these commodities, which has been a leading driver of forest loss, takes place in a more sustainable manner. The roadmap also outlines how signatories will engage and collaborate with other stakeholders, namely governments, supply chain actors and financial institutions, for wider support of the roadmap’s commitments.


Companies taking part in the Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C include ADM, Bunge, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus, the so-called ABCDs of agribusiness, along with other major players.


[...] Read Full Story

Rep. G.T. Thompson Lists His 3 Farm Bill Objectives

Source: The Scoop

GOP took the House by a slim margin last week, leading to a divided government as Democrats won majority in the Senate.


Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) is gearing up to replace Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) as the House Ag Committee chairman in Jan. With his new title in tow, Thompson will be working alongside current Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) to finalize the passage of a farm bill in 2023. 


As the New Year approaches, Thompson shared his highest priority farm bill objectives in a recent episode of AgriTalk with Host Chip Flory:


1.  Internet Access

Signed into action in November 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dedicated $759 million to deploy the ReConnect rural broadband program. The program aims to provide internet access to rural areas and “build brighter futures”, according to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.


Thompson, however, isn’t convinced this funding will fill the broadband void and plans to make it a legislative priority.


“Rural broadband is still the No. 1 needed utility that we have infrastructure needs for in this country,” Thompson says. “The only option to change that need is to do our jobs.”


Thompson is carrying that same “get it done” attitude into the insurance front.


2.   Crop Insurance

Crop insurance can use some improvements in 2023, according to Thompson. He says this is an ongoing issue that can’t wait another five years.


[...] Read Full Story

Farmer’s share on the cost of Thanksgiving

Source: AgDaily

There’s been a lot of talk about the price consumers are paying for their Thanksgiving meals this year — but the amount farmers make remains low according to a new report. On the average, farmers and rancher are receiving just 14.3 cents out of every dollar spent on food. 


The National Farmers Union just released the 2022 Farmer’s Share of the food dollar for Thanksgiving items. Even though consumers are paying more for food this year, almost none of that increase is being passed on to America’s family farmers and ranchers.


So, why are farmers seeing so little of the inflated food prices? According to USDA, off-farm costs, including marketing, processing, wholesaling, distribution and retailing, account for more than 80 cents of every food dollar spent in the United States. The National Farmers Union blames waves of mergers and acquisitions during the last several decades, which they say have resulted in agriculture and food supply chains that are not only uncompetitive and fragile but also underpay farmers. 


“Corporate profits and consumer food costs continue to go up and up, but the share of the farmer’s share of the food dollar remains low,” said NFU President Rob Larew.


[...] Read Full Story

Be Engaged. Be Informed

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