The AAI office will be closed on Tuesday, July 4 to celebrate Independence Day. We will be resuming normal summer hours on Wednesday, July 5. The AAI staff and leadership wish you a safe and wonderful holiday weekend!

June 29, 2017
WHITE
A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation.
In This Issue
AAI IN ACTION
 
Hoepner Awarded the 2017-2018 Winton Etchen Scholarship 
The Agribusiness Association of Iowa Foundation is pleased to award Logan Hoepner the 2017-2018 Winton Etchen Scholarship .

Hoepner is a resident of Hancock, Iowa, and graduated from the AHSTW High School in Avoca. He will be majoring in Agronomy with a minor in Ag Business at Iowa State University (ISU) in the fall. Hoepner was named to the National Honor Society 2016-2017 and is a member of the AHSTW FFA Chapter. He is the son of Louise & Shane Hoepner. 

"The Agribusiness Association of Iowa Foundation is pleased to award Logan the 2017-2018 Winton Etchen Scholarship for his educational successes thus far and his enthusiasm for agriculture and agribusiness," said Foundation CEO Joel Brinkmeyer.
 
Logan was sponsored by James Russmann, Growmark in Avoca, and Bryan Hatch, LMH Law Firm in Omaha. 
 
Thank you to all that applied! A full list of Foundation scholarships is available at the  
AAI Foundation website .
AAI Launches Iowa Agribusiness Environmental Partnership

The Agribusiness Association of Iowa is launching a new initiative to promote further environmental progress in the state of Iowa through the leadership of the agribusiness community. 

The Iowa Agribusiness Environmental Partnership (IAEP) identifies important environmental principles in agronomic management - the same principles agribusinesses use to help customers make informed decisions about how they manage their crops. 

The program was developed by the Agribusiness Association of Iowa Agronomy Committee, approved by the AAI Board of Directors, and endorsed by the Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council Board of Directors. Read more about the IAEP here

Sign up information will be mailed to members, please watch your mail box and stay tuned for email updates. 

June Committee Meetings: 
Environment Committee 

The Environment Committee met at the AAI headquarters in Des Moines on June 24. The committee held its first meeting in March of 2016 and has been operating under the leadership of Mark Morrissey, United Services Association. Morrissey is also the association board's Chair-Elect and will become AAI Chair beginning the 2018 fiscal year in October.
 
AAI's Shawn Richmond and Dean Lemke presented updates on topics including the Iowa Nutrient Research & Education Council,  EPA's Waters of the US (WOTUS) Rule, Minnesota's Draft Nitrogen Fertilizer Rule, Recap of 2017 4R Summit, AAI's Iowa Agribusiness Environmental Partnership, and collaboration efforts between AAI and the Iowa Land Improvement Contractors Association (LICA). DNR's Adam Schnieders provided an update and overview of annual progress reporting on Iowa's Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

AAI Foundation Speaks to Community College Professors

As part of their annual post secondary ag education summer conference in Ankeny, Iowa community college agriculture professors heard from the Agribusiness Association of Iowa Foundation (AAIF) and discussed the annual  Agribusiness Career Day (ABC Day)  and its impact on 2-year college students in Iowa. 

 

The AAI Foundation provides $15,000 in scholarships to Iowa's community colleges during the annual Agribusiness Career Day (ABC Day) each February. The 2017 event had  9 industry companies donate $11,000  to the scholarship fund. One student from each college represented received a $1,000 scholarship, for a total of 15 scholarships.

 

More than 210 agriculture students attended the event in Des Moines this past year.  Governor Kim Reynolds  (then Lt. Gov.) addressed the students to speak about STEM and students watched a year in agriculture by the Agribusiness Report. 

To learn how you can support the AAI Foundation and Iowa's community colleges CLICK HERE or email our foundation - foundation@agribiz.org

FieldWatch Continues to Grow in Iowa

Since FieldWatch was launched in January, Iowa bee keepers, specialty crop producers, and commercial applicators have quickly adopted the system to protect sensitive fields in Iowa. This effort is an example of successful collaboration among agribusiness, local communities, and state government.
 
Iowa's entry into the system this year fueled part of the exponential growth experienced by FieldWatch in the past two years. The Iowa portion of FieldWatch includes 27,000 registered acres by 1300 growers, and more than 10,000 bee hives by 1500 bee keepers. Iowa accounts for 20% of all registered bee hives in FieldWatch, which covers 14 US states and one Canadian province.
 
Iowa commercial applicators have embraced the system with more than 323 registered users, a number which doesn't account for applicators who only need to use the public mapping system or stream data directly to their equipment.
 
The registry was made possible in Iowa by a monetary award presented to IDALS in 2016 by the   Agribusiness Association of Iowa Foundation.   Donors included the Iowa Agriculture Aviation Association, Syngenta Crop Protection, Dow AgroScience, GROWMARK Foundation, Monsanto, BASF, Bayer CropScience, Iowa Wine Growers Association, Crop Production Services, Inc., Helena Chemical, and Meridian Agriculture.
 
Need more information about FieldWatch in Iowa? Check out our past articles below. 

May 25, 2017 - Applicators Encouraged to Sign up for FieldWatch

February 16, 2017 - FieldWatch Recognizes Efforts of AAI 

April 7, 2016 - AAI Presents Grant to IDALS
IN THE NEWS
 
Perdue and Branstad Celebrate End of Beef Ban

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad will mark the return of U.S beef to China this week.  On Friday, the duo will celebrate a U.S. beef export success by returning to China and cutting a ceremonial Nebraska prime rib.  Over the weekend, they will attend events with Chinese officials marking the end of the 13 year old beef ban.  China has emerged as a major beef buyer with imports going from $275 million in 2012 to $2.5 billion last year.  The U.S. is the worlds largest beef producer and the fourth largest exporter. Read More

Potash Corp. and Agrium Merged Firm to Be Called Nutrien

Canada's Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX, NYSE:POT), the world's largest producer of the fertilizer by capacity,  will change its name to Nutrien once it completes a merger with smaller rival Agrium.

The deal, expected to close before year-end, will create the world's largest potash miner  worth about $36 billion, including debt. Nutrien will also be the second biggest producer of nitrogen fertilizer with operations in 18 countries and more than 20,000 employees worldwide. Read More

Why Farmers Are Anxious About NAFTA

"I HAVE always told you that I will either renegotiate or terminate NAFTA," said the President at a recent rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He had been about to pull out of the North American Free-Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, he explained. But then he got a nice call from Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, and another from the president ("good guy") of Mexico asking him to negotiate: "and I am always willing to negotiate." Even so, the President insisted, NAFTA has been very unfair to the United States, so he will renegotiate successfully-or pull out. The audience applauded, but rather hesitantly.

Of America's top ten farm states by cash receipts from production, six are in the Midwest, and Iowa ranks second, after only California.  Read More

INTL FCStone to Host Food Industry Risk Acadamy

The Food Industry Risk Academy is a three-day in Chicago, Illinois on December 14, 2017, and is an interactive price risk-management educational event that also includes market outlooks delivered by world-renowned experts with insight into where prices for key commodities are headed. This program aims to help food industry professionals gain a greater understanding of the total commodity risk exposure your company faces to help enhance your bottom line. Read More.

Office Summer Hours

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Fridays: 
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MEETINGS & EVENTS
Click on the title below to view our info page with sign up and/ or payment options.
Upcoming Events
& Meeting
Agronomy Committee Meeting
10:00 AM
July 6
AAI Board Room

AAI Board Meeting
10:00 AM
July 11
AAI Board Room

Fox Ridge Golf Club
Dike, IA
July 25
Co-Hosted w/ AGP

Emerald Hills Golf Course
Arnolds Park, IA
July 26
Co-Hosted w/ AGP

Tournament Club of Iowa
August 3
Co-Hosted w/ United Services Association

Iowa Certified Crop Adviser Exam
August 4
Ames, IA
registration deadline June 23

CCA Summer Workshop
August 8
Field Extension
Education Laboratory
Boone, IA

8:00 AM- 3:30 PM
Ziegler CAT Facility
Altoona, IA

The Preserve at
Rathbun Lake
September 7

Asmark Posters

Set of three - $15.00 
Each - $6.00 

We have a limited supply of these, so please order as soon as possible.

Sponsors
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Agribusiness Association of Iowa 
515-262-8323 |   aai@agribiz.org www.agribiz.org
900 Des Moines Street |  Des Moines, IA 50309