Organic food sales in the U.S. have grown from $3.4 billion in 1997 to $45.2 billion in 2017. Last year’s sales were up 6.4 percent year-over-year, well above the 1.1 percent growth in the overall food market.

Koenig Equipment, KanEquip, and JD Equipment have announced recent acquisitions.

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill last month to modify provisions regarding livestock transportation in response to regulations creating a hardship on livestock haulers.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has initiated a project to replace an ASABE standard on combine harvesters with a parallel ISO standard. ASABE also has completed a revision of Part 3 of the standard series to improve air-quality systems of agricultural cabs.

A Minnesota woman at a music festival was having a good time with friends when she saw a truck with a big exhaust pipe and thought, “Hey, my head could probably fit in that.” It did, but she couldn’t get it back out.

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer for May was the highest barometer value since January 2017. While producers express more optimism about the future, that optimism has not yet shaped their thoughts regarding buying farm equipment.

The turnover rate among drivers at the nation’s large truckload carriers was 20 percentage points higher in the first quarter of this year compared to 2017. An economist characterized the drive to find qualified drivers as a “tremendous challenge” that could “threaten the entire supply chain.”

Lessiter Media has reported that John Deere informed its dealers this month that it is partnering with Norwood Sales Inc., on a compact disc. Deere will introduce a new vertical tillage tool as well. The products will be introduced to dealers in August.

An Italian manufacturer of diaphragm pumps for agriculture announced last week it has acquired a 95 percent stake in member company Ace Pump Corp. CEO Andy Randle will retain a 5 percent stake in Ace Pumps.

AGROdeviate has acquired W&A Mfg. Co. The purchase includes the entire line of W&A products as well as the manufacturing facility in Pine Bluff, Ark., where operations will continue.

R & R Engineering Co. posted a record setting 20.5 percent growth in May for client shipments, breaking a 49-year record.

If you participated in the Association’s benchmark survey in April, you should have received your results. The data not only points out your company’s strengths and weaknesses but provides tiers of information that point you toward what levers to pull to implement change. The Board of Directors has authorized a second year of the data collection as a service to members.

GT Mfg. was among only 25 companies in the U.S. to receive the President’s “E” Award. It is the highest recognition a U.S. entity can receive for exporting.

Just as American manufacturing hits its stride, the sector faces challenges such as a wave of retirements, an absence of skilled workers to succeed those retirees, and an opioid crisis that is concentrated in manufacturing regions.

Tonutti Wolagri has announced a plan to consolidate and increase its presence in France, Switzerland and Belgium by signing an agreement with Promodis for the sale and promotion of its machines in those countries.

Factory activity picked up in May after a two-month slowdown. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 58.7 in May from 57.3 in April. The May reading beat economists’ expectations.

As we welcome three new companies as member applicants this month, we acknowledge a few stand-out members that have been with the Association practically as long as the Association has existed.

In the past several years, China’s state-backed steel manufacturers have been shutting production at home and expanding overseas, fueled by tens of billions of dollars from Chinese state-owned lenders and funds. Chinese steel companies have signed agreements to build plants in Malaysia, Pakistan, India and elsewhere. The move doesn’t eliminate U.S. tariffs, but it lowers them.

Titan Machinery’s chairman and CEO says the first quarter establishes the “foundation for stronger top and bottom line results in fiscal 2019.”

Farm commodities continue to get caught in trade tensions between the U.S. and China. In an earlier announcement on tariffs, China levied additional taxes on American fruit, nuts, pork and wine. Also affected were soybeans, corn, wheat, rice, sorghum, beef, poultry, fish, and vegetables. The newest list includes dairy, alfalfa and seafood.

This month, we look at the Tillage Council, which chairman Brad Nelson says “brings together many different opinions and perspectives that allow us as manufacturers to get a better view of what is happening” in the industry.

Canada’s foreign minister has pledged North American Free Trade Agreement talks will continue into the summer. Asked for her opinion on reaching a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Canada—an idea President Trump has floated—Chrystia Freeland said it would be hard to implement.

The Senate farm bill passed out of committee last week and is expected to be debated on the Senate floor the week of June 25. As of Tuesday, votes on two immigration bills still stood in the way of the U.S. House giving a second try at passing its version of a farm bill.

Deere has filed a lawsuit claiming Precision Planting and AGCO Corp. made or sold products that infringe on its patents. AGCO responded by saying the allegations are “without merit” and will be “vigorously disputed.”

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates last week and signaled that two additional increases were on the way this year. In February, Lessiter Media’s Farm-Equipment dealer surveyed asked respondents if they thought a modest interest rate increase would affect customers’ equipment purchasing decisions. Sixty-four percent of respondents said it would.

In the ‘largest ever divestiture required by the United States,’ Bayer agrees to sell its cotton, canola, soybean, and vegetable seed businesses as well as its digital farming business.

Deere says it will raise its prices after missing second-quarter profit estimates amid higher freight and raw-material costs. The company’s sales costs shot up by 35 percent, and it expects input costs to be higher than its previous estimate.

In an effort to build consensus, the House has scheduled the next farm bill vote for June 22. Leadership intends to use the intervening days to tend to issues such as immigration that cost Republican votes during the last attempt to pass the bill.

CNH Industrial has announced that its consolidated revenues for the most recent quarter rose by 17.1 percent. Net sales for agriculture equipment increased by 15 percent.

A tight labor market is leading to delays and rising costs for companies that use trains and trucks. Railroads and trucking companies can pass increases on to their customers, but it can be harder for customers, which creates a drag on profits. One company reported an 8 percent increase in freight costs in its first quarter, which took $2 million off its bottom line.

Although NAFTA talks stalled earlier this month, there’s an indication of progress. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland is heading to Washington in an attempt to rekindle negotiations on the agreement and seek permanent exemptions on steel tariffs.

Elton Malish, founder of K&M Manufacturing Co., Inc., in Taylor, Texas, died April 29. He was 79.

With the ratio of unemployed people to open jobs at virtually one-to-one, the job market would be expected to tilt in favor of workers and job-seekers. But the sharp jump in openings has not led to a comparable jump in pay.

Ag Growth reported profit of roughly $4.95 million for its most recent quarter compared to $5.13 million in 2017. Trade sales improved significantly in 2018, rising from $154.7 million in 2017 to $214.1 million this year.

The Trump administration says it will finalize by June 15 a list of $50 billion in Chinese goods subject to new 25 percent tariffs. Meanwhile, shipments from the biggest U.S. West Coast ports to Asia have accelerated as companies anticipate restrictions.

Joe Pesaresi, part of the second generation of family leadership at Winamac Coil Spring, died May 16. He was 71.

The DOL said it plans to “clarify, update, and define regular rate requirements.” And, it plans to issue a proposed rule on the subject in September. The agency’s plans to change the current overtime exemption regulations have been postponed to January 2019.

Buhler Industries saw a decline in its sales revenue for the second quarter and a greater net loss compared to 2017. The company expects sales to decrease in 2018.

The countries that have filed preliminary complaints with the WTO seek to pressure the White House to withdraw the metal duties by specifically targeting U.S. goods that are produced by voters in states that sent Trump to the White House.

The distinction is awarded to companies that excel in key performance categories, including quality, cost management, delivery, technical support, and wavelength.

The Association takes seriously the privacy of member data and how that information is shared. This was our practice long before last Friday, when the European Union started enforcing its newest regulations on internet privacy.

Jon Kinzenbaw, CEO and chairman of the board for Kinze Manufacturing Inc., received an honorary doctorate degree from Iowa State University in May.

Supreme Court held last week that employers can enforce class action waivers in arbitration agreements. Watershed decision good news for employers – confirms they can use arbitration agreements to avoid class and collective actions of employment claims.

Great Plains has restructured its Agriculture Division and doubled its sales regions. In addition to moving from two to four regions, the plan includes an expansion of staff. Take a look at who’s been hired.

Drug use by the American workforce remains at its highest rate in more than a decade. Researchers say the data reveals shifting patterns of drug use, with cocaine and amphetamines use surging in some areas of the country and marijuana use rising sharply in states with newer recreational use statutes.

Republican senators say President Trump will allow year-round sales of renewable fuel with blends of 15 percent ethanol as part of an emerging deal on the federal ethanol mandate. The blend is currently banned during summer months.

The number of the most serious workplace injuries and illnesses fell by 1.5 percent in 2017, but their cost, including medical and lost-wage payments, increased by 2.9 percent.

In 1994, people 55 and older represented 11.9 percent of the labor force. By 2024, that percentage is expected to increase to 24.9, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Experts see good news and bad news in this trend.

The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index rose to 56.3 in May, its highest level since July 2013. The May farm equipment-sales index climbed to 43.8 from April’s 37.8. A year ago, the farm-equipment index was 26.8.

Since the publications first started asking the question in 2011, Ag Equipment Intelligence and Farm Equipment magazine have heard the same answers from farmers about why they try new brands.