An Association member company has introduced a policy to monitor its drug tests after learning that someone recently used urine made in a laboratory to beat the test. The incident provided a wake-up call to how prevalent the problem is.

Companies market the fake urine using names such as XStream and Quick Fix Synthetic Urine. They list purposes for the product such as animal repellent and “curative powers,” but language in their communications suggests otherwise:

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay Oct. 9 against the Waters of The United States rule, or WOTUS. The rule is on hold throughout the U.S. until the court can resolve pending legal questions.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Topcon Positioning Group a Section 333 exemption to operate its Falcon 8 rotary-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS) in the United States.

Highlights from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ Ag Flash Reports.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) was in Marysville, Kan., last week to visit Landoll Corporation and discuss policy priorities for business and the freight railroad network in Kansas.

CEOs of rural banks who participate in a monthly survey on the economic health of their communities indicated continued angst in the 10-state region surveyed.

Creighton University, which leads the assessment and reporting, released results for October, which reveal that the farm equipment sales index has declined to a record low, falling to 10.8 this month from September’s 14.2.

A recent move by Kinze Manufacturing, Inc., won the approval of other employers in Eastern Iowa. The company hosted a job fair to assist employees who were laid off during a reduction in force.

A worrisome piece for shortliners in the Affordable Care Act has been corrected. President Obama signed into law recently a measure that makes the ACA expansion of the small group health insurance market optional for states. The market had been slated to expand to businesses with between 51 and 100 employees, Politico reported. Both the House and the Senate passed the fix earlier this month.

Grain carts built by J&M Mfg. Co. make an appearance in a video that is approaching nearly 30,000 views on YouTube.

The carts are used in a wheat-and-barley harvest captured in an under-five-minute video titled “Harvesting Along the Edge in Central Montana.”

Elections in Canada… Speaker of the US House…. Baseball. I have been reminded several times recently how little control we have over issues that affect us in this industry, in our members’ businesses, and in our personal lives. The best we can do is stay informed, plan for multiple scenarios, and react quickly to changes.

In Canada, for example, the political landscape changed dramatically this week when voters elected Justin Trudeau and a clear majority from the Liberal Party of Canada. While Canadians as a whole chose a liberal government, much of rural Canada—the agricultural regions of the country, in particular—chose to send Conservative MPs back to Ottawa. An acquaintance tells me that if the election had been held a week earlier, it is unlikely that the Liberal Party of Canada would have won such a clear majority.

An Association member company is searching for a national sales manager to direct its sales and marketing department.

AgJunction Inc. announced last week it has completed a merger with Novariant, Inc., which had been announced in March.

The USDA reported that as of Sunday, 59% of U.S. corn is harvested, which is slightly ahead of the 54% five-year average.

Seventy-seven percent of soybeans are harvested, compared to 68% typically for this time of year; 96% are dropping leaves, matching the normal pace.

Deere has formed a partnership with the Colorado-based DN2K, which stands for Data Into Knowledge. The companies have together formed SageInsights, with Deere owning a majority stake, aiming to optimize use of the data farmers gather through their equipment.

Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc., in Salina, Kan., and SureFire Ag Systems, Inc., of Atwood, Kan., have announced a cooperative marketing agreement regarding Great Plains’ Nutri-Pro line of fertilizer application equipment.

SureFire Ag manufactures and installs fertilizer application systems, which currently mount as an accessory to Great Plains Nutri-Pro bars. With this agreement, Great Plains will continue to design and build Nutri-Pro machines, while SureFire Ag will provide and install customized plumbing application systems for each machine. Both companies feel the agreement capitalizes on their expertise.

After several years of rising row crop prices, a “perfect storm” of economic conditions has emerged that may position the industry for new alliances among the majors and an uptick in acquisitions of smaller manufacturers and specialty lines.

Rabobank Group, a worldwide bank that in the Americas offers expertise and strategic counsel to the farming and agribusiness industry, released a report in September titled “Contraction Today, Consolidation Tomorrow?”

Digi-Star has announced that Kevin Klubertanz has been appointed as president of Digi-Star and RDS Technology. Klubertanz is charged with further integrating the Digi-Star and RDS business and to work collaboratively with the other Topcon agriculture businesses.

Caterpillar announced recently it plans to cut as many as 10,000 jobs. The cuts are part of a restructuring plan in response to what the company calls “a convergence of challenging marketplace conditions in key regions and industry sectors—namely in mining and energy.”

The Traverse City Record-Eagle shared a bit of news recently about a business in Williamsburg, Mich., that hinted at bigger issues in the industry. The business, Classic Farm Equipment has shifted its inventory from agricultural equipment to lawn and garden and land management.

Trade ministers from a dozen countries convened in Atlanta last week and, after five days of round-the-clock talks, reached agreement on the biggest trade deal in a generation.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pact among the U.S., Japan, Australia, Vietnam and eight other countries around the Pacific—though not China—lowers trade barriers for goods and services ranging from poultry to building materials, and sets commercial rules for two-fifths of the global economy.

KMW Ltd., of Sterling, Kan., and Wilhelm Stoll Maschinenfabrik, of Lengede, Germany, have announced a global strategic alliance for the engineering, manufacturing, and sales of front-end loaders used in agricultural and professional applications.

Deputies in Barton County, Kan., fired 18 rounds into a Case IH combine earlier this month to disable it and end a slow-moving police chase.
The man driving the combine allegedly stole it from a cornfield near Ellinwood in central Kansas. A call to 911 reported a reckless combine on the road, swerving from

The North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) announced that it has rebranded the association in order to communicate that the association is evolving, engage positive perceptions, and draw attention to the renewed focus of the organization.

Research from the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte predicts as many as 2 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2025, up from initial estimates of 600,000. Add to that a whopping 77 million members of the Millennial generation entering the labor force, and what do you get?
Scott Stone, Director of Marketing for Cisco-Eagle, Inc., posed this question in a column he wrote at manufacturing.net.

His response: an opportunity to revitalize the manufacturing sector with a renewed emphasis on technology, innovation, and digitization.

Millennials, ages 18–32, are expected to take over 75% of work over the next decade. This shifting demographics will alter the manufacturing landscape, he wrote, and he offers these tips to prepare.

On its own YouTube channel, the DOL posted a video called “Start the Conversation.” It’s clearly pro-union, although it does not use the word “union.” It’s meant to help draw attention to the White House Summit on Worker Voice (the video includes a link to the White House’s page for the summit). – Video –

Camoplast Solideal, a Canadian company specializing in components and assemblies for manufacturers like Deere, AGCO, Case IH, New Holland, and Claas, changed its name this summer to Camso.

The Broyhill Company was featured on a two-minute piece on Manufacturing Marvels, a show dedicated to spotlighting American manufacturers and products. Among Broyhill’s products are agriculture sprayers. (video)

Vermeer Corporation has introduced a program designed to give peace of mind to farmers shopping for pre-owned machines: Job Ready.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has completed the national adoption of ISO Technical Specification 28924:2007 Agricultural machinery—Guards for moving parts of power transmission—Guard opening without tool.

This identical adoption, designated ASABE/ISO TS 28924:2007 SEP2015, provides safety requirements for the design and construction of guards that can be opened without a tool and that shield the moving parts of power-transmission machines used in agriculture.

Any Association member who manufactures equipment that may be towed on public roadways is invited to participate in the Towed Implement Council meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Fall Convention in Kansas City.

The feisty and passionate John Ratzenberger is looking forward to meeting members of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association. He chatted with Shortliner this week to offer a quick preview of what we’ll hear in Kansas City.

Ratzenberger tells his audiences: “If every actor, celebrity and sports hero disappeared tomorrow, our families would be sad, but that’s about it. But if every machinist, welder, and fabricator disappeared, our civilization would grind to a halt.”

The U.S. international trade deficit in goods and services increased to $48.3 billion in August from $41.8 billion in July (revised), as exports decreased and imports increased.

Exports decreased to $185.1 billion in August from $188.8 billion in July. Goods were $124.5 billion in August, down from $128.5 billion in July.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece on employees who keep trying to boot the United Farm Workers, but California’s labor board won’t allow it. This excerpt offers a good sense of the pro-union tactics at work in this case.

“In the tradition of the Obama administration’s pro-union shenanigans with the National Labor Relations Board, California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) has teamed up with the United Farm Workers union to shake down workers at the state’s largest tree-fruit grower. Gerawan Farming, a third-generation family farm in Fresno, is trying to fend off the attack.

Art’s Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. has announced its financial results for the quarter ending August 31. The company’s consolidated corporate sales for the period were $6,886,000, compared to $11,585,000 for the same periods in 2014, a 40.6% decrease for the quarter.

The EPA and Justice Department have announced a settlement with Tractor Supply that resolves allegations that the company imported and sold more than 28,000 . . .

United Auto Workers voted this week to ratify a six-year contract with Deere & Co., deciding that a modest pay bump and increased job security outweighed increases in their medical costs, the Des Moines Register reported.

Some Michigan farmers are being forced to leave crops to rot in the field for lack of available harvest laborers. The Detroit News calls the problem shameful and blames bad immigration policy, which it says could be easily fixed if Congress would stop fighting about immigration and start adopting sensible regulations.

October has long been a standout month for membership. It is the month of the Fall Marketing & Distribution Convention, the event upon which the Association was built and the event which continues to rank among members’ most valued benefits.

This October is marked not only by a long list of anniversaries but a number of members with remarkable longevity.

This is what gives the Association such strength. When we can bring together shortliners with a 60-year history in the Association with shortliners who are new to membership and perhaps rookies in the industry, we can bring together the wisdom and energy that can lead to great things.

To these members, and to each of you, thank you for being part of Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has begun a four-part series examining deaths related to farm accidents.

The series—Tragic Harvest—is based on a comprehensive analysis of records from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, death certificates in Minnesota, more than 100 interviews with people who lost a loved one or co-worker in a farm accident, and investigative reports from sheriff’s departments, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, and the Minnesota State Patrol.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials will receive a $1.3 million national grant to conduct research on how agricultural implements impact the state’s bridges. DOT applied for and received a grant from the National Academies of Science Transportation Research Board “to get a better understanding of the nature of the fleet of vehicles out there.”

A spokesman for Deere & Co. said recently the company will not engage in conversation about the political situation in Russia but intends to continue cooperating with

Lessiter Publications Inc. announced last week it has changed its corporate name to Lessiter Media Inc., to better reflect the evolution of its print, digital, and in-person content offerings.

Cattle prices fell to a 16-month low in Chicago last week and may continue to drop amid circumstances that suggest meat packers are deliberately slowing purchases.

Members of the Association who hold product liability policies with Sentry Insurance will again receive a dividend check. Sentry has announced a 10% dividend share for product liability policies expiring in 2015.

Dividends are tiered. First-year policy holders will receive 3.6%. Second-year policy holders will receive 7.1%. Policy holders who have been with Sentry for three years or more will receive 10.7%.

Vernon Schmidt, the Association’s Executive Vice President, said that when a member and policy holder faces a claim, Sentry excels in its response.

“The most important test of any insurance program is how it responds when claims occur,” Schmidt said. “Sentry’s knowledgeable and experienced claims professionals have a proven record with our members of delivering fast and fair settlements. Its claims professionals understand the unique exposures that farm equipment manufacturers face and are committed to providing fast and fair claims resolution.”

Brandt Tractor Ltd., part of the Brandt group of companies, invited the public inside a newly built facility earlier this month. The company moved to a new location in Saskatoon after 23 years at an industrial park in this Saskatchewan city.

If you are a shortline manufacturer, you or someone else at your business has received an email asking you to participate in a survey about this Association.

If you have not yet responded, you will receive a fourth email Thursday.

A legal battle involving manufacturers of farm equipment and equipment dealers has reached the New Hampshire Supreme Court. It is the newest development in a dispute over a state law introduced in 2013.

FAA has granted permission to use a paper airplane conversion kit for commercial aerial photography. . . “abandoned all logic and sensibility” with its exemption for the paper airplane conversion kit.

Researchers exploring the damage done by corn earworms and the difference bats can make shared a big number recently in Science magazine.

The USDA has trimmed its yield and production estimates for the U.S. corn crop, which is still expected to be the third-biggest on record.

The department now projects a national yield of . . .