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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From all of us at AAI, have a safe and joyful Christmas and New Year.
The AAI Main Office will be closed on December 25, 2023 to observe the Christmas holiday and January 1, 2024 to observe the New Year holiday. The Take Five will not be published next week, but will return on January 4, 2024.
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CAST Webinar Series Focuses on Pesticide Regulations | |
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology is producing a series of six webinars regarding the regulatory impacts of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on the use of agricultural pesticides. A publication titled “FIFRA, ESA, and Pesticide Consultation: Understanding and Addressing the Complexities” is currently in the writing phase. The next webinar will be January 30 and will cover the intersection of pesticide registration and mitigation measures, the role of conservation programs in mitigation pesticide movement, as well as best practices for land management.
The first webinar publication, slides, and video can be found here:
FIFRA and the Endangered Species Act: Finding a Balance between Agricultural Efficiency, Environmental Sustainability, and Regulatory Stability (cast-science.org).
The second webinar slides and video can be found here:
A Legal Discussion of the FIFRA/ESA Consultation Process Over Time (cast-science.org)
This topic will be covered at Showcase on February 12, 2024.
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Christmas to New Year's Lull?
Use your downtime wisely - Register for Showcase! Knock out an item on your 2024 to do list and start the New Year off right.
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Sponsorship Opportunities
Opportunities for sponsorship have been expanded for the Career Day. Your company can be a Premier Sponsor, a Primary Sponsor, or a Career Fair Participating Sponsor.
Premier (Event) Sponsors - $6000
Opportunity to address the students directly, provides a scholarship for a participant, and receives a Career Fair table.
Primary (Scholarship) Sponsors - $1500
Introduced by company, provides a scholarship for a participant, and receives a Career Fair table.
Career Fair Companies - $100
Acknowledged and will receive a Career Fair table.
All sponsors are encouraged to join the students for lunch and interact throughout the event.
Click Here to download the Career Day Sponsorship flyer
If your company would like to be seen and prominently recognized by more than 350 potential future employees, contact Sally Thompson for details - sally@agribiz.org or 515.868.0323.
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Thank You For Your Membership! | |
As a member of AAI, you are the driving force of the organization Where Agribusiness Matters. Thank you for your membership and your commitment to the success of agribusiness in Iowa.
The following companies have recently renewed their membership for the 2024 Membership Year.
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- Kugler Company
- Shellsburg Elevator
- AgSource Laboratories
- Landus Cooperative
- Servitech Inc.
- Smith Fertilizer & Grain Co.
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- Ag Processing, Inc.
- Interstate Grain Service
- La Crosse Seed
- Parallel Ag
- The Pinnacle Group L.L.C
- HUB International
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Not currently a member? Click Here to send us an email so we can follow up with your company and help you get connected to AAI. | |
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December 25
Christmas Holiday - AAI Main Office Closed
January 1
New Year Holiday - AAI Main Office Closed
January 25
AAI Legislative Breakfast
7:30 AM | Iowa State Capitol Building
AAI Board of Directors Meeting
10:00 AM | AAI Main Office Board Room
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Partner With Iowa State University For Variable Rate Nitrogen Trials | |
Iowa State University is looking for 500 fields for the 2024 crop season to test nitrogen rates. The trial is built into a variable rate prescription that works with the existing nitrogen program.
Five rates will be tested five times each in a small area (7-10 ac.) of the field. ISU is sent the as-applied file from the applicator and the yield file after harvest. Farmers and agronomists receive information on the optimum nitrogen rate for their fields. If a zero-applied nitrogen rate is included in the trial, growers receive a soil fertility test, soil nitrate testing throughout the growing season, and $600 to offset yield loss on the zero nitrogen plots (~1.5 acres total).
Variable rate application equipment is required to conduct the trials. If you apply variable rate nitrogen to your customers’ fields, please consider participating.
For more information, reach out to Melissa Miller, Iowa Nitrogen Initiative Project Director, at 515-567-0607 or millerms@iastate.edu.
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Several groups, railroad companies and government leaders are calling for the immediate reopening of two rail bridges in Texas after they were closed this week to help curb a surge in migrants coming across the border.
After observing a recent resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains, the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol is “taking additional actions to surge personnel and address this concerning development, including in partnership with Mexican authorities,” the agency said in a statement.
One such action was temporarily suspending operations on Dec. 18 at the international railway crossing bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, in order to redirect personnel. However, that action immediately began affecting the North American supply chain.
In September, Mexican railway operator Ferromex (FXE) had temporarily suspended 60 trains on its south-north routes because of an increasing number of migrants climbing aboard railcars.
This week's CBP decision most directly and immediately impacts operations for two Class I railroads: Union Pacific and BNSF. Combined, the two carriers operate 24 trains daily at these crossings, moving agricultural products, automotive parts, finished vehicles, chemicals, consumer goods and more to customers spanning the continent. But the American Association of Railroads said that, ultimately, every railroad is affected by this sudden shutdown of operations, since all carriers interchange goods across the North American rail network.
[...] Read Full Story
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The issue of who owns American farmland is an intensely debated topic, with concerns ranging from national security risks to proposals of limiting foreign farmland ownership.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent report on foreign entities illustrates an 8 percent growth last year in farmland owned by foreign entities. Still, only 3.4 percent of U.S. farmland is held under foreign ownership.
There were 3.4 million acres of U.S. farmland purchased by foreigners last year, primarily located in Colorado, Alabama, and Michigan.
While Canadian investors still own the largest amount of reported foreign-held agriculture and non-agriculture land, China holds less than 1 percent of foreign-held land (394,442 acres).
Despite their small percentage of ownership, there’s considerable interest in the topic of Chinese-owned land. Brazos Highland Properties, LP and Murphy Brown LLC (Smithfield Foods) reported 102,345 acres and 97,975 acres, respectively — the largest Chinese reporters.
Other Chinese-owned reporters were Murphy Brown of Missouri (also Smithfield Foods), Harvest Texas LLC, and Walton International Group. Together, these five companies accounted for 86 percent of all Chinese holdings.
There are no filings directly by the Chinese government.
Since 2017, the rate at which land was sold to foreign companies has certainly increased by an average of 0.6 million acres per year to an average of nearly 2.9 million acres.
[...] Read Full Story
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Source: Progressive Farmer
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Koch Ag & Energy Solutions (KAES) announced Monday that it has reached an agreement to acquire OCI Global's nitrogen fertilizer plant in Wever, Iowa, for $3.6 billion.
Once the transaction is finalized, KAES will have 100% ownership of the facility located along the Mississippi River in southeastern Iowa. The plant was opened in 2017 and has the capacity to produce 3.5 million metric tons (mmt) of nitrogen fertilizers and diesel exhaust fluid annually.
"Today's announcement is an important step forward for KAES as we continue to invest in our fertilizer business," Mark Luetters, president of KAES, stated in a news release. "This investment complements our existing business, and we look forward to advancing this transaction with OCI to completion."
According to the release, the Wever facility will be added to the existing Koch Fertilizer portfolio, which produces markets and distributes nitrogen fertilizers, diesel exhaust fluid and phosphate fertilizer products.
OCI said it launched a multifaceted strategic review in March 2023 intending to close the discount to OCI's intrinsic value and unlock value for its shareholders, according to an OCI news release. Company officials said the announcement marked an important step in delivering those objectives.
The transaction is expected to result in a reduction in holding company net debt and deliver a capital return to shareholders, according to the OCI release. The deal will also enable OCI to explore other new opportunities in the energy transition space, building on OCI's lower-carbon ammonia and green methanol platforms.
"Today's announcement marks an evolutionary step in our journey to create value for shareholder and to enhance our focus on efforts in lower carbon initiatives," said Nassef Sawiris, executive chairman of OCI.
[...] Read Full Story
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Source: Ethanol Producer Magazine
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The U.S. EPA on Dec. 18 delivered its final rule to allow year-round E15 sales in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin to the White House Office of Management and Budget. OMB reviews marks a final step before a rulemaking is promulgated.
Several Midwestern governors in April 2022 filed petitions with the EPA requesting that the agency remove the 1-psi Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver for summer gasoline-ethanol blended fuels, which would effectively allow E15 to be sold year-round within their states.
The EPA is required by statute to respond to such petitions within 90 days but, to date, has failed to take final action. The agency released a proposed rule to implement the requested change in February 2023. A comment period on the proposed rule was open through April 20. The agency has now submitted the final rule for OMB review. Information released by OMB indicates the target issue date for the final rule is “to be determined,” but the agency has stated as part of an ongoing lawsuit that it currently plans to promulgate the final rule next spring.
That ongoing lawsuit was filed by the attorneys general of Iowa and Nebraska on Aug. 7 over the agency’s failure to respond to the Midwest E15 petitions. Documents filed as part of that ongoing lawsuit indicate that the EPA currently plans to issue a final rule by March 28, 2024.
[...] Read Full Story
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