This year, during our Welcome Reception, we will offer a chance for supplier members to increase their visibility by becoming Key Reception Sponsors. The benefits include having their company name/logo featured at one of our serving stations or at the bar. Also, as guests enter and exit the reception, they will see signage with sponsors’ names and logos.

The Supplier Section Board has an opening for a new director. At the governors’ January board meeting, Chairman Gary Esterling, of ABT Bearing, appointed Johnny Mills, of Bondioli & Pavesi, Inc., to serve as the Nominating Committee Chairman. Other nominating committee members are still being appointed.

AGCO and Russian Machines Corporation announced they have completed a deal to begin operations of “AGCO-RM” for production of agricultural equipment.

The joint venture began in March 2013, when the two companies signed an agreement to establish mutually owned Russian manufacturing and distribution businesses. While competition approvals were being sought,

Social media is more than a trend; it is a phenomenon that can help make or break an individual business or revolutionize an entire industry. But far too often, presentations on social media focus on the technical aspects of using the latest tools, but fail to tell business owners and managers how to actually use them as part of an effective sales and marketing strategy. The Social Media General Session on Friday, March 20, at the 2015 Spring Conference in Charlotte, NC, will explain how you and your company can use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and other Social Media to enhance your exposure, expand your reach, boost sales, and increase profits.

Ag Innovator’s 2015 Winter issue is now available online at FarmEquip.org/AGI.

To subscribe to either the print or electronic edition, go to the Association website’s home page and click on “Manage Your Subscriptions” in the left column.

• Bridgeport Equipment & Tool
• James River Equipment
• Bane-Welker Equipment, LLC
• Marion Equipment
• Altorfer Ag Products

USDA announced it expects agricultural exports to decline modestly in 2015 and ag imports to continue record growth. Exports will decline about 5% this year from the record $152.5 billion in 2014, while imports rise from $110 billion in 2014 to a record $119 billion in 2015, the agency forecasts.

Foreign economy projections are mixed. While China continues to grow faster than other major markets, it no longer sees double-digit growth. Japan, long a strong market for U.S. agricultural commodities, has again slipped into recession. European economies are mixed. And, while the U.S. dollar has strengthened somewhat, it remains relatively weak enough to keep U.S. export markets in positive territory.

If you are a purchasing or buying agent, no matter how long you have been in the business, the Purchasing Track sessions at the 2015 Spring Conference in Charlotte, NC, have something for you. The Purchasing Track program features two workshops on Contract Topics and Issues for Buyers and Purchasing Agents and Inventory Control and Supply Chain Management.

Swiftly expanding trade ties with Cuba, the Obama administration this month opened the door to easier travel and a wide range of new export opportunities with the island country. The Commerce and Treasury departments unveiled new rules last week permitting U.S. citizens to visit Cuba without special permits, poking a large hole in America’s 54-year embargo.

Canadian agriculture is more resilient, and ready to take on more new opportunities, than ever before, according to J.P. Gervais, Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) chief agricultural economist.

Beef and pork were the main drivers behind the 2014 increase—good news for producers who saw unprecedented high prices for cattle and hogs. The markets suggest cattle will trend slightly higher in 2015, while hog prices will ease from recent highs.

A federal mediator is now involved in the West Coast port labor dispute that has slowed down shipments of agricultural products, according to agweb.com.

The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents shipping companies, said West Coast ports are facing “complete gridlock,” with few ships going in and out. Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have been working without a contract since July 1, 2014. The PMA accuses union members of intentionally slowing down trucks at the ports, while the union says shippers have cut workers’ shifts.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) recently announced the recipients of its 2015 AE50 Awards for outstanding innovations, and several Association members’ products appear on the list. Please join us in congratulating the following Association members who received the 2015 AE50 Award:

With the new U.S. Congress convening and two Texans heading the U.S. House Ag Committee, you might expect Texas cotton producers to be optimistic about ag-related legislation during the coming year. But not so, according to the Seminole Sentinel.

With tax season upon us, the Internal Revenue Service requires us to remind members that a small portion of members’ dues payments are not tax deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense, as it represents this Association’s ongoing lobbying activities on behalf of our members.

Our accounting firm has notified us that, for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014, 14.81% of the total amount of dues paid is non-deductible.

Marriott and the American Hotel and Lodging Association are asking the FCC to give hotels the green light to remotely disable the Wi-Fi devices that some exhibitors use to connect their laptops and tablet computers to the Internet through cellular services.

We are especially pleased to have secured an engaging and inspirational keynote speaker for Friday, March 20, who is sure to captivate attendees with accounts of his experiences and his insights.

Michael Waltz serves as a senior national security fellow with the New America Foundation and president of Metis Solutions, a defense and intelligence contracting firm that provides strategic analysis, policy development, intelligence support, and foreign commercial development to U.S. Government and corporate customers worldwide. He is also a cofounder and partner in an international consulting firm, Askari Associates, that provides strategic advice and consulting services to foreign governments and private industry.

At midnight on Dec. 31, the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act expired (TRIA), ending a financial backstop for private insurance companies and yanking out the foundation of the terrorism-insurance industry. Businesses and insurers were left vulnerable, waiting for action from the new Congress to reauthorize the terrorism act.

The suit to block the Board’s “ambush elections” rule was filed in the D.C. Federal District Court and follows successful litigation to reverse a similar rule that was unlawfully promulgated by two members of the NLRB.

We simply cannot allow millions of workplaces and tens of millions of Americans to be ambushed by this. . .

Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. of Iowa announced it will acquire John Deere Insurance Co. and John Deere Risk Protection Inc. No purchase price was disclosed. Deere’s CEO Sam Allen asked the company’s board to cut his 2014 cash bonus by 25%. The board honored Allen’s request, reducing by . . .

“If Cuba resumes purchases of U.S. wheat, we believe our market share there could grow from its current level of zero to around 80% to 90%, as it is in other Caribbean nations,” said Alan Tracy, President of U.S. Wheat Associates in a joint statement with the National Association of Wheat Growers.

U.S. small-business lending never quite regained the ground lost during the Great Recession, research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland finds.

The data shows the volume of small loans, those under $1 million, dropped significantly between 2008 and 2012. The Federal Reserve study reports small commercial and industrial loans grew only . . .

One of the best and most popular aspects of the Spring Conference and Supplier Showcase is the diverse line-up of plant tours offered to attendees. On Wednesday afternoon, March 18, the 2015 Spring Conference in Charlotte, NC, will offer three exceptional tours that allow participants to learn about some of the region’s most interesting manufacturing operations.

With demand increasing across the West, Colorado is drawing up a strategy to keep some of the trillions of gallons of water that gushes out of the Rocky Mountains every spring—most of which flows downstream to drought-stricken California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

On several states’ dockets are bills that could affect the agriculture industry. Missouri introduced a bill in the House and Senate to change the laws regarding weight limitations for vehicles hauling livestock or agriculture products on state highways. Washington state introduced legislation to make farmers who use manure as fertilizer subject to the same regulations as dairies that produce the manure.

Michigan State University Extension recently announced its decision to dissolve the 35-year-old annual Michigan Ag Expo. Last year’s show drew . . .

First, as reported in PR Newswire, Trimble acquired the privately held IRON Solutions, Inc. of Franklin, TN.

Second, according to DTN/The Progressive Farmer, the company received an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration, allowing it to fly its. . . .

BP Plc announced plans to close down its U.S. cellulosic operation by the end of the first quarter of 2015. The company is exploring options to sell its demonstration plant in Jennings, LA; a technology center in San Diego; the Highlands feedstock farm in Florida; and some activities in Brazil, Houston or London.

Alliance Tire Group (ATG) inaugurated a new 54,000-ton-per-year factory in Dahej, in the Indian state of Gujarat, according to a company news release.

The $150 million factory will manufacture off-highway tires for global markets.

The January 2015 issue of Ag Innovator will ship later this week. Watch your mailbox for it, or visit FarmEquip.ord/AGI after Jan. 15

Buhler Industries reported its third quarter sales reached the third-highest sales level in the company’s history. Revenues for 2014 were $325.5 million, surpassed only by the records it set in 2012 and 2013.

A specialty tillage implement manufacturer seeks a highly motivated person to manage its engineering team.

• Titan Machinery Inc. third quarter results

• Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc. recently provided an update on its search for a new CEO.

• RDO Equipment new location in Hawley, MN.

• Bane-Welker Equipment, LLC announced its purchase of The Equipment Store

• Cervus Equipment Corp. to acquire the assets of Deer-Country Equipment Ltd.

• Vetter Equipment officials announced the company’s purchase of Madsen International

• Johnson Tractor Inc. has acquired W.G. Leffelman & Sons,

• Jenner Inc. has completed the purchase of Tri-Co,

• Blueline New Holland’s three Nova Scotia dealerships acquired by Stu Rath and John Lynn

• Padula Brothers announced plans to open a location in the Connecticut River Valley

• Archbold Equipment Co. named Zach Hetterick CEO of the six-store Case IH dealership complex.

This month we thank the following companies for their membership in, and continued support of, the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association. We look forward to having these companies, and yours, as members for many more years.

Rabobank predicts that U.S. beef prices will reach record levels and production will post another 2-3% decline in 2015, following a 5% decline in 2014.

U.S. cow slaughter was down 14% in 2014 due to aggressive herd rebuilding, which is expected to continue into 2015, reduced beef availability is expected to continue driving market prices up.

When the Washington state legislature convenes this month, one of the proposals up for debate will be a plan to make farmers who use manure as fertilizer subject to the same regulations as dairies that produce the manure, the Yakima Herald reported.

A program proposed by the state Department of Agriculture would license manure applicators and require farms to develop application plans and keep records as a way to protect surface water and groundwater from pollution, which can occur when too much ma

U.S. manufacturing growth slowed in December, with continuing delays at West Coast ports being cited as a contributing factor, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Comments from companies surveyed indicated a widespread negative impact on imported materials shipment due to the West Coast dock . .

The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2015 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck are:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) vetoed a politically charged bill that would have banned the use of certain pig crates in his state, reported The Des Moines Register.

Christie called the bill opposing gestation crates a “solution in search of a problem” and “a political movement masquerading as substantive policy.”

A manufacturer of agricultural pumps and equipment seeks a Technical Sales Representative to join its sales team.

Appareo Systems announced it will enter a joint venture with AGCO Corp. to develop technology for advanced machine control systems, according to PrairieBizMag.com.

The venture expands on Appareo’s Intelligent Agricultural Solutions (IAS), business structure, founded by Barry Batcheller and Howard Dahl, that initially created wireless blockage and flow monitors and depth control for beet harvesting equipment. AGCO bought 50% of IAS, buying out Amity Technology Co., for which Dahl serves as president.

This month we thank the following companies for their membership in, and continued support of, the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association. We look forward to having these companies, and yours, as members for many more years.

Effective Jan. 1, 2015, a revised Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule expands the list of severe work-related injuries that all covered employers must report to OSHA.

The revised rule retains the current requirement to report all work-related fatalities within eight hours and adds the requirement to report to OSHA all work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and loss of an eye within 24 hours.

Article titled “Howard Dahl Sees Significant Opportunities and Risks in Russia,” which was based on a presentation Mr. Dahl delivered at the Association’s Fall Convention in Las Vegas, should have been attributed to Lessiter Publications’ Ag Equipment Intelligence

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will not finalize 2014 volume standards under the Renewable Fuel Standard program before the end of 2014.

The proposed rule, issued in November 2013, generated a significant number of comments, particularly on the proposal’s ability to ensure continued progress toward achieving the law’s renewable fuel targets.

• Ohio Ag Equipment, a division of Ohio CAT and an authorized AGCO and CLAAS dealer for the state of Ohio, announced it will acquire

• 21st Century Equipment LLC announced it will acquire Frank Implement Company’s

• Henry S. Miller, past president of Far West Equipment Dealers Association, recently passed away

Bankers are worried about the drop in farm profits and the repayment capacity of their borrowers, said professor emeritus and ag banking consultant David Kohl at the American Bankers Association National Agricultural Bankers conference held in Omaha in November, reported The Progressive Farmer.

An experienced Director of Business Development with agriculture and commercial experience in business planning, and forecasting seeks an opportunity to lead a sales and marketing team.

Professional experience includes:

The U.S. House of Representatives last week voted to pass a one-year extension of more than 50 tax breaks that expired at the end of 2013, including the Section 179 provision allowing a full depreciation deduction of up to $500,000 on most equipment and machinery in the current year. The “bare minimum” measure was the only option left to the House following an Obama veto threat of a deal that would have made certain provisions permanent.

The Obama administration is expected to soon release a contentious and long-delayed environmental regulation to curb ozone emissions, reported the New York Times. The sweeping regulation, which would aim at smog from power plants and factories across the country, particularly in the Midwest, would be the latest in a series of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) controls on air pollution from smokestacks and tailpipes.

State Rep. Charlie Davis filed legislation this week that would protect employees who don’t give their bosses their passwords. If passed as is, the bill would prohibit employers from firing or disciplining workers who don’t give them access to their online accounts. It also would prevent employers from holding it against job applicants who refuse to disclose their passwords.