The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) announced the completion of three standards projects related to power take-off drive shafts and related equipment.

The new standards are:

Revision ANSI/ASABE S604.1, Safety for Power Take-off (PTO), PTO Drive Shafts, and Power Input Connection (PIC) for Agricultural Field Equipment

Adoption with deviations of ISO 5673-1:2005, ANSI/ASABE AD5673-1:2005, Agricultural tractors and machinery — Power take-off drive shafts and power-input connection — Part 1: General manufacturing and safety requirements

Rod Neier, President and CEO of Roto-Mix, LLC, announced several promotions and organizational changes within the company. Mark Cooksey was promoted to Vice President of Operations, Kelly Wittman was promoted to Director of Manufacturing Operations, and Angus Snyder was promoted to Director of Materials Management.

Also, Roto-Mix hired Doyle Bacon to serve as Technical Services Manager, and Kevin Zahrt, Director of Wholesale Operations, will assume responsibility for the company’s marketing activities, field quality and training.

The Association continues to provide free listings on its website (FarmEquip.org/Surplus) for our regular members to advertise for sale their surplus supplies and equipment. The only limitation is that items offered cannot be lines the company normally sells.

Just email to surplus@FarmEquip.org the information you would like us to post, and we will do the rest.

For example, here is a new listing:

Cotton futures tumbled after China, the top cotton consumer, revealed it will slash import quotas, amid reforms aimed at reversing the country’s build-up of huge inventories of the fiber.

Declines in cotton contract prices followed the announcement by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) that the country will issue just 894,000 tonnes of levy-free import quota for 2015, the minimum permitted by agreements with the World Trade Organization

The editors of Farm Equipment magazine have announced that the focus of its every-other-year 2015 Dealership Minds Summit (a unique conference and networking event for dealership managers) will center exclusively on “The Next Generation” of management & ownership transitions within farm equipment dealerships. Open to professional equipment dealers, the event will be held January 13-14, 2015 at the Historic Hilton Netherland Plaza in downtown Cincinnati.

The Western Equipment Dealers Association announced its Board of Directors, effective Sept. 1, 2014.

Cameron Bode, South Country Equipment, Emerald Park, SK, has been elected president, and Scott Eisenhauer, P&K Equipment, Enid, OK, has been designated vice president. Bode will lead the seven-member board of directors, which is responsible for managing the association’s budget and programs.

The National Labor Relations Board increasingly sides with employees who insult and curse at their employers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In several recent cases, NLRB seemed to condone profanity and insubordination among U.S. workers, as it ruled in favor of those who were fired after cursing at their employers or supervisors.

The USDA predicts that Brazil’s pork exports will soar 20% next year, and beef shipments will reach an all-time high, spurred by Russia’s quest to replace supplies it forfeits by banning imports from the U.S. and the European Union.

The increases will reflect the boost to Brazilian trade from Moscow’s decision to ban for a year shipments from many Western powers in retaliation for sanctions they imposed over the Ukraine crisis.

Titan Machinery Inc. acquired certain assets of Midland Equipment, Inc., consisting of one agriculture equipment store in Wayne, NE, which expands Titan’s agriculture presence in the state. In its most recently reported fiscal year, Midland Equipment, Inc. generated revenue of approximately $4.5 million.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of an omnibus agriculture bill will stand after the House’s attempt to block his veto failed by one vote.

SB 506 began as a bill for dairy farmers and contained the “Missouri Dairy Revitalization Act of 2014.” One main provision was a subsidy to help dairy producers pay for federal insurance.

Earlier this year, the Senate Finance Committee approved a handful of tax extenders, including two-year reinstatement of the $500,000 section 179 expensing level for small businesses. Then the entire House approved permanent restoration of section 179 to the $500,000 level. But now the Senate committee’s proposed package has stalled in the full Senate, waiting to come up for a vote.

Since 1975, Sentry Insurance Co. and the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association have worked together to provide products liability coverage to farm equipment manufacturers and wholesale distributors.

Sentry Insurance Co. announced this week an average dividend of 10% for product liability insurance participants whose policy expired in the 2014 calendar year. Due to the tiered dividend program, those in their first year with their policy expiring in 2014 will receive 3.5% of their premium as a dividend. Those in the program for two years will receive a 7.1% dividend, and those in the program for three full years will receive a 10.6% dividend.

Many employers routinely require mid to upper level employees to sign noncompetition agreements, and those can create a variety of problems for the employer and employee. Some states, such as California, oppose noncompete agreements, according to The Howe & Hutton Report. They “blue-pencil” overly restrictive noncompetes, striking or revising certain provisions, while others throw out such agreements in their entirety.

We were pleased to see the Wisconsin Department of Transportation issue a clarifying rule earlier this month that allows farm equipment with rubber tracks to operate on state roads.

While the law passed earlier this year contained nothing new regarding tracks, some confusion arose due to media reports regarding the use of tractors and wagons with tracks in the state. Wisconsin Towns Association Executive Director Richard Stadelman issued a statement to the press, asserting that “tracked vehicles are not legal to operate on Wisconsin highways.” However, he did not site any statue that prohibits their use.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts record crops this year for corn and soybeans, the two largest U.S. crops in terms of production. Barring a devastating freeze or torrential rains before the harvest ends, corn production is projected at 366 million tonnes and soybeans at 106.5 million tonnes, reported Yahoo!News.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has initiated a revision to ANSI/ASAE S343.3, Terminology for Combines and Grain Harvesting.

The standard, which contains terminology pertinent to grain combine design and performance, improves communication among engineers and researchers and provides a basis for comparative listing of machine specifications. Last updated in 1990, the standard is being revised to align terminology with currently used practices.

A producer of tillage tools, poultry house maintenance tools, and peanut harvest equipment seeks an International Sales Manager. The position is responsible for all activities related to international sales and marketing.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has initiated a project to revise standard ASAE S207.12, Operating Requirements for Tractors and Power Take-off Driven Implements. The revision will included adding Type 4 PTO specifications and updating the reference documents and standard format.

Massey Ferguson, a tractor brand of AGCO, and Woods Equipment, an implement and attachment brand of Blount International’s Farm, Ranch, and Agriculture Division, announced they have entered into an agreement to pair their respective products.

Our Tillage Product Council landed two superb speakers for its Tuesday afternoon council meeting during our Fall Convention.

Ron Heck will discuss “Calories—Global demand for food produced in the U.S. and how the American farmer should plan accordingly.” Mr. Heck served as President of the Iowa Soybean Association during the development of the 1995 Farm Bill and chaired the Public Affairs Committee of the American Soybean Association during the development of the 2002 Farm Bill. As Chairman of the American Oilseed Coalition, he represented the North American oilseed industry during the WTO Ministerial Talks in Cancun in 2003 and Hong Kong in 2005.

Your best bet: Book with us now! We are starting to run short on the rooms for which we have contracted at $99 per night, and those same rooms are currently listed at $187 on the Rio’s website.

Bumper crops of corn and soybeans may strain rail logistics and export loading capacity further during the autumn, the council said. Also, railcar demand for petroleum and related products continues to rise. If barge and rail freight operators give priority to energy products, grains storage capacity might come under pressure during the peak harvest season . . .

Canadian wheat growers will probably reduce output by 26% this year, and canola production also will fall, the government’s statistics agency said in late August.

Wheat production will drop to 27.7 million metric tons from a record 37.5 million in 2013, Statistics Canada said in a report, and the country’s canola harvest will fall 23% to 13.9 million tons. Analysts had forecast 14.8 million.

The EPA sent the proposed final rule for the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review, and urged the Administration to finalize it as quickly as possible, according to AgriMarketing.com.

“The original EPA proposal and continued delays have severely disrupted the U.S. biodiesel industry this year,” said Anne Steckel, The National Biodiesel Board’s (NBB) Vice President of Federal Affairs. “We can begin to reverse that damage with a meaningful increase in the biodiesel volume…so that producers can ramp up production in a timely fashion.”

Due to continuing rains, wheat farmers are experiencing the slowest spring crop harvest on record, reported Agrimoney.com.

While the U.S. Department of Agriculture rates 74% of the corn crop and 72% of soybeans as “good” or “excellent,” rainfall has taken a toll on the condition of spring wheat, with a mere 63% rated good or excellent.

Fred P. Hochberg, Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank) recently visited Ace Pump Corporation’s headquarters in Memphis, TN, to discuss how the bank helps small businesses create American jobs by expanding exports. The visit was part of a 28-city tour by Chairman Hochberg and other Ex-Im Bank officials.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) informed the McDonald’s Corporation that the Office of the General Counsel will allow the company to be named as a joint employer of workers at its franchise-owned restaurants. This decision resulted from numerous unfair labor practice charges filed by union-backed groups against franchisees that included the corporation as a charged party.

U.S. farmland prices fell for a ninth successive month, amid worsening agriculture sector sentiment that has sent conditions in the farm machinery market to the worst in at least nine years, Agrimoney.com reported.

An index compiled by Creighton University showed farmland prices in major farming states such as Illinois, Iowa and Kansas at 41.4 for August, below the 48.3 points recorded for July, and the 50.0 mark that indicates a neutral market.

If you have not already done so, now is the time to start making plans for our Fall Convention in Las Vegas, which opens in less than eight weeks.

With executive registrations for this meeting running far ahead of prior years’, we increased the number of rooms reserved for our attendees. Still, we have fewer than 70 rooms remaining at the special rate of $99 per night. While it’s unlikely Las Vegas will run out of rooms during our meeting, we have talked with several members who noticed airfares are moving higher and some flights are already shown as unavailable.

Please note the following adjustment to the schedule:

“Because we compete as an independent brand in an industry dominated by iconic brands like John Deere, our avenues of distribution are limited,” Miller said.

“We make a world-class product that I would put up against any other machine in our industry, but we have struggled to expand our market presence because 99% of farm equipment dealerships carry their major lines of Case IH, John Deere and Agco,” he added. “Continuing to operate as a small niche player was not a viable long-term strategy, so we proactively sought out this partnership with CNH.”

Rather than slashing costs, small businesses are now spending more on new plants and industrial machinery, trucks, computers, office equipment and furniture, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Among 798 small private firms with less than $20 million in revenue, 51% said in August that they planned to increase their capital spending in the next 12 months. That is a record high, and it is also up from 42% a year ago, according to the survey by WSJ and Vistage International, an executive-advisory group.

This month we thank the following companies for their membership in the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association and their continued support. We look forward to having these companies, and yours, as members for many more years.

A sponsorship is one of the best ways to stand out and leverage your participation at the Fall Convention. If your company sponsors a speaking program session, a refreshment break or a reception, your personnel can take this opportunity to network with fellow attendees and display or distribute marketing materials.

Deere & Co. announced it will lay off approximately 460 employees at the company’s Waterloo, IA, reported AgriMarketing.com. This pushes Deere’s job cuts in Iowa to 1,000 when combined with layoffs announced earlier for plants in the Des Moines and the Quad Cities areas.

When Deere announced third quarter earnings on Aug. 13, the company said it needed to reduce agricultural equipment production for the balance of the year to respond to “current market demand for its products.”

A Dearborn-area Ford Motor Company worker filed federal charges against the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and the company for violating his rights, according to a news release issued by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

Todd Lemire, a 16-year Dearborn Tool & Die plant worker, filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in August.

During his Fall Convention presentation on Thursday afternoon, Howard A. Dahl will deliver an update on developments in Russia and Ukraine and their impact on American agriculture and manufacturing.

Mr. Dahl is President and CEO of Amity Technology, LLC. He serves on the Board of Directors of University of North Dakota’s Center for Innovation and the Board of Regents for the Russian American Institute. He also is a Director and Past Audit Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Last week in Emmetsburg, IA, baling wire was cut to signify the grand opening of a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, reported the Sioux City Journal. The plant is the first of three such facilities under development in the Midwest, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administrator.

The venture, dubbed Project Liberty, is a $250 million partnership between Royal DSM, a Dutch biotechnology company, and Poet, a Sioux Falls-based ethanol maker. It is expected to produce

Valmont Industries, Inc., a provider of engineered products and services for infrastructure and mechanized irrigation equipment for agriculture, announced that it acquired a majority interest in South Dakota-based AgSense. The acquisition further extends Valmont’s offerings in remote monitoring and control technology for agriculture.

On Nov. 1, 2014, Jason will assume the role of President and Chief Operating Officer; one year later, he will transition to the role of President and CEO of Vermeer Corporation. He currently serves as President of Forage and Environmental Solutions.

The Association invites executives and guests to attend a special meeting planning session during the annual Fall Marketing and Distribution Convention.

In this roundtable discussion, the convention committee, office staff, executives and guests will share their ideas for future meetings.

While much has been written about the divide between agriculture’s producers and consumers, several recent examples have struck a nerve.

In our last newsletter, we encouraged support for passage of the Right to Farm amendment to the Missouri Constitution. Later we viewed election results from across the state in what had become a closely contested election. Most rural voters seemed to understand the need to protect the use of modern farming methods and supported the proposal. However, two out of every three voters in metropolitan areas voted no, with 74% of City of St. Louis voters—the highest rate in the state—telling farmers “Hell no!” with their no votes.

Ag Growth reported its trade sales and adjusted EBITDA reached record highs in the three and six months ended June 30, 2014, as favorable crop conditions in North America and continued investment in ag infrastructure lead to robust demand for on-farm and commercial grain handling, storage and aeration equipment, said Marketwatch.com.

During the past six months, dozens of sources have reported that the sprawling Ogallala Aquifer beneath the Great Plains, which provides about 30% of the ground water used for irrigation in the U.S. and drinking water to more than 1.5 million people between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River, is being depleted at an alarming rate.

To address these issues, the speaking program at the Fall Convention will include a presentation by Paul Wenger, President of the California Farm Bureau Federation and a third-generation farmer, and Daniel Berc, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for NOAA’s National Weather Service. Mr. Berc graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.S. in Meteorology and worked as a forecaster in Riverton, WY, before joining the National Weather Service in 2007. Since 2012, he has served as NOAA’s Warning Coordination Meteorologist in Las Vegas, focusing on weather hazard mitigation, warning services and emergency communication. During the special session starting at 2:45pm on Wednesday, Nov. 5, Berc will talk about national and regional weather trends, and water storage, use and conservation.

Former Beall Manufacturing and Cutting Specialists, Inc. executive Norm White passed away on August 14. Norm had represented both companies in a variety of positions before retiring in 2008. He often served as the companies’ representative at trade shows, mower council meetings and conventions, besides calling on many FEMA members as a salesperson.

Joint Opening Session will feature keynote address by Rick Barry. This Hall of Fame forward is the only player to lead the NCAA, NBA and ABA in scoring. Inspired by his raw talent, drive, determination and staying power, EMDA invited Barry to talk about his remarkable career, share what he’s learned and tell us how we can apply his success secrets when working towards goals in our own businesses and lives.

Earlier this month, Alamo Group reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. Net sales for the quarter were a record $206.3 million, compared with net sales of $178.1 million for the previous year, a 16% increase. The majority of the increase was driven by sales from recent acquisitions, primarily the units of Specialized, which Alamo acquired in May this year. Excluding acquisitions, net sales for the quarter increased 3% to a record $182.7 million.

A sponsorship is one of the best ways to stand out and leverage your participation at the Fall Convention. If your company sponsors a speaking program session, a refreshment break or a reception, your personnel can take this opportunity to network with fellow attendees and display or distribute marketing materials.

Landoll Corporation’s new parts building is now in operation just west of the company’s North Street administration building. Landoll, which has 13,500 part numbers, will use the facility to store thousands of parts for equipment that the agricultural and industrial manufacturer has produced.

We will hold our annual business meeting during the general session that begins at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014, during the Fall Convention in Las Vegas, NV.

Following the keynote address, we will convene the meeting, elect new directors, and transact other Association business, including voting on our Board of Director’s proposed revisions to the Association’s bylaws.

The joint membership of SouthWestern Association (SWA) and Canada West Equipment Dealers Association (CWEDA) voted to move forward with a merger of the two associations, forming the Western Equipment Dealers Association (WEDA), according to a joint news release issued by both entities. The associations’ members ratified the merger resolution with a 99% approval rating.