Members of the Association who hold product liability policies with Sentry Insurance that expired in December should have received dividend checks from the company recently.

Steel importers are winning most of their requests for tariff exclusions for products they say they can’t find in the U.S., but the process is riddled with inconsistencies and frequent procedural changes, according to manufacturers and importers.

Are you disappointed in the frequency with which Facebook shows your ad? You may be able to improve your delivery by checking your placements. The more placements you have, the more social platforms can optimize ad performance.

American manufacturers are paying 17.2 percent more than their foreign competitors for hot- and cold-rolled steel. They are responding by shifting production overseas, cutting domestic capital investment, and importing more finished products.

Registration is open for the 2019 Supply Summit & Showcase in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The meeting is April 3 to 5 at the Kingston Plantation.

Congressman Collin Peterson was elected chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture last week. He cites farm bill implementation and the “growing economic storm in farm country” among pressing issues.

Among data featured in the 2018 Business Profile & Financial Performance Survey was gross margin. Member companies who responded to the survey saw reports comparing their results to other companies, and they used those results to evaluate pricing strategies and efficiency of their operations.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts will not seek reelection in 2020. Roberts has worked on eight farm bills, and he’s the only lawmaker to chair both the House and Senate Ag Committees.

Weak commodity prices contributed to reduced revenue for Buhler Industries’ fiscal year. Revenue was down by 7.5 percent.

A professor of electrical and computer engineering at Iowa State University is building tiny sensors to attach to plants that will allow farmers to monitor the movement of water from soil to roots to leaves.

The IRS has issued the optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business in 2019.

Deere has launched a collaboration initiative with start-up technology companies. The initiative tests technologies with customers and dealers without a more formal business relationship. Starts-up based in Nigeria, Israel, and California are among participants.

Farm Equipment dealers who responded to a survey from Ag Equipment Intelligence felt a bit better about inventories at the close of 2018 than they felt the previous month. The percentage of dealers who reported their new and used inventories as “too high” declined.

E-commerce for ag is coming. So says Todd Janzen, an ag tech attorney, in his year-in-reverse blog post. “I’ve heard all the reasons why e-commerce and ag retail don’t mix—-no customer support, hard to return items, etc.,” he wrote, “but Kmart and Sears said the same thing when Amazon started selling books.”

Kubota Tractor Corp. has appointed Haruyuki “Harry” Yoshida as president and CEO of Kubota Tractor Corporation and Kubota North America, based in Grapevine, Texas.

Buhler Industries has appointed Adam Reid as vice president of sales and marketing.

With American companies stocking up on imports from China in preparation for the holidays, and U.S. exports slipping because soybean sales have collapsed, the U.S. is on pace to record the largest annual gap between imports and exports since 2008.

Dan Zehnder will be the new vice president of the North American sales organization for the whole of Agrisolutions.

The release of a farm bill conference report late Monday sets the stage for both chambers of Congress to vote this week and send the legislation to President Trump by week’s end. The compromise does not stray too far from the 2014 law.

The latest issue of Ag Innovator magazine should have arrived last week. In case yours landed on someone else’s desk, here’s a peek at what’s inside.

The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers released Tuesday a redefined rule that rolls back the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S.

Farm equipment dealers on average saw sales decline slightly in October, according to the latest Ag Equipment Intelligence “Dealer Sentiments & Business Conditions Update” report. Dealers who carry shortlines or a manufacturer other than the five listed in the survey saw the strongest sales growth in October.

– Titan Machinery reports 10.1% increase in revenue
– JD Equipment announced it will sell its assets to Ag-Pro Ohio LLC
– Cervus buys Red Deer-based Deermart Equipment Sales
– Rocky Mountain Dealerships today announced the resignation of CFO David Ascot
– Rueter’s Equipment in Albert Lea, Minn., closed in November

Month-to-month numbers on the Ag Economy Barometer remain relatively stable. The number of farmers who say now might be a good time to make large long-term investments such as equipment has been rising since September.

Deere released its fourth quarter earnings report in November.
The company’s agriculture and turf sales rose 3 percent for the quarter and 15 percent for the year.

American companies that import products are paying record amounts in customs duties as more tariffs take effect. In October, more than 2 percent of federal receipts came from tariffs, the most in at least two decades.

Representatives of some of the largest farm and food groups in the U.S. sent a message to trade leaders on Monday: Move quickly in negotiations with Japan. The Asian nation is the fourth largest foreign market for U.S. farm goods.

A tech startup in Silicon Valley has drawn about $8 million in seed money to fund creation of a driverless tractor, and it’s inviting pilot customers to try the tractor.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will sponsor seven trade missions in 2019 to expand export opportunities for U.S. producers.

Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, is forecast to decrease by 12.1 percent from 2017 to $66.3 billion in 2018.

A Deere executive says a global shift toward local production in African nations has accelerated opportunities for equipment sales. In Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, food production is projected to add more jobs than the rest of the economy combined through 2025.

If you think you are reaching fewer customer prospects through your organic Facebook feed, you are right. One way to counter the trend is to spend money, but how well does it scale? If you increase your ad spend, is it a given that you will increase leads and win customers?

In a speech to the Illinois Farm Bureau, Secretary Sonny Perdue talked trade and thanked farmers for enduring hardships and understanding the long game. “I think it’s because you’re people of the land and you understand you can’t plant corn in August and harvest in October. You know you’ve got to do things in order.”

The Association thanks each of these member applicants and long-time member companies for being part of our work to serve as resource and advocate for the shortline industry. Membership matters.

Members who participate in the 2019 business profile will learn how their expenses compare with others in the industry. In the meantime, take a look at the dramatic difference between direct labor costs at our biggest and smallest companies.

Manufacturers of U.S.-made products, hoping to capitalize on President Trump’s aggressive stance on China, are calling for tougher action against companies that make bogus “Made in the USA” claims.

Nick Jensen, president of Thurston Manufacturing and the recently elected president of this Association, intends to strengthen the organization by strengthening the work of its committees.

In the always present threat of data breaches, tokenization is a tool that protects customer information by replacing information on cards with a random set of numbers, letters, and symbols.

Chinese officials last week prepared to restart imports of U.S. soybeans, the first sign that progress made during a conversation between the U.S. and China would lead to action. Details continue to take shape.

The Ag Economy Barometer rebounded in October to a reading of 136—a 22-point increase in the index compared to September and a level nearly equal to a year ago. Producers’ views with respect to making farm investments improved in October, but they remain cautious.

The USPS has proposed new postage rates beginning January 27, subject to approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Greg Pellegrom from Sentry Insurance will retire at year’s end. He has been with Sentry for 37 years and a standout adviser and resource to the Association and its member companies for 30 years.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released the preliminary top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations for 2018. Topping the list: fall prevention.

Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc. and Cervus Equipment Corp. recently released earnings reports. Garrett Ganden, president and CEO for Rocky Mountain, said the company continues to execute its growth strategy.

The percentage of firms that purchase cyber insurance has increased 40 percentage points since 2011, including a 10-percentage-point uptick from 2017 alone. Smaller companies are joining the moving far more slowly.

Sales numbers among farm equipment manufacturers appear strong in a series of third-quarter earnings reports. See highlights from AGCO, Kubota, CNH, Alamo Group, and Valmont.

Rocky Mountain Equipment soon will sell used farm equipment from a U.S. dealership. Rocky’s CEO said the timing is right in the industry for such a move.

After six years of consecutive population loss, rural America is growing, according to the USDA. The most significant increases are in rural communities considered scenic or located near urban areas.

NIck Jensen from Thurston Manufacturing will lead the Association in 2019. See who will join him in shaping the direction of the organization that serves as voice and advocate for shortline manufacturers.