Political Insights from #ARA2016 Keynote

Kelly Marshall December 2, 2016

Stuart Rothenberg knows the word “nonpartisan” is suspect, but as the Founding Editor of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, that’s what he strives to be. In his recent keynote address to the members of the Agricultural Retailers Association meeting this week in Orlando, Rothenberg talked about the recent Presidential election, and how it was big in more ways than one.

It was big because the outcome was stunning in many respects, Rothenberg said. It’s more than an upset in the polls, but because someone like Trump has never won a major election in this country, or indeed, in any country in the world. He lacked a plan, a political strategy, and basically convention of any sort, but the American people chosen him for those very reasons.

Of course, it was also big because the difference in votes between the 2008 election and this one were pretty tiny, considering the number of overall votes. But while they were small, they were significant. More than one key win was obtained by slight margins on both sides that Tuesday night, but the results were immense.

Here’s an excerpt from the start of his keynote address: ARA Keynote Address, Stuart Rothenberg

2016 ARA Conference & Expo Photo Album

Coverage of the ARA Conference and Expo is sponsored by

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, ARA, Audio, politics

GROWMARK Announces Missouri Essay Winner

Cindy Zimmerman December 2, 2016

GROWMARK has named Marrah Delmont of Halfway, Missouri as the state winner of the 2017 GROWMARK essay contest for FFA members with the theme “What value do cooperatives provide to today’s farmers?”

In her contest entry, Delmont said: “The benefits cooperatives provide go far beyond economics. As successful cooperatives grow, successful leaders, directors, managers, and other employees grow too. By putting members at the heart of the cooperative, farmers are taught the values of selflessness, teamwork, diligent labor, leadership, and a passion for agriculture that continues to grow with time. Cooperatives have been around for hundreds of years, and will continue to grow and benefit others. Cooperatives build a better world.”

As the contest winner, Delmont will receive a $500 award from GROWMARK and the Halfway FFA chapter will receive a $300 award in honor of her accomplishment. In addition, four state runners-up will each receive a $125 award. The runners-up and their FFA chapters are – Daniel Dothage, Wellsville-Middletown FFA; Taylor Dye, Paris FFA; Regan Meyer, Jefferson FFA, Stanberry; and Logan Westmoreland, Columbia FFA, Rocheport.

This is the 24th year for the program, sponsored by the GROWMARK System and FS member cooperatives, in conjunction with state FFA leaders, to help young people develop their writing skills, learn about current issues in agriculture, and understand the unique role of cooperatives.

FFA, GROWMARK

Two Years of Progress for ResponsibleAg

Kelly Marshall December 2, 2016

ResponsibleAg began their safety compliance mission two years ago, and already the program has signed up 2,284 locations, Bill Qualls reported at the Agricultural Retailers Association Conference & Expo.

The numbers reflect the importance of safety to members of the industry, Qualls asserts, and it is his job to make sure they’re well informed. “My goal is to help each of these retail sites, suppliers, distributors, anyone who wants to participate in ResponsibleAg understand the compliance objectives, the issues that regulators are interested in, to identify those and fix those thing to be much safer than they were before.”

Already the program has completed 1,100 audits. While these inspections have noted more than 45,000 non compliance issues, more than 99 percent of the problems were related to documentation, training or other issues not directly affecting the health or safety of workers. In addition to that good news, 25,000 of the problems have already been fixed.

The organization is also working with an insurance company to hopefully provide discounts to companies with the ResponsibleAg certification.

Learn more about the program by listening to Qualls address here: Bill Qualls, ResponsibleAg

2016 ARA Conference & Expo Photo Album

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Ag Groups, ARA, Audio, Safety

#ARA2016 Awards Presented

Cindy Zimmerman December 2, 2016

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) presented its most prestigious awards during the association’s annual meeting this week in Florida.

Being an organization of ag retailers, it stands to reason that one of the biggest awards is Retailer of the Year. Sponsored by Monsanto, ARA and AgProfessional magazine, the ARA Ag Retailer of the Year honors the very best in the industry and this year that was Gar Tootelian of central California, represented by president Greg Musson and managing partner Karen Musson. The award was presented to them by Mark Heldt of Monsanto and ARA CEO Daren Coppock. ARA Retailer of the Year

The ARA Distinguished Service Award honors an individual member of the association who has gone above and beyond the traditional responsibility to support the ag retail industry and the association – making the industry better for all. This year’s honoree is Jamie Southard of The Equity who was instrumental in the industry fight this year to maintain the retail facility exemption to the Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard. Listen to his remarks here: ARA Distinguished Service Award

In 2010, the ARA Lifetime Achievement Award was renamed the Jack Eberspacher Lifetime Achievement award to honor the memory ARA’s former President & CEO who passed away in July 2009. This award is the highest honor presented by ARA for a career in agricultural retail and it was presented this year to Dr. W. David Downey, Professor Emeritus, Purdue University. Listen to his remarks here: ARA Lifetime Achievement Award

2016 ARA Conference & Expo Photo Album

Coverage of the ARA Conference and Expo is sponsored by

Agribusiness, ARA, Audio

Topguard® Terra Helping SW Cotton Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman December 1, 2016

Cotton root rot has been a problem for farmers in the southwest for decades, but FMC’s Topguard® Terra is making a difference.

FMC Southern Regional Business Manager Matt Hancock says Topguard® Terra is an extremely systemic triazole fungicide. “So it gets into the plant and it stays there,” he said during an interview this week at the ARA Conference and Expo. “That’s how it offers season long control of the disease.”

Hancock says they have seen higher yields in the field with Topguard® Terra. “We see improved yields by 30-plus percent,” he said. “In some cases, this is ground where you couldn’t have even grown cotton without this type of protection.” In fact, cotton production and acreage are up significantly this year in all areas of the country.

In this interview, Hancock also talks about why agricultural retailers are so important to FMC in its relationship with farmers. Interview with Matt Hancock, FMC - Topguard Terra

2016 ARA Conference & Expo Photo Album

Coverage of the ARA Conference and Expo is sponsored by

Agribusiness, ARA, Audio, Cotton, FMC, Fungicide

CEO Daren Coppock Addresses #ARA2016

Kelly Marshall December 1, 2016

The Agricultural Retailers Association Convention & Expo heard from CEO, Daren Coppock with the President’s report and review of the year.

He couldn’t begin without talking about the election, Coppock said. “This opens up some unexpected avenues for us. It was a surprising outcome in a number of ways. But if we look at implications for our industry there are a few things that we can draw from the election.”

The first opportunity is the relocation of celebrities from Hollywood to Canada, Coppock joked. But on a more serious note, he states that the Trump administration and Republican Congress will offer a time to counter the over abundance of burdensome regulations. The American Farm Bureau Federation has already sent a letter outlining programs that are counter productive, costly, or a liability. Now Coppock has asked staff at the ARA to make a list of regulations specifically applying to retailers as well.

PSM tops the list. In the last year PSM has been challenged in court for not allowing a notification period. The court agreed with ARA’s position, but OSHA is now saying they cannot offer interpretation on other regulations. OSHA has appealed, so that process is currently in the works, hopefully to wrap up by the end of the year.

Coppock addressed a number of other issues in his address; listen to them in his full speech here: Daren Coppock, ARA CEO

Lots of photos being uploaded here: 2016 ARA Conference & Expo Photo Album

Coverage of the ARA Conference and Expo is sponsored by

Ag Groups, ARA

Should EPA Increase Biofuels Use?

Jamie Johansen December 1, 2016

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What are you most thankful for this year?”

Family, friends, food and freedom…no doubt the simple majority shined in our Thanksgiving poll.

Here are the poll results:

Family – 13%
Friends – 3%
Food – 0%
Freedom – 0%
All of the above – 80%
Other – 3%

Our new ZimmPoll is live and asks the question, Should EPA increase biofuels use?

EPA set final levels for biofuels use in 2017 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) last week that are in line with the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, calling for the maximum 15 million gallons of conventional ethanol for the first time and increasing volumes for biomass-based biodiesel. What’s your reaction to that?

ZimmPoll

Milestone for General Mills, Xerces Society and NRCS

Kelly Marshall December 1, 2016

The U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted an announcement between themselves, General Mills, and the largest and oldest pollinator conservation organization, the Xerces Society this morning. The three organizations are joining together to protect the habitats of pollinators on hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland. The project is a five-year, $4 million commitment to provide the technical assistance for planting and protecting wildflowers and flowering hedgerows. The goal is 100,000 acres in the next five years.

In North America alone, bees are responsible for over $25 billion in agricultural production each year. In addition to improving the yield of many crop species, research demonstrates that pollinators such as bees may also improve the nutritional value and commercial quality of some crops.

“Pollinators supply one-third of the food and beverages that Americans consume,” said Jerry Lynch, Chief Sustainability Officer at General Mills. “As part of General Mills’ global commitment to treat the world with care, our investment will help pollinators to continue to play a key role in sustainable food production in the U.S.”

“To date, our work with NRCS has resulted in hundreds of thousands of acres of new or improved habitat,” said Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director of the Xerces Society. “This partnership will allow us to expand conservation support in the Midwest, Northeast and California, reaching many more farmers and bringing greater benefits to the pollinators on which we all rely.”

Listen to the press conference here: General Mills, Xerces Society, and NRCS Press Conference

pollinators, USDA

Florida FFA President Welcomes #ARA2016 Members

Kelly Marshall December 1, 2016

Who better to welcome members of the Agricultural Retailers Association to Florida for their annual conference than William Jameson, the Florida State FFA President and symbol of agriculture’s future?

Florida stands tall in the agriculture industry, growing more than 300 types of commodities from fresh produce like grapefruit and sweet corn to beef and field crops. The state also boasts 65,000 students enrolled in agriculture classes and 18,000 in the FFA organization.

But just as critical to food production, says Jameson, is the contribution of retailers. “Your work as agriculture retailers is just as important. You supply farmers and ranchers with the products and services they need; products like seed, nutrients, crop protection, feed, equipment and technology, and also provide consulting services, including things such as crop scouting, soil testing, field mapping, custom planting, application and development of nutritional management and conservation program. The agriculture program needs you and we need you.”

If there’s anything Jameson already knows about farming, it’s that agriculture isn’t for the feint of heart. The industry has faced challenges for generations and it needs farmers and the people who make their work possible to feed the world. Be proud of what you do, Jameson concludes.

Listen to Jameson’s welcome remarks yourself and be proud of the future of the industry as well: Welcome Remarks, William Jameson, Florida State FFA President

Lots of photos being uploaded here: 2016 ARA Conference & Expo Photo Album

Coverage of the ARA Conference and Expo is sponsored by

Ag Groups, ARA, FFA

GROWMARK Announces Iowa Essay Winner

Cindy Zimmerman December 1, 2016

The theme of this year’s GROWMARK essay contest for FFA members was “What value do cooperatives provide to today’s farmers?” and the Iowa state winner is Jaxon Mullinnix of Lone Tree, Iowa – a student at Lone Tree High School and a member of the Lone Tree FFA chapter.

In his contest entry, Mullinnix said: “Some may even describe cooperatives as the ‘backbone’ to the agricultural industry. When farmers own and control, on a business level, channels for acquiring supplies and marketing their supplies they are able to stay competitive in the marketplace. Providing farmers with a dependable source of reasonably priced supplies, reliable services, and a heightened income, cooperatives undoubtedly add value to a farm operation.”

As the contest winner, Mullinnix will receive a $500 award from GROWMARK and the Lone Tree FFA chapter will receive $300 in honor of his accomplishment.

Education, FFA, GROWMARK

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