Salford Group to be Acquired by Linamar Corp.
Acquisition of Salford will expand Linamar’s ag portfolio, which is currently anchored by MacDon Industries Limited.
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Association’s Supplier Section Elects New Leadership
Marc Adams, sales/marketing manager of GBGI Inc., was elected to a one-year term as chairman of the board.
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Rural Mainstreet Economic Index Remains Healthy
Farm equipment sales: This was the 17th straight month that the index has advanced above growth neutral. Readings over the past several months are the strongest string of monthly readings recorded since the beginning of the survey in 2006.
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News from New Orleans Supply Summit
More that 250 member executives and guests came together April 6-8 in New Orleans for the 2022 Supply Summit & Showcase. Members built business relationships and friendships while fishing, playing a round of golf, eating crawfish and shooting trap, and enjoying a bit of New Orleans nightlife.
Read moreInflation overtakes labor shortage as top problem for small business
The U.S. continues to struggle with labor and supply chain woes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the latest
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Ag Economy Barometer slides lower, producers concerned about war’s impact on input prices
Ag Economy Barometer slides lower, producers concerned about war’s impact on input prices. (Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer/James Mintert).Download Photo WEST
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Corn Prices Reach Near-Decade High, Wheat Forecast Falls
Demand for corn from the U.S., Brazil and Argentina soared in the past weeks as the war in Ukraine escalated. China ramped up its purchase of U.S. corn earlier this month.
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Chinese President Vows to Control Latest Outbreak
China has been facing the biggest wave of COVID-19 infections since Wuhan became the original center of the pandemic in early 2020.
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Ukrainian Farmers Face Huge Deficits in Basic Supplies
Farmers surveyed said they have 20 percent of the fuel they need and between 40 and 65 percent of the crop inputs for spring planting.
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White House Plans Data Exchange to Improve Supply Chain
The program is intended to use data to share information such as location of cargo, timing on arrival of a shipment at port or warehouse, and ultimately inflation.
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Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Howard Dahl Shares Thoughts on War, Impact
The CEO of Amity Technology in North Dakota has been to Eastern Europe 93 times in his farm equipment career. He remains in touch with colleagues and friends.
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War Creates a ‘Factor of Chaos’ in Ag Trade
The Russian trade ministry has called for a broad suspension of fertilizer exports. That will drive up prices for an agricultural input that already experienced a doubling of some prices in 2021.
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Law Would Protect Workers Who Test Positive for Pot
The bill could prohibit employers from firing or disciplining employees or not hiring applicants who use any form of cannabis. However, there are exemptions for safety-sensitive positions.
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Barometer Takeaways: Rural Internet Access, Future of Farming
Farmers offered insights into quality of their rural broadband and if they plan to grow their business or leave it.
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New Orleans Removes Mask
With Mardi Gras over, New Orleans will lift its indoor mask mandate on Thursday, following the lead other U.S. cities in
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Cybersecurity Q&A: Supply Chain Attacks
Supply chain hacks are becoming more common as criminals realize that they can breach organizations en masse by attacking service providers who have access to many companies’ systems.
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Fewer U.S. Workers: How COVID Changed Labor
Differing wage subsidy programs overseas, and a rate of higher infection in the U.S., were likely contributors to the sluggish domestic labor market.
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2021 Ag Exports Shatter Records
Exports of U.S. ag beat 2020 totals by 18 percent and eclipsed the previous record by 14.6 percent.
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Price of Wheat Climbs Amid Uncertainty in Europe
Russia and Ukraine combined account for 29 percent of global wheat exports.
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Legal Focus: What to Expect from the EEOC This Year
The EEOC has not yet pivoted substantially from the Trump administration. Change, however, is coming.
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Red Hot Steel Market Cools
Lower prices will likely take months to flow through supply chains, since many manufacturers purchase steel through fixed-price contracts.
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Crop Insurance Payments Skyrocket
The cost of insuring crops could increase by as much as 22 percent by 2080 due to climate change, even if farmers adapt what they plant and where they plant it.
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New Frontier in Remote Work: Forklift Drivers
The technology would enable forklift operators to be anywhere in the world and operating equipment supporting more than one job site at a time.
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Deere Named in Class Action Lawsuit
John Deere is illegally monopolizing the U.S. tractor repair industry, according to a class action antitrust lawsuit filed in Chicago federal court last week.
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Panel Rules in Favor of U.S. in Dairy Dispute with Canada
Canada’s dairy producers have long fought against opening their market. The country has around 11,000 commercial farms that hold substantial political sway.
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Prepare for a Cyber Breach, Know How to Respond
The Association has formed a partnership with a cyber security firm to provide members information and resources to protect their data. This article is a small sample.
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Sentry Offers Webinars on Reducing Liability Risk, Assessing Hazards
See a full-year schedule for educational content from Sentry. Check out a comprehensive online safety tool. Register for webinars on assessing hazards and reducing product liability risks.
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UPDATE: High Court Blocks Biden’s Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers
At least until the hearing, the mandates are in effect. It is possible that justices will decide then to stay the orders until they issue a decision.
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Ocean Shipping Rates May Double in 2022
Trucking companies are projecting double-digit growth in contract rates for 2022.
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Boards of Four Dealer Associations Vote to Merge
The joint boards of EDA, MSEDA, UEDA, and WEDA have taken the first step to consolidate their associations.
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COVID Relief Fraud Could Cost $100 Billion
The Justice Department earlier this month said that its fraud section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases stemming from fraud schemes involving the Paycheck Protection Program.
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Is the Worst Over in Supply Chain Mayhem?
In a memo to clients, one economist wrote: “It is still going to take a long time for the supply chains across the country to be fully restored, but at least the first steps appear to be in place towards normalcy.”
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Courts Stop Vaccine Mandate
The White House mandate for employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated will be halted nationwide. Challenges are pending against other mandates, including a mandate for private-sector employers with 100 employees.
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Flooding, Mudslides Threaten Canadian Grain
Canada’s rail lines are operating fully now, but the “reverberations back through the grain supply chain will be measured in months.”
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Six in 10 Containers Leave U.S. Ports Empty
Voracious demand for imported goods by U.S. consumers has pushed up rates for freight being shipped across the Pacific from Asia to the U.S., making that trip far more lucrative than the journey from the U.S. to Asia.
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Survey Offers Manufacturers Insights into How to Support Dealers
If manufacturers can provide better images, real-time updates to parts and whole goods, and easier to navigate co-op policies, they stand to grow their revenue and build loyalty among dealers.
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What is Multifactor Authentication, and Do You Need It?
When 80 percent of breaches are still caused by weak, reused, and compromised passwords, businesses need to focus on putting a stronger security foundation in place. Consider MFA.
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Sentry Offers Webinar on Work Comp
Discuss challenges in the work comp industry, emerging technologies and analytics to improve the process, achieving better outcomes for workers, and more.
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Supply Chain Challenges Accelerate 3-D Printing Use
A rise in global shipping costs and new techniques are making the technology more attractive, and “increased flexibility and confidence on lead times may help drive efficiencies …”
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OSHA Suspends Enforcement of Vaccine Mandate
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has suspended implementation and enforcement of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for private employers after a federal court
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Association Offers Members High-Value, No-Cost Cyber Resource
“This three-year partnership with Enquiron brings a value to members far higher than their annual membership dues,” said Executive Vice President Vernon Schmidt. “I hope every company seizes the opportunity.”
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What’s Inside the Nation’s Infrastructure Bill?
The new spending bill is an investment that the president has compared to the building of the transcontinental railroad and Interstate Highway System.
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Association Elects New Leaders
The Board of Directors of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association elected officers at a meeting in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
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Truckers: ‘Lazy’ Crane Operators Exacerbate Port Delays
Crane operators who belong to a powerful union and earn up to $250,000 a year are worsening the supply chain crisis by goofing off on the job, frustrated truckers told reporters.
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California Bans Gas-Powered Landscaping Equipment
The law requires all newly sold small-motor equipment primarily used for landscaping to be zero-emissions—essentially to be battery operated or plug-in—as early as 2024.
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Dealers Dig Out GPS Units from 2004 for Farmers
“It’s the perfect storm of Tylenol moments,” said AGCO’s Greg Toornman. “It’s one headache after another.”
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Bottlenecks at China Ports More Massive Than In U.S.
“We can expect these growing backlogs across Chinese manufacturers and ports to exacerbate imbalances at U.S. and European ports,” an analyst said. “The challenge is less about achieving full inventory—that ship has sailed—and more about adapting to, and planning for, future disruption.”
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Machinery Purchase Plans Affected by Low Inventories
Fewer farmers this month said they planned to increase their machinery purchases than on the August survey. More than half say their farm machinery purchase plans have been impacted by low inventories.
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Legal Focus: Employee Handbooks Play Critical Role
Employee handbooks are essential for compliance and announce employee expectations. See what the Association’s HR attorneys consider mandatory or near-mandatory policies.
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Cyber Anxiety High, Confidence Low Among Execs
Nearly six in 10 executives say they worry about a cyber attack. One in four has been a victim of such an attack–a 150 percent increase since 2015.
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