Effect of New Regulations & Standards on Shortliners

The upcoming Indianapolis, Fall Convention, October 22-25, will feature a panel discussion on the effects of new regulations and standards on shortliner equipment. This important panel discussion will focus on two major issues, which will both impact much of the farm equipment your company manufactures in the decades to come.

Federal Lighting & Marking First, the panel will update attendees on the federal lighting and marking requirements which were inserted into legislation providing funding for the federal highway system. While great handouts, which include these standards, will be available to attendees, the panel’s focus will remain on how manufacturers and their associations need to respond to the U.S. Department of Transportation during the final rule making process.

State Regulation Next, the panel will then move to state regulation of farm equipment as our focus shifts to the Implements of Husbandry Study in Wisconsin. The panel will look at the process which brought about the study, the change of direction in August and where things stand now.

The session will conclude with a discussion on what action our members and the Association need to take in Wisconsin, and how any restrictions with regard to height, length, width, and weight are likely to have an impact on other states in the region.

Panel members will include John Fisher with Alamo Group, Greg Pellegrom with Sentry Insurance, Nick Yaksich with AEM, Scott Cedarquist with ASABE and questions from our President, Andrew Cummings and Dave Kanicki, with Lessiter Publications.

Here’s more about our featured panel speakers.

Dave Kanicki – joined Lessiter Publications in 2005, and is currently executive editor of Farm Equipment, Ag Equipment Intelligence, Rural Lifestyle Dealer and Precision Farming Dealer. He has visited a “few hundred” farm equipment dealerships throughout the U.S. and Canada during his time with Farm Equipment.		John Fisher – We are pleased to have a longtime Association member and industry leader, Fisher, join this panel. While Fisher’s degrees are in agricultural engineering, he has a great understanding of the real-world issues shortline manufacturers deal with on a daily basis. Fisher is deeply committed to the development of excellent standards for our industry.
Greg Pellegrom – After several years in industry Pellegrom joined Sentry Insurance in 1981. Since 1987 he has worked in Sentry Insurance’s National Accounts department in Stevens Point, WI specializing in Safety Consultation and assisting participants in the Sentry/FEMA insurance program in the area of Product Safety and Liability prevention. He is a consultant to FEMA’s Risk Management Committee and has helped author numerous publications distributed through the committee’s efforts.		Scott Cedarquist –Through the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Cedarquist’s regular attendance at our meeting and his assistance to many of our product councils over the last decade, have earn him the trust and respect of all who know and work with him. Since joining ASABE, he has worked to maintain and strengthen the 100 year old standards program for agricultural, food and biological systems.
Nick Yaksich – Vice President of Government and Industry Relations for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Yaksich has been recognized as one of CEO Update’s top lobbyists of 2013. His efforts with the Coalition to Save our GPS led to the defeat of a bid by Lightsquared to build a broadband network that would have potentially interfered with GPS use on construction and agriculture equipment.