A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation. | |
Have A Safe & Relaxing Independence Day Holiday | |
Please note: The AAI Main Office will be closed Tuesday, July 4, for the Independence Day holiday. The office will reopen as usual on July 5. | |
All Systems Overweight Rule Modifications Take Effect July 1 | |
Adjustments to rules for trucks with All Systems Overweight Permits will take effect on Saturday, July 1. The past legislative session provided an update to how the rules are implemented at the county level, which may make the permits more useful to businesses.
Synopsis of the changes:
Movement valid on all paved highways or streets except:
- the interstate
- any highways or streets under local authorities’ jurisdiction if the local authority indicates the permit is not valid
Designated truck routes and paved Farm-to-Market routes must be valid for travel under the permit.
Local authorities may determine any highways or streets are not valid for travel under the permit, however counties and cities must provide a written justification report to the DOT for nonparticipating routes in certain circumstances.
Local authorities must identify as valid for travel the highways/streets that connect with either:
- a highway or street under the jurisdiction of the state or
- with another highway or street that is valid under the permit that ultimately connects with a highway or street under the jurisdiction of the state
Permit holders may travel on valid roads and also operate the permitted vehicle over the most direct route between where the vehicle is loaded/unloaded and the nearest valid highway or street.
Permit holders that are only traveling overweight under this permit, and any overweight-only permit, do not need to display amber lights. (Note: this removes a portion of the law that was not enforced)
Full details of the changes can be found on the Iowa DOT website:
https://iowadot.gov/mvd/ctmanual/memos/IM-23-19.pdf
Information about All Systems Overweight Permits can be found at:
https://iowadot.gov/mvd/ctmanual/memos/IM-22-22-2022.pdf
A reminder that obtaining the All Systems Overweight Permit may also require the the truck to be licensed for a heavier weight.
| |
AAI Board Nominations Due Friday, June 30 | |
The Board of Directors is now accepting nominations for the upcoming election. Nominations are due by June 30.
Three board seats will be on the ballot:
District 4 Director | Grain Director | At Large Director
The nomination form with additional details can be downloaded at this link:
2023 BOD Nomination Form
If you have questions or need help with the nomination process, please contact Sally Thompson - sally@agribiz.org or 515.868.0323
| |
Don't Panic! Register Now And Enjoy Your Holiday. | |
The first golf outing is less than two weeks away on July 13, but we need your registration for Okoboji by July 7. Get registered now and avoid a post Independence Day frenzy. Click the registration button below. | |
P.S. - Need some additional options? You can golf at Amana on August 24 and in Ames on September 13. No need to wait - register now! | |
|
July 13 - Okoboji, Iowa
Emerald Hills Golf Course
| |
|
Aug. 24 - Amana, Iowa
Amana Colonies Golf Course
| |
|
Sept. 13 - Ames, Iowa
Coldwater Golf Links
| |
|
Golfer Benefits
- Delicious lunch
- Entry into prize raffle
- Prizes for the longest and closest shots
- Trophy and prizes for the winning team
- Four Hole In One opportunities on every course! Win cash or prizes!
- Complimentary soft drinks and snacks on the course
That's all in addition to the fun to be had with your colleagues as you support the success of the agribusiness industry in Iowa.
| |
Summer Crops Workshop - August 3 | |
Showcase Attendees: $50
Non-Attendees: $75
LOCATION:
Jeff & Deb Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center
Iowa State University | 2508 Mortensen Rd | Ames, Iowa
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM | Lunch included
Summer Workshop Sessions & Speakers
Panel Discussion: Cover Crops and Related Equipment
Dean Sponheim - John Nelson - Nate Legler
Batch & Build: Implementing Edge of Field Practices with Conservation Agronomists
Heartland Co-op
Biological Seed Treatments
Marcus Jones | Land O Lakes, Senior R&D Manager
Using Surfactants and Adjuvants
Dr. Connor Ferguson | Simplot, Senior Sales Advisor
Biological soil testing
Prasanna Kankanala | Trace Genomics, Director of R&D
Seed Corn Pollen Harvesting
Sarah Pirolli | Power Pollen, CCO
Jason Cope | Power Pollen, Co-founder
Targeted Weed Management - New Equipment for Weed Control
| |
|
This week, Governor Reynolds announced appointments to various boards and commissions. Agribusiness Association of Iowa CEO Bill Northey was appointed to the Council on Agricultural Education.
| | |
|
July 4
Independence Day Holiday
AAI Main Office Closed
July 12
AAI Advisory Council Meeting
10:00 AM | AAI Main Office Board Room
July 13
Emerald Hills Golf Club
Noon Shotgun Start | Okoboji, Iowa
GOLF OUTINGS - REGISTER ONLINE
August 24
Amana Colonies Golf Club
9:00 AM Shotgun Start | Amana, Iowa
September 13
Coldwater Golf Links
10:00 AM Shotgun Start | Ames, Iowa
| |
CONVEY23 Safety Conference - July 20-21 | |
CONVEY focuses on operations, safety, and compliance education along with a 60-exhibitor trade show. New this year is a fumigation recertification workshop, hosted by Degesch America Inc., which will take place the day before the conference. The workshop is offered at a discount to CONVEY attendees.
CONVEY is presented through a partnership of NGFA, GEAPS, and Grain Journal.
CONVEY23 - July 20 & 21
Hilton Omaha | Omaha, Nebraska
Full event details can be found here:
https://convey23.com/
| | |
|
Across America each day, nearly 5,650 animal food manufacturing facilities produce millions of tons of livestock, poultry, and aquaculture feed and pet food, providing animals with safe and adequate nutrition while supporting an abundant U.S. food supply. Now, new research from the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) shows that these facilities drive economic growth, not only across our national economy but also in the counties and states where they are located.
“We’ve always said that animal food manufacturing is at the intersection of plant and animal agriculture, uniting crop farmers and animal producers, but now we see that intersection is actually the main artery in town, driving economic value throughout rural and urban communities,” said AFIA President and CEO Constance Cullman. “Despite the stresses put on the animal food industry over the past few years, from the COVID-19 pandemic to supply chain hurdles to animal disease to high inflation, it is clear that it is stronger than ever before and growing.”
The economic contribution study, conducted by Decision Innovation Solutions (DIS), an economic research and analysis firm, estimates that in 2023, the total animal food industry, including indirect and induced effects, will generate $267.1 billion in sales. This figure includes an estimated $98.4 billion in value added revenue (i.e., labor income, taxes on production and imports, and other property income). The industry will employ roughly 760,000 full- and part-time and contract employees, paying out $55 billion in salaries and employee benefits before year end. At the local, state and national levels, the industry will file $18.5 billion in taxes in 2023.
[...] Read Full Story
| |
|
The U.S. government may be forced to pay millions to landowners along the Missouri River after the U.S. Appeals Court recently ruled in favor of farmers who have lost crops due to worsened flooding.
The atypical river flooding began occurring in 2007, three years after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers changed how it managed the river’s flow.
To provide habitat for endangered species, the Corps notched dikes in Missouri, thereby increasing the water flow and water levels in reservoirs. They also opened chutes, which allowed the river to erode banks.
The mass action lawsuit was originally filed on Mar. 5, 2014 and alleged that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ actions have violated the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment that bars the Government from taking private property without just compensation. Judge Nancy B. Firestone with the United States Court of Federal Claims found in favor of the plaintiffs in five of the six years that the flooding was claimed dating back to 2007, disallowing the flood claims in 2011. The Court found that the Corps’ deprioritized flood control in 2004.
The suit was initially filed to recover land as well as crops that were damaged. While a 2020 ruling did not grant farmers payments for damaged crops, the American Farm Bureau Federation got involved, helping to file a brief on behalf of the farmers. Now, farmers will also be compensated for crops, farm equipment, and buildings lost to the flooding — that is if everything goes through.
[...] Read Full Story
| |
|
Aiming to keep up with competitors in road and sea transportation, three major freight railroads announced plans to create a new trade route for shippers connecting Mexico, Texas and the U.S. Southeast.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), CSX and Genesee & Wyoming railroads aim to establish a direct CPKC-CSX interchange connection near Myrtlewood, Alabama, providing shippers with rail access to new markets.
The deal would also improve CSX’s access to Mexico.
“CSX is excited to establish this new interchange connection with CPKC, which provides shippers with a compelling transportation option with access to markets in Texas and Mexico, as well as into the heart of the thriving and dynamic U.S. Southeast,” Joe Hinrichs, CSX president and CEO, said in a news release.
As part of the series of the proposed transactions announced Wednesday, CPKC (NYSE: CP) and CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) will each acquire or operate portions of the 168-mile Meridian & Bigbee Railroad (MNBR), a Genesee & Wyoming Inc.-owned railway in Mississippi and Alabama.
“This strategic acquisition will bring more shipping options to intermodal, automotive and other customers by providing a new, efficient corridor,” Keith Creel, CPKC president and CEO, said in a statement. “With this new east-west connection taking advantage of each railway’s routes and service, we can extend our reach, converting more freight traffic to rail and off our highways.”
[...] Read Full Story
| |
|
One of humankind's most precious fertilizers is slipping away.
Phosphorus, which today comes mostly from nonrenewable reserves of phosphate rock, typically winds up in municipal waste streams. In the best cases, wastewater treatment plants sequester about 90% of that phosphorus in "sludge" and decompose that sludge into something known as digestate. Engineers hope to establish a more sustainable cycle for reusing phosphorus, but toxic compounds in digestate limit the possibility of recycling it as fertilizer—it's hard to recover phosphorus from solid waste like digestate.
"Existing phosphorus recovery technologies mostly target the liquid," said Zhen (Jason) He, the Laura & William Jens Professor in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. "Sludge contains a lot more phosphorus compared to the liquid. How can we recover that?"
His lab develops technologies to recapture resources like phosphorus from wastewater. Recently, the team explored using electrochemical devices—the fundamental system at work inside batteries—to split water molecules and pull solid, usable phosphorus out from digestate. It was the first effort to simultaneously remove and recover phosphorus from solid municipal waste without adding chemicals. And it met its goal with surprising efficiency.
"Phosphorus is a compound of high interest because it's a limited resource," He said. "You can potentially save a lot of money."
[...] Read Full Story
| |
NOTE: If you unsubscribe below you will no longer receive ANY emails from AAI, including important member specific information and notices. To unsubscribe from just this type of email (i.e. newsletter or event marketing), select Update Profile below. | | | | |
