September 19, 2024

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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

Board Sets Course for 2025 Fiscal Year, Recognizes Service Of Outgoing Members

On the cusp of the new fiscal year, the Agribusiness Association of Iowa Board of Directors set priorities for 2025 and honored those with terms ending at the end of the month during the meeting on September 12.


The recognitions during the changing of the guard is an annual tradition at the September meeting.


Board members recognized during the meeting were Shelly Kruse, GROWMARK, Past Chair; Mark White, Smith Fertilizer and Grain, Chair; Sue Tronchetti, Landus, At Large Director; Tracy Gathman, Two Rivers Cooperative, District 2 Director. Dan Luers, Koch Agronomic Services, Crop Production Director also will be closing out his term on September 30.


Additionally, Interim CEO Mark Reisinger was recognized for his service and willingness to support AAI during the past six months.


The main business of the meeting included a financial report showing AAI will have a positive balance sheet for 2024, an update on planning for the Agribusiness Showcase & Conference (February 11-12, 2025), approval of four new companies as members, and numerous additional updates from committees and ex officio organizations.


During the Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council (INREC) report, Executive Director Ben Gleason noted the data collected from the 2023 crop year shows a decrease in nitrogen application rates and a continued increase in cover crops. Gleason also highlighted the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative ran 450 trials this past season to provide the necessary data for the development of the new nitrogen management model.


The Legislative Committee reported priorities for the 2025 legislative session are tentatively in place and will be officially set in December. Some lingering topics will need to be addressed at that time after ongoing discussions and research wrap up over the next 60 days.


The next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for December.


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/

L to R: Interim CEO Mark Reisinger; Foundation Chair Kevin Drury

L to R: Chair Mark White; District 2 Director Tracy Gathman

L to R: Chair Mark White; At Large Director Sue Tronchetti

L to R: Incoming Chair Al Muhlenbruch; Current Chair Mark White

L to R: Chair Mark White; Past President Shelly Kruse

Fall Nitrogen Applications Needed For Iowa Nitrogen Initiative Trials

Fall nitrogen applications will be made soon, and there’s an opportunity to better utilize variable rate application equipment. To ensure the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative (INI) captures data for all nitrogen application timings, INI is actively recruiting participants for the 2025 crop year to include fall nitrogen applications with VRT.

 

Trials are conducted on corn fields using a variable rate prescription to apply synthetic nitrogen. To participate, growers and applicators should have:

  • Fields that will be planted to corn for the 2025 growing season (either corn-on-corn or corn following soybeans)
  • Combine equipped with a well-calibrated yield monitor
  • Ability to apply a variable rate nitrogen prescription

 

For full information:

Those wishing to enroll in the study or ask questions can contact Melissa Miller, Project Director, Iowa Nitrogen Initiative at 515.567.0607 or millerms@iastate.edu.

Don't Ignore Mental Health During High Stress Fall Activities

As the harvest season begins, we often focus on physical safety concerns. But just as important, the ramped up activities in the fall also can contribute to and exacerbate factors that heighten stress and affect mental well being.


Iowans can improve their ability to support family, friends or colleagues who might be struggling with mental health issues or even suicidal thoughts. ISU Extension and Outreach delivers Mental Health First Aid training as well as Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training.


Mental Health First Aid Training - Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. This training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem and help connect them to the appropriate care.


Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) - Say "Yes" to saving the life of a friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help.


To enroll in either training, contact your ISU Extension and Outreach county office: List of ISU Extension and Outreach offices


Other resources:

Iowa Concern - Call 800-447-1985 to reach the ISU Extension and Outreach hotline. Resource services are available 24 hours a day, seven days per week at no charge. Iowa Concern has access to an attorney for legal education, stress counselors, and information and referral services for a wide variety of topics.

Click To Access Iowa Concern Resources


988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - Call or text 988 for 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress.

Disaster Declarations and Resources

Visit the Governor's website for links to resources and information on additional declarations that may be applicable to you or your business:

https://www.iowa.gov/iowa-disaster-recovery


Links to state and federal programs and agencies can be found on the site.

Out and About

Iowa Nitrogen Initiative Field Day

In attendance:

Julie Kenny, AAI CEO

Ben Gleason, INREC Executive Director

ASSOCIATION CALENDAR

October 15

Exhibitor Registration Opens - Agribusiness Showcase & Conference

10:00 AM - https://agribizshowcase.com

Visit AgribizShowcase.com for exhibitor and sponsor information.

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NEWS

The Fertilizer Institute Calls for More Customer Focus from Rail Industry

Source: CropLife

The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) today provided testimony to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) emphasizing the ongoing need for the freight rail industry to shift its focus toward customer service and growth. The fertilizer industry has long relied on rail service for the efficient and safe transport of its products but has struggled with declining service quality, increasing rates, and a lack of attention to customer needs.


“The fertilizer industry is heavily reliant on rail and cannot afford to see continued stagnation in freight rail service,” said TFI vice president of government affairs Ryan Bowley. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen freight volumes plateau, services decline, and rates skyrocket.”


TFI’s testimony comes at a pivotal time for the Class I railroads that make up the backbone of the nation’s freight rail system. The STB’s inquiry into the rail industry’s growth potential highlights a disturbing trend: freight rail carloads have been in decline since 2008, while trucking and other transportation sectors have consistently expanded their capacity.


Bowley also pointed to data showing that while rail employment has dropped and carloads have declined, rail rates have surged. Between 2005 and 2017, rates for transporting critical farm inputs like anhydrous ammonia increased by over 200%. Such price hikes, combined with inconsistent service, have made it difficult for fertilizer companies to meet the just-in-time delivery demands of farmers across the country.


[...] Read Full Story

Farmers need emergency assistance to offset lower income, says Boozman

Source: Successful Farming

The government should provide emergency aid to farmers to help them weather sharply lower commodity prices, said Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, on Tuesday. Prompt action on emergency aid should be coupled with enactment of a new farm bill yet this year, he said.


“Our family farmers are staring down a crisis that is growing more dire by the day, and many fear that the Senate simply doesn’t care about their plight,” said Boozman. “Even with record yields, farmers are not breaking even.”


Boozman’s call for stopgap assistance to farmers created a new dimension to congressional wrangling over larger farm subsidy spending. Until this week, the argument was directed toward the new farm bill. On Monday, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, a Republican, said additional support to crop growers might be included in an extension of current farm law, or be tucked into a must-pass bill yet this year.


“The chairwoman is focused on finishing a five-year farm bill,” said a spokesman for Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow when asked about emergency funding. Congress has seven weeks left on its calendar for legislative action this year. If Senate and House Agriculture committee leaders reach agreement soon, the farm bill could see a floor vote after the Nov. 5 elections.


Progress on the farm bill has been stymied for months by disagreements over SNAP funding, crop support levels, and climate mitigation. Republicans have proposed a 15% increase in so-called reference prices, making it easier to trigger crop subsidy payments, but have not said how to defray the cost. Democrats opposed GOP proposals to cut SNAP funding by $29 billion and to allow climate funding to be used for conservation practices that do not sequester carbon or reduce greenhouse gases.


[...] Read Full Story

Farm group files lawsuit against Department of Labor over H-2A rule

Source: AgDaily

The labor group known as the National Council of Agricultural Employers said it has joined others in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to challenge the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule titled, Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States. The rule is intended to target vulnerability and abuses experienced by workers under the H-2A program that undermine fair labor standards for all farmworkers in the U.S.


The NCAE, which said other associations and individual farmers have signed onto the suit, argues that the rule is unlawful and unconstitutional and poses significant challenges to farm and ranch families nationwide. However, the organization did not specify which groups or individuals are included in the lawsuit, and no public statements could be found about others who may potentially be involved.


The NCAE is based just outside of Washington, D.C., and describes itself as a national trade association focusing exclusively on agricultural labor issues from the agricultural employer’s viewpoint. 


The rule, which was originally introduced in October 2022, is part of the Labor Department’s effort to modernize the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program. The department claims that the rule would enhance protections for farm workers, particularly those in the H-2A program, by promoting worker self-advocacy, preventing retaliation, and increasing transparency in foreign labor recruitment.


Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su stated that the rule would protect vulnerable farm workers from abuses that could depress wages and lower labor standards across the agricultural industry. She emphasized the administration’s commitment to ensuring fair treatment for all workers, particularly those who are at risk of exploitation.


[...] Read Full Story

Companies Win Chemical Price-Fixing Antitrust Lawsuit Filed by Farmers

Source: Progressive Farmer

A federal court dismissed an antitrust lawsuit that accused large agriculture companies, including Bayer, Corteva Agriscience and Syngenta, of conspiring to fix the prices of crop inputs, including herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.


Farmer plaintiffs in Illinois and Minnesota filed a petition in 2021 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Eastern Missouri in St. Louis, alleging a group of agribusinesses conspired to boycott electronic trading platforms, causing millions of dollars of damages to farmers from lack of competitive prices for crop inputs.


The plaintiffs alleged the companies worked to keep the price of crop inputs higher dating back to 2014 by operating an alleged "secretive supply-chain" process that prevented farmers from comparison shopping for seeds, chemicals and other inputs.


Companies named in the lawsuit were Syngenta, Bayer, Corteva, BASF, Cargill, Winfield Solutions, Univar Solutions, CHS Inc., Nutrien Ag Solutions, GROWMARK Inc., Simplot AB Retail Sub Inc., Tenkoz Inc. and Federated Cooperatives Ltd.


Those companies filed a motion to dismiss the case on multiple grounds, and the court agreed with their arguments.


They argued the plaintiffs had not pleaded a "plausible boycott conspiracy" either directly or circumstantially. The companies said the plaintiffs had not alleged an injury was caused to support antitrust claims and that the Sherman Act was time-barred, among other things.


[...] Read Full Story

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