As of April 30, sales of equipment in Deere’s agriculture and turf division were down by 5 percent for the first half of the fiscal year. Comparing quarters, sales were roughly the same. A news release from Deere says that the six-month decline is largely the result of lower shipment volumes.

In April, our Association, with the endorsement of the Board of Directors, accepted an invitation from the National Association of Manufacturers to join an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Bobby Warren Pence of Hi-Light USA in Memphis died in April. He was 56. Pence is survived by his wife, Lynne O’Malley Pence, a daughter, a son, and brother Terry Curtis Pence, with whom he began Hi-Light.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers has released information about several standards.

Farmers in South Carolina were hit with two feet of water in October. The state’s governor has vetoed a bill that provided funding to recover, suggesting farmers shouldn’t be singled out from other flood-affected businesses. The House has approved an override of the veto, and the Senate is expected to follow.

Do you know someone who would make a good addition to the Association’s Board of Directors? Paula Kaster from Kasco Manufacturing will lead the committee to nominate candidates for the board. Find out how the process works.

Are you affected by regulations related to the Clean Water Act? Get in touch. We want to tell your story.

Brazil’s Senate voted last week to suspend its president and put her on trial. The interim president appointed the country’s largest soybean farmer as the new agriculture minister. The ag industry is among Brazil’s strongest sectors as the country battles a financial crisis.

Rocky Mountain Dealerships report that in the company’s first quarter, used equipment inventory declined by $10.9 million, or 3.8 percent. Total revenues declined by 14 percent to $189.5 million.

Meat and livestock prices are likely to fall further in North America in 2016, according to Tyson Foods. Lower feed costs, however, will support profit margins.

The legal battle over water quality in Iowa will not make it to trial this summer. The judge, who was reassigned to the case in February, cannot honor the August trial date set prior to his assignment.

Numbers from the USDA tell us that as of Sunday, 75 percent of corn had been planted nationwide, which is up 11 points from a week ago. This time last year, about 82 percent of corn was in the ground.

A Supreme Court decision means that cities and states that increase the minimum wage must treat franchises as offshoots of brand parents rather than independent small businesses.

Kubota Corporation announced Friday that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc.

Roy Applequist, who founded Great Plains in 1976 and remains chairman today, will continue on the leadership team to assure a seamless transition.

“My plan is to play a significant role in helping Great Plains become a vital part of the Kubota family,” Applequist said. “Great Plains’ leadership position in the agricultural implement business has been earned by striving to do our best in satisfying our customers’ needs, and we are confident that teaming up with Kubota will allow us to continue to uphold this tradition.”

Look who’s celebrating an anniversary! These companies represent a collective 90 years of Association membership.

President Obama last week signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act, which allows companies to file suit in federal court over allegations of trade secrets theft.

Trade secret theft was already a federal crime, but without the right to sue in federal court, companies had to seek redress amid a patchwork of state laws.

Loftness Specialized Equipment, an Association member since 1980, is celebrating 60 years in business. See the company’s story at FarmEquip.org/Loftness.

Reports filed in the federal lobbyists registry show communications in April between federal officials and groups such as the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Chicken Farmers of Canada, Egg Farmers of Canada, Soy Canada, the Canada Seed and Trade Association, and dairy associations from three provinces.

Buhler Industries reported its sales revenue for the most recent quarter was up, but for the first half the fiscal year, sales are lagging.

Agribusiness executives have another tool to measure the health of the U.S. agriculture economy—this one seeking input from growers.

Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, in partnership with the derivatives marketplace CME Group, have launched the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, a monthly economic indicator report that underscores the importance of the ag economy to the U.S. and global economies.

We communicate today through channels that are one step removed from personal interaction. I wonder if as we rely more on text and email, we compromise our skills to listen.

Along the same lines, with so much information available to us from digital sources, are we prone to wrongly assume that everyone is operating with the same information we are? And does that ultimately diminish the quality of our face-to-face conversations?

The Association staff and I are determined to renew our focus on listening, and we start with this newsletter.

First, I want you to know what we’ve heard recently, beginning with the Spring Conference. In visiting with a wide section of members, we learned that to reach most of you, we need to cast a wide geographic net from the upper Midwest to cities like San Antonio, Charlotte and even an occasional beach location like this year’s event in Clearwater, Fla.

AgJunction, on the heels of acquiring Novariant, reports first quarter gains compared to the same quarter last year.

A massive fire destroyed a Titan Machinery building in Milbank, S.D. earlier this month.

Greg Cole, CEO of AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, shared this thought recently at an ag conference: A Purdue University study showed that “good times last five to seven years. Not so good times last 10 to 12 years” in agriculture.

Have you ever wondered what they talk about in the Towed Implement Product Council meetings? Here’s your opportunity to learn.

You should have received your 2016/2017 membership directory by now. Please check your listing. If you’d like to make changes, you can update the digital directory today.

The Association will again this year provide free copies of the ASABE standards CD to regular members who do not have access to an ASABE membership. The CD is a $549 value.

Farm equipment dealers tell Ag Equipment Intelligence and Cleveland Research Co. that sales are down and inventories are high. Take a look at highlights from the April report, which reflects dealer sentiments gathered during the last two weeks of March.

Dockworkers and shipping companies at U.S. West Coast ports are officially considering extending the five-year contract they agreed to last year, according to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, who met with the two groups in Los Angeles.

The parties have not agreed to an extension but rather agreed to consider it. Still, the news brings relief to manufacturers and retailers.

S3 Enterprises in Swift Current, Saskatchewan is celebrating the accomplishments of several employees who’ve recently completed professional training.

Through the Canada-Saskatchewan Job Grant program and S3’s Employee Education Allowance, employees have pursued professional training at no personal cost.

The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index for April fell unexpectedly from March’s weak reading, according to the monthly survey of bank CEOs.

After increasing for two straight months, the Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI), which ranges between 0 and 100, sank to 38.2 from March’s 40.2.

AGCO announced last week its net sales for the first quarter of 2016 were $1.6 billion, a decrease of approximately 8.4 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

Sales in North America were down by 11.6 percent. Sales in South America fell by 21.2 percent. AGCO reported a 19.4 percent gain in Asia/Pacific, and a 4.2 percent gain in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The U.S. House easily passed legislation last week to help businesses seeking tariff relief. The bill is designed to comply with the congressional ban on earmarks.

The bipartisan Miscellaneous Tariff Bill legislation overhauls the process for reducing or eliminating tariffs on imported inputs and products not available in the U.S. or in short supply

Digital advertising revenue surged in the U.S. to a record-breaking $59.6 billion in 2015, a 20 percent increase over last year’s record-breaking numbers, the Interactive Advertising Bureau said in a report prepared by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Advertising on mobile devices drove the surge, growing by 66 percent to $20.7 billion in revenue. Social media ad revenue grew by 55 percent to $10.9 billion.

The U.S. Department of Labor is expected to lower the salary threshold in its forthcoming final rule related to overtime pay. The new threshold, $47,000, would double the current threshold.

The overtime salary threshold is the level at which virtually all salaried employees who earn that amount or less qualify for time-and-a-half pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week.

This is the Association’s sixth year of publishing the magazine, and with each issue, the publication more firmly establishes itself as a resource and valuable benefit of membership.

You likely recently received the Spring 2016 issue of Ag Innovator magazine. It includes insights into how to:

Start-up company Carbon3D Inc.is developing a 3-D printing method that manufacturers, including Ford Motor Co., say shows greater promise than existing methods. It’s expensive, so it’s early uses may be in customized products like parts for airplanes.

But, a startup backed by Alphabet Inc.’s Google Ventures is developing a different 3-D printing method that some manufacturers, say shows more promise. Carbon3D Inc.’s printers project light continuously through a pool of resin, gradually solidifying it onto an

More than ever before, cyber crooks are targeting small businesses, according to law enforcement and cybersecurity experts. Mom-and-pop businesses are getting hit, and it’s pushing many entrepreneurs to the verge of bankruptcy.

An EPA-funded public relations campaign in Washington state takes aim at farmers.

The billboards and other promotional materials juxtapose photographs to suggest farmers are polluting waterways and killing fish. Federal lawmakers are demanding answers.

The FBI and USDA say criminals may steal farm-level data in bulk to track, even anticipate, crop availability and pricing. The data may also be vulnerable to ransomware or “hacktivists,” individuals who destroy data to protest, for example, the use of GMOs.

Lawmakers in South Dakota are experiencing the ripple effect of low commodity prices. As farm equipment sales dip, the state collects fewer sales tax dollars.

Sales tax collections on farm equipment peaked in South Dakota’s 2014 budget year at an estimated $43.9 million. Collections fell to $33.6 million in 2015.

An estimated 45.3 percent of American households—roughly 77.5 million households—pay no federal individual income tax, according to data for the 2015 tax year and the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington-based research group.

Taking a broader look, the wealthiest 20 percent of Americans pay the most in income taxes, paying nearly 87 percent of all the income tax collected by Uncle Sam. in 2014, the top 20 percent earned an average of $134,300 a year.

The National Agri-Marketing Association named Dan Fanger, vice president of sales and marketing at Unverferth, its 2016 Marketer of the Year.

U.S. lawmakers recently passed legislation strengthening legal protection for companies’ trade secrets, including manufacturing processes.

The House voted 410-2 to approve the “Defend Trade Secrets Act.” The Senate unanimously passed the measure earlier in April.

Association members have asked to learn more about the work of committees and councils. This submission from Jeff Welsch, chairman of the Rotary Cutter Council, is part of that information-sharing process.

Council AdThe Association’s Rotary Cutter Council includes manufacturers of rotary cutters and suppliers of rotary cutter components. The council meets every year at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville and the Association’s Fall Convention.

The primary focus of the council is to

As of this writing, the only thing standing between the Vermont legislature’s effort to interject its will on what language should be required in a private business agreement between manufacturers, distributors and independent dealers, is the lack of agreement between the House and the Senate on which version of bad legislation to send the governor.

The Vermont Legislature should rethink its further intrusion into private business and not rush a decision with so few days left in the 2016 session. Any proposal needs the proper time to be considered, and lawmakers should table this issue. (Click for More)

The status quo, while not ideal, will serve Vermont until voters of this state have their say in November.

Account Manager (Job #116) Company seeks an individual to sell and market forged, formed and machined steel components.

Marketing Manager – Ag Equipment (Tractor/Implement) (Job #115)
Looking for someone to promote and support all aspects of his or her assigned product lines, develop marketing strategies, train and support dealers, and gather, maintain, and communicate information about competitive products.

Test Engineer (Job #114) Executes field test plans, reports test outcomes, supports field test technicians, and follows up on field-related issues.

Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture and the derivatives marketplace CME Group are partnering to produce the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, a monthly nationwide measure of the health of the U.S. agricultural economy.

April survey results
The agricultural sentiment of U.S. producers increased to 106 in April 2016, which was an improvement in producer sentiment compared to the base period of October 2015 through March 2016.

Noteboom Implement and Hultgren Implement will merge on July 31.

BayWa Ag of Munich, Germany, and Claas, which is based in Harsewinkel, Germany, plan a cooperative venture in Canada