ASA and the USDA agreed last week to embark upon a partnership in data- sharing.

The USDA said the partnership aims to better protect working lands, predict and prevent natural disasters, and inspire young people to pursue careers in science, math, technology, engineering, and agriculture.

As we’ve discussed in earlier articles, in order to treat an employee as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirement, the employee must (1) meet a salary threshold, (2) be paid on a salary basis, and (3) perform certain “white collar” job duties. Recently, the Department of Labor announced that it intends to restrict this test and reduce the number of employees eligible for exempt status.

The United States Trade Representative, which is part of the White House executive office, has asked the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association to solicit feedback from member companies about trade.

Canada has posted trade deficits every month this year, and the cumulative 2015 total deficit of $13.6 billion is a record, reported the Toronto Star.

Data from Statistics Canada revealed that exports in May were down by six-tenths of a percent over April and 6.7% from the same time last year. Energy exports rose slightly in May although remain significantly down (33.8%) compared to the same time last year.

In 1950, a group of manufacturers visiting their distributors in Chicago at what we know now as the Fall Marketing and Distribution Convention, recognized the need for a common voice that would connect them and represent their interests. That same year, they founded the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association with 46 member companies.

Sixty-five years later, the Association has grown to more than 700 member companies, and our efforts to build coalitions, bring members together, and serve as a common voice for the shortline equipment industry have never wavered.

In this issue, that commitment has us focused on several federal developments, including transportation and tax policy.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster (D) filed a federal lawsuit July 15 against Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, seeking to compel the USDA to accept acreage reports from Missouri farmers beyond the normal deadline.

Your Association membership entitles you to free 30-minute consultations with attorneys on distribution and human resource issues. For details,

Small business groups are sounding the alarm about an obscure IRS rule that excessively fines small businesses.

The rule, an apparent unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act, penalizes employers who do not offer employees a group health plan but give them additional pay to compensate for the purchase of health insurance or cover direct medical expenses.

In the relentless flow of information we process at the Association each week, we sometimes see trends in topics.
The trends are often predictable. When it rains for 18 consecutive days, for example, the news will trend toward planting progress and crop predictions

Hayward Distributing Company has announced it purchased the assets and distribution rights of Ford Distributing, a supplier of specialized agricultural and industrial equipment.

Ford Distributing has supplied several brands to dealers in Ohio and surrounding states since 1976. Its staff will remain in place and continue to operate from its Marysville, Ohio location.

The Far West Dealer Association recently noted the passing of Douglas K. Moore. Moore founded Gearmore Equipment Co. with Bob Giersbach in 1965.

Need more Member Decals?You can help us build membership by displaying these decals on your equipment. Every manufacturing member gets three free rolls of the 2.5- by 1.5-inch decals. If you need more, let us know. Rolls are $12.50 for 250 decals.

Register Early and Save … You can save over $200 on registration for the Fall Marketing and Distribution Convention if you sign up by August 14.

Have News to Share? We hear repeatedly from members that you want to hear more about other members.

Ag Innovator is on the Way – The August issue of Ag Innovator will be mailed next week.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) recently announced completion of one standard, one revision and four new projects…

Lessiter Publications Inc., announced Monday that it bought the assets of Implement & Tractor magazine from Farm Journal Media.

As part of Lessiter’s acquisition of the assets of the magazine, longstanding columnist Greg Petersen, also known as Machinery Pete, will contribute content and analysis for Lessiter Publications.

An Association member company is searching for a national sales manager to direct its sales and marketing department. The candidate must have a minimum of three years of experience in a sales management role, preferably in the agriculture industry.

John Fabick Tractor Company and FABCO Equipment Inc., have combined their family-owned, independently-operated companies.

Barnes County Implement in Wimbledon, N.D. is expected to close by October 1, with nearby Cooper Implement in the process of switching to independent status.

Hollingsworths’ Inc., with Deere stores in Ontario and Burns, Ore., and one in Weiser, Idaho, has changed hands and is now part of Camp Equipment

The economic indicators and percentage declines can feel burdensome, but a recent article from Dave Kanicki, executive editor of Farm Equipment and editor/publisher of Ag Equipment Intelligence, puts today’s economic climate for farmers in perspective.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has filed suit against John Deere, claiming it violated the whistleblower provisions of OSHA.

At the center of the suit is a pipefitter who was terminated in 2012 from Deere’s Moline, Ill., facility. The suit alleges the termination was in response to the pipefitter reporting unsafe work conditions.

The 145-year-old futures trading pit in Chicago, described by the Wall Street Journal as “one of the last vestiges of the swashbuckling era of commodities floor trading,” shut down most of its operation this week.

Last week, on the same day the USDA released its annual acreage report, it announced plans to reassess crops in four states affected by recent volatile weather.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, a division of the USDA, said it will reassess cotton crops in Texas, soybeans in Missouri and Arkansas, and sorghum and soybeans in Kansas.

A New Zealand couple thought they were hearing tales from their son’s dreams when the 3-year-old described a man with a light outside at night. They learned differently recently when, in the pre-dawn hours, their son woke them with an “absolutely gut-wrenching scream,” the mother told stuff.co.nz.

White House officials said last week that the administration will review and update its regulatory process governing genetically modified crops and other biotechnology products, describing the current system as outdated, confusing and unable to “foster public confidence.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 29 that costs associated with the EPA’s new regulations on power plant emissions were too exorbitant to justify in the context of the nominal public benefit the regulations created.

National for-profit insurers appear to be on an anxious mission to consolidate, which will reduce competition and consumer choice, wrote Dr. Scott Gottlieb in a commentary in the Wall Street Journal.
If the Anthem-Cigna merger succeeds, the national arena of big insurers will fall from five to three, which Gottlieb, a physician and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, describes as a “direct consequence of ObamaCare.”

An Association member company is searching for a maintenance mechanic to perform all aspects of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and preventive maintenance on equipment used to manufacture farm tillage implements. The candidate must have at least three years mechanical/electrical/hydraulic experience.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, deciding specifically that the federal government may subsidize health insurance for the poor and middle class.

“While the Supreme Court today ruled in favor of the premium subsidies that make health care more affordable for many Americans, the fact still remains that small businesses are suffering under the financial strain of the HIT. This tax directly correlates to increased health care costs, and more specifically higher premiums, for small business owners, their employees and their families. Congress must take this first step to repeal the HIT before unaffordable coverage becomes the status quo for Main Street.”

U.S. Supreme Court will consider limiting the power of unions who represent government employees to collect fees from employees who are not union members. The teachers want the court to overturn a legal precedent that said unions can require non-members to pay for bargaining costs as long as the fees don’t go toward political purposes.

The Obama administration last week announced a proposed rule that would more than double the salary threshold for guaranteed overtime pay to $50,440. The current threshold is $23,660.

An Association member company is searching for candidates to fill five positions. The rapidly growing company seeks professionals for openings in Washington, Oregon, and Southern California.

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) introduced legislation June 24 to make permanent a 50% depreciation bonus on new equipment and property purchases.

He said the move will encourage investments and economic growth by allowing businesses to deduct half the cost of new purchases immediately, potentially driving reinvestment and growth.

Edwin Eivinsen – Crawford’s of Alberta and served as President of the Farm Equipment Wholesaler’s Association in 1984.

The ingenuity of the American farmer and the agriculture industry is celebrated in an exhibit that opened last week at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Alamo Group Inc. has promoted Brett Lauer to Territory Manager for Herschel Ag Parts, a brand within the group. Lauer has been with Alamo Group, Iowa, for three years, where he has served in customer service and product support roles for Herschel and Valu-Bilt products.

If you are a manufacturer, wholesaler or independent representative selling shortline farm equipment and have been a regular attendee of our annual Fall Marketing and Distribution Convention, the bullet points below are likely all you will need to read of this article before moving on to the rest of the newsletter. The rest of this article will be addressed to members and prospective members who have not attended this annual convention.

Alliance Tire Americas, Inc., recently announced the appointment of five staff members, including Agriculture Product Manager Trent Wallin. – Wallin has for the past eight years been part of the national ag sales team of Tyres 4 U, Australia’s leading independent tire distributor.

Art’s-Way Manufacturing recently released second quarter results. In the second quarter, sales for the company’s Ag sector, its biggest, were $6.4 million compared to $7.6 million in 2014.

AgJunction Inc. announced in June that the company named Michael Manning as its interim Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

These members represent a collective 110 years of participation in the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association. We mark their milestone anniversaries by thanking them—and each of you—for your commitment to the shortline industry and the Association that supports it.

New Holland announced last week that the company has appointed Bret Lieberman to lead the brand as Vice President of North America, effective immediately. Lieberman will be based in New Holland, Pa.

Vermeer Corporation in Pella, Iowa, in partnership with the Iowa State University Research Park in Ames, broke ground last week on the Vermeer Applied Technology Hub – a space that will be shared by students, faculty and Vermeer software engineers, who together intend to advance technology in agricultural and industrial equipment.

Twenty-eight states have filed suit seeking relief from the rule, which becomes effective August 28. The American Farm Bureau, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, and at least 10 other agencies and associations also have collectively asked a federal court to vacate the rule.

Kibble Equipment, Inc. has begun building a 48,000-square-foot building for its Deere dealership in Sleepy Eye, Minn.

Ag-Pro Companies announced last week the acquisition of eleven Deere dealerships in southern Texas.

DO Equipment Co., which is based in Fargo, N.D., has acquired three Deere construction stores in Montana.

A recently released economist’s report on farmland values reveals diminishing worth, although prices differ dramatically from state to state. An unrelated report from a farm-and-ranch real estate company suggests that this year’s harvest may be pivotal in reversing the decline.

Machinery Pete launched a new website last week and announced the appointment of two senior leaders: CEO Kevin Doyle, formerly with Apartments.com, and VP of Sales Bill Weber, formerly with Deere.

Ernie Goss, Creighton’s economist, reported that the farm equipment sales index was 12.5, which repeats a record low from May. This is the 23rd consecutive month that the reading has been below 50.

Topcon Positioning Group announced June 10 that it bought Norac Systems International, a developer of ultrasonic sensing and boom control technology for agricultural equipment. Norac’s product line includes systems to precisely maintain a spray boom height above the top of the crop or the ground to ensure optimum application of fertilizers and plant protection products.

Manufacturer News reported recently that Abe Hughes, who held the top spot at New Holland in North America, is no longer with the company. Brad Crews, chief operations officer for NAFTA at CNH, will assume responsibilities in the interim for the New Holland Agriculture and Construction brands in North America.

Minnesota lawmakers last week approved spending $23 million for several programs responding to the bird flu epidemic and investing nearly $27 million in poultry testing facilities at the University of Minnesota.

Deere has announced a partnership with King Agro, a manufacturer of carbon fiber technology products, to develop and distribute carbon fiber booms exclusively for Deere application equipment.

I have had the pleasure the last few weeks of meeting with the Association’s Board of Directors and leadership of the Associate Supplier Section. The meetings were outstanding opportunities to hear more about the boots-on-the-ground experiences in the industry and to explore how the Association can best be of service to its members in years to come.