Members Discuss Industry Troubles
In late May, executives from member companies talked to Ag Innovator magazine about their biggest battles and how they’re faring in the fight.
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Washington Wants China to Stop Buying U.S. Farms
By the start of 2020, Chinese owners controlled about 192,000 agricultural acres in the U.S., worth $1.9 billion. That’s less than farmland owned by people from other nations, but it represents a trend of increasing purchases.
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Biden Takes Aim at Tractor, Combine Repairs
Regardless of the outcome, the president’s actions have turned the hot light of public opinion on the right-to-repair issue.
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Millions of Job Seekers, Millions of Jobs, Few Connections
Workers and jobs are mismatched because people have moved or opted for a new direction, and the openings often don’t line up with job seekers’ skills or ZIP codes.
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States Debate Marijuana in Context of Work Comp
Courts and lawmakers are facing questions about whether workers’ comp should cover medical marijuana and whether a positive test for marijuana changes an employers’ responsibility to pay for workplace injuries.
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Biden to Sign Right-to-Repair Executive Order
A right-to-repair advocate called the move “great news for everyone concerned with repair monopolies.” Dealer groups have pushed back against legislation on the same issue.
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Growth in Ag Equipment Sales Hits High Mark
The farm equipment sales index in June logged the greatest growth it has shown since 2012. This marked the seventh consecutive month of growth.
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Firms That Pay Cyber Ransoms Get Hit Again
Eighty percent of businesses that pay ransoms in cyber attacks experience a subsequent attack, often by the same perpetrator.
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July 4 – Independence Day
Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association will close its office Monday in observance of Independence Day. At the heart of this holiday
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112 Percent Increase in Open Jobs
Some 1.4 million people were laid off or furloughed from February to April 2020. But as of May, manufacturers were trying to fill 851,000 positions—a record high for the industry and a 112 percent increase since last February.
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Commodity, Consumer Prices May Prompt Fed Rate Hike
The world hasn’t seen such across-the-board commodity-price increases since the beginning of the global financial crisis, and before that, the 1970s. Corn, soybeans and wheat have jumped to their highest levels in eight years.
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Shipping Costs Create Pricing Problems in Every Sector
The surge is the cost of freight is threatening to boost the price of products across virtually all sectors. One analyst suggests that the longer these extreme shipping freight rates last, the more companies will take measures to shorten their supply chains.
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Equipment Dealer Cheats Lenders, Manufacturers
In total, three banks, the SBA and manufacturer financing divisions lost $6.4 million because of the fraud.
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White House to Launch Supply Chain Task Force
The task force will address the bottlenecks in the agriculture, construction, transportation and semiconductor sectors.
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Stay Ahead of Google Updates
and In Front of Customers
How well your website ranks on Google’s search engine results pages will now be impacted by how well your website performs for users.
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Farmers Receive 14 Cents of Each Dollar Spent on Food
A decade ago, farmers received 17.6 cents of each dollar spent on food by Americans.
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Demand from China Leads to Surge in U.S. Ag Exports
Analysts forecast that China, reclaiming its spot as the No. 1 customer, will account for $1 of every $5 in overseas sales this year.
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Cyberattack Closes Meat Plants
The attack on JBS threatens to disrupt food supply chains and further inflate food prices.
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PPP Applications End, Reviews on Apps Continue
The federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program closed to new applications Friday as funding was on track to be exhausted. The SBA said the program received 125,000 loan requests in its last 24 hours.
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Väderstad acquires US-based AGCO-AMITY JV LL
Väderstad acquires US-based AGCO-AMITY JV LLC. Väderstad AB, one of the world’s leading companies in tillage, seeding and planting has
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Need Help Getting Workers? Use This Tax Credit.
Some larger employers have been offering hiring bonuses. But can small businesses afford the same? Thanks to a little-known federal tax program, the answer could be yes.
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What Separates Companies from the Pack? Readiness.
Revisit an article published for members in summer 2020 on how the state of readiness is the cornerstone of success in industry. The author is leading a five-part series for the Association on achieving operational excellence.
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More States Cut Unemployment Benefits
At least 19 states have decided to prematurely cut off the federal boost to regular state unemployment benefits in response to lackluster hiring numbers in spite of a need for workers.
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U.S. Forecasts Highest Prices for Crops in Years
The USDA estimates the corn crop will sell for a season-average $5.70 a bushel, soybeans for $13.85, and wheat for $6.50. Those would be the highest farm gate prices since 2013 for corn and soybeans and the highest since 2014 for wheat.
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Farmers Go Higher-Tech Amid Labor Costs
The market for advanced farming tools was estimated to be about $7 billion in 2020, and it’s projected to reach $12.8 billion over the next four years.
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Farm Financial Performance Index Hits Record High
Farmers expect a strong bottom line this year in spite of rising input costs. The data shows a greater willingness to buy equipment and attend in-person events.
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Tips for Entering Trade Markets
Only 5 percent of the world’s consumers live in the United States. Selling to exclusively domestic markets could significantly limit business potential.
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OSHA Reverses Course on COVID Emergency Standards
OSHA has changed its mind and says it now will issue Emergency Temporary Standards that employers will be expected to follow related to COVID-19 in the workplace. Final rules are expected in June.
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Farmers’ First Step in Equipment Shopping: Online
In survey results exploring farmers’ buying behaviors, researchers found that social media ranks low among strategies for shopping. Print catalogs fare as well as YouTube.
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Association Webinar: Navigating COVID-19 Laws
David James will present a 30-minute virtual session April 28 on the legal questions emerging in the workplace around COVID-19. Contact Matt Rice to register.
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Farm Equipment Sales Index Matches 2013 High
In other news, bankers reported that approximately 9.1 percent of farmland sales over the past the six months have gone to nonfarmer investors.
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Soybean-Spiking Scheme Leads to Prison Time
Soybeans, trading near the highest levels since 2014, currently fetch almost four times the price of oats. That motivated a GM of a warehouse in Iowa to add oats to grains sold as wholly containing soybeans.
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Considerations When Using Criminal Background Checks
The EEOC advises employers conducting background checks on candidates to weigh three factors: the nature and gravity of the offense, the time that has passed since conviction, and
the nature of the job sought.
Travel Comeback? Airlines Enjoy Big Month
Airports screened nearly 1.5 million passengers on Friday. That compares to about 621,000 on the same weekday last year and 2.5 million in 2019. The comparison offers a dramatic contrast in one year’s gain but brings into focus how far the industry has to go to be restored.
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Use Your Website to Build Your Workforce
Manufacturers should market job opportunities on their website with the same focus they bring to marketing their products. It is an entry point to the opportunities and the culture.
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States Challenge Biden’s Order on Keystone Pipeline
Multiple reviews by the U.S. Department of State spanning two administrations have found the pipeline would pose little or no environmental harm, including no negative effects on climate.
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Summit Speaker: Ag Exports, China’s Cheating, Remain Trade Priorities
Starling writes that while Biden’s trade policy is different than his predecessor’s in part, “some of the policy signals are indistinguishable from what you might see beneath Trump administration letterhead.”
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Mandating COVID Vaccines: Permissible with Exceptions
The EEOC says employers can mandate vaccines. If an employer chooses to mandate, and an employee refuses a vaccination and does not indicate the refusal is based on a disability or religious conviction, then employers may prohibit returning the employee to on-site work and may consider termination.
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Farmers Remain Committed to Big Purchases
The Farm Capital Investment Index, which assesses farmers’ willingness to make significant investments, is the third-highest it has been since data collection began in 2015. It is 16 points higher than before the pandemic began.
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U.S. Farmers Are Planting More Row Crops Than Ever
Behind the increase lies a sharp rise in soybean prices over the past eight months—67 percent since June 1. Prices have been lifted by surging demand for U.S. soybeans in China.
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Container Woes: ‘Busiest Period in Trade-Ever’
Group says top-dollar rates for declining service levels cannot continue. Container companies blame some bottlenecks on North American infrastructure.
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Study Finds Gains, Losses in $15 Minimum Wage
The pay raise would mean higher wages for 27 million people but also lead to job loss, higher prices, and a widening federal deficit.
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Texas Farmers, Ranchers, Reel from Winter Blast
Early estimates put crop losses at $300 million. Said one expert: “Peach trees that had started budding, those buds are going to be toast at 15 degrees.”
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Food Inflation: Production Prices Rising
After a year of disruption throughout the food supply system, farmers, especially those who are raising cattle, hogs and poultry, are getting squeezed by the highest corn and soybean prices in seven years.
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Rural Mainstreet: Outlook Soars to Highest in Decade
Data from researchers who assess the economy in rural communities reported signs of strength in farm country.
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Summit: Hear from Pros on Life Post-COVID, Farmer Attitudes, Ag Economy
Based on a preliminary conversation with officers of the board, if the Association can host an effective meeting in the context of compliance with COVID-19 restrictions, we will be in Kansas City from April 7 to 9.
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Farmers’ Willingness to Buy Remains Strong
The index that measures farmers’ willingness to buy equipment held strong at its record high of 93. The percentage of farmers expecting to increase their machinery purchases also held at its highest level of the last year.
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OSHA: Cover Cost of Vaccine, Do Not Distinguish Vaccinated
The guidelines also suggest employers consider protections and reasonable accommodations for workers at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19,
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Machine Guarding Checklist
Member companies have password-protected access to a 66-page document created by Sentry that offers guidance on creating a product safety process. Catch a glimpse of what’s in the manual here.
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Tips for Post-COVID Business Travel
As travel returns, which it no doubt will, it will bring with it a whole host of new complexities around keeping costs and risks low. Companies will need to be prepared with a sound strategy and technology to support it in order to stay on top of the competition.
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