Today, I announce my intention to retire as the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association President and Chief Executive Officer effective March 31, 2018. This announcement sets into motion a predetermined plan to select my replacement, which will be executed by the association’s … Continued
Six-axle trucks may transport 90,000 lbs. beginning July 1, 2017 This Legislative session, your Association joined with a coalition of agricultural interests to seek an increase in the maximum gross weight that commercial trucks can lawfully transport in Kansas. Following the … Continued
TOPEKA – (June 27, 2017) – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt released the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement today that it is beginning the process of withdrawing the unlawful “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) Rule: “Kansans … Continued
Supreme Court to Hear WOTUS Case The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear the Waters of the U.S. case. Many industry and agricultural groups asked the Supreme Court to hear the case after the Sixth Circuit … Continued
Marshall named to Ag Committee subcommittees (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Roger Marshall has been named to 3 subcommittees under the House Ag Committee. The subcommittees are Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit; Livestock and Foreign Agriculture; and Nutrition. The jurisdiction of the subcommittees are … Continued
Changes include increased training and minimum age requirements. WASHINGTON—On Monday, December 12, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized new training and certification standards for applicators who apply restricted-use pesticides that are not available for purchase by the general … Continued
FDA issues Video Guidance on New Veterinary Feed Directive The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made available a new video that provides an overview of the agency’s Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) regulation governing the use of medically important … Continued
AG Derek Schmidt: Federal court blocks new Obama administration overtime regulations Nov 22, 2016 TOPEKA – On Tuesday, November 22nd, a federal court in Texas agreed with Kansas and 20 other states that dramatic changes to federal overtime rules are … Continued
WASHINGTON — Brazilian regulators paved the way Thursday for imports of U.S. corn following a short crop, according to industry sources. The National Biosafety Technical Commission, known as CTNBio, met and authorized the outstanding biotech products needed to open the … Continued
The Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association co-authored comments noting concerns with the conclusions, and processes used to reach those conclusions, in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent Draft Ecological Risk Assessment for Atrazine, Propazine and Simazine. The central theme of the comments … Continued
The Kansas Attorney General is fighting what he considers regulatory overreach by the Federal Department of Labor. “Once again, a Federal agency has taken it upon itself to rewrite the law,” said Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt. “We still believe in … Continued
The United States Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will have financial and technical assistance available for fiscal year 2017 to assist producers with the implementation of conservation practices through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). NRCS accepts applications … Continued
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The D.C. Court of Appeals today ruled the Occupational Safety and Health Administration violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act when it issued an enforcement memorandum on July 22, 2015, redefining the “retail facility” exemption to the … Continued
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently addressing changes to the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. DHS recently held webinars on its new Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) 2.0. These webinars were recorded and are available online, here. CSAT 2.0 is expected to significantly improve a … Continued
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is accepting public comments on a proposed pilot program to allow a limited number of individuals between the ages of 18 to 21 to operate commercial motor vehicles … Continued
ST. LOUIS — Bayer and Monsanto have announced that they signed a definitive merger agreement under which Bayer will acquire Monsanto for $128 per share in an all-cash transaction. Monsanto’s Board of Directors, Bayer’s Board of Management and Bayer’s Supervisory … Continued
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska have established an agreement in the longstanding conflict over water from the Republican River basin, as the Republican River Compact Administration signed two resolutions. Representatives from the three states have been meeting monthly … Continued
On May 18, 2016, President Obama announced a new U.S. Department of Labor final rule updating federal overtime regulations. Public and private sector concerns continue to be expressed over this new rule which will increase the salary threshold for mandatory … Continued
In 2015, the Kansas legislature passed HB 2193, creating the Risk Management Program (RMP)as an alternative to the Voluntary Cleanup and Property Redevelopment Program (VCP) administered by the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment (KDHE). Your Association participated in a KDHE … Continued
EPA recently announced it is amending its hazardous chemical inventory reporting regulations due to the changes in the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard. Changes are required as a result of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of … Continued
The Department of Homeland Security issued a notice in the Federal Register last week informing the public of the Department’s intent to begin the implementation of the improved tiering methodology for chemical facilities of interest regulated under CFATS. The notice … Continued
On June 30, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an Interim Final Rule to implement theFederal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act passed last Fall as part of the highly publicized “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015” negotiated between the … Continued
Ivanka trumps everything for FHSU student 07/25/16 By Randy Gonzales University Relations and Marketing HAYS, Kan. — It was a whirlwind week for Kansas’ youngest representative at the Republican National Convention. Tanner Tempel, a Garden City senior agriculture business major … Continued
ASSOCIATION STAFF — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has announced a new policy addressing our members’ number one concern with the Voluntary Cleanup and Property Redevelopment Program (VCP). Many Association members may be familiar with or enrolled … Continued
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published a final rule that amends the agency’s food facility registration regulations to include provisions mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and require additional information to be submitted during the … Continued
TOPEKA – (July 19, 2016) – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt issued the following statement related to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement today that it is dropping efforts to list the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species: … Continued
The Asmark Institute has released dates for its 2016 Emergency Response to Agricultural IncidentsCourse. This hands-on training course is specifically designed for employees working at agrichemical facilities who are expected to respond to a spill or release of a hazardous … Continued
(Lenexa, Kan., June 24, 2016) – The owner of an agricultural fertilizer plant in southwest Nebraska has agreed to comply with federal Risk Management Program (RMP) requirements as part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency related to … Continued
On June 6th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft ecological risk assessment for its registration review of Atrazine. Registration review is EPA’s periodic review of a pesticide to ensure the pesticide continues to satisfy statutory standards. The … Continued
WASHINGTON — A unanimous Supreme Court today ruled landowners may challenge the federal government whenever the Army Corps of Engineers tries improperly to regulate land with regulations designed to protect water. Landowners have attempted many times to challenge Corps rulings known … Continued
On May 17, 2016, Governor Brownback signed into law House Bill 2490, granting the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to quarantine growing crops in the field due to the known presence of biological and chemical plant toxins. This is a … Continued
On Thursday, May 12, 2016, the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association filed official comments on EPA’s proposed amendments to its Risk Management Program regulations for fertilizer facilities. On March 14, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had published proposed amendments … Continued
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The U.S. government said Wednesday that it won’t appeal recent court rulings in Texas that stripped the lesser prairie chicken of federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wild Service said in an … Continued
In separate communications earlier this week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced plans to conduct formal rulemaking to change the retail exemption to Process Safety Management (PSM). In a letter to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which … Continued
KARA testimony before a state water resources task force yesterday advocated for full funding of the state water plan, and offered a proposal to clean up nitrates in ground and surface water by increasing the size of the Kansas Agricultural … Continued
The [Poultry Industry] is concerned about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recent attempts to expand its authority to conduct wall-to-wall inspections of poultry processing facilities whenever they receive notice of any accident or employee complaint. There are legal … Continued
CFTC Reauthorization coming up in Senate Committee Source: NGFA On Thursday, April 14th, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts has announced that the committee will meet to mark up a bill reauthorizing operations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The … Continued
Last summer, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) stated its intention to require ag retailers of anhydrous ammonia to comply with Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations. While state and federal ag industry associations continue to push back on … Continued
On Thursday, February 25th, the USEPA announced that it will soon release proposed amendments to its Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations. These regulations are otherwise known as USEPA’s Accidental Release Preventionregulations under section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). … Continued
The Kansas State University Crops Team recently captured the title of national Collegiate Crops Contest champion for the seventh year in a row. K-State teams have now won this contest in 14 of the past 17 years. To win the … Continued
The below article was written by James C. Greenwood, CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and published on October 16 in The Hill. KARA Staff Note: The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 was introduced by Kansas’s forth district Congressman … Continued
KARA received the following member alert from the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) on October 21 and is sharing with members: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration yesterday announced it would extend its discretionary enforcement policy for Process Safety Management until … Continued
The ResponsibleAg Board of Directors on October 9 announced the selection of Bill Qualls, CPEA, as the organization’s new Executive Director. “We are thrilled to welcome someone with Bill’s experience and skills as Executive Director,” said J. Billy Pirkle, Chairman … Continued
Kansas has asked a federal appeals court to either put the EPA’s new water regulation on hold or send the case back to a district court judge for a decision, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said on September 10. For months, … Continued
On September 8, The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) joined the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) in sending a letter to OSHA requesting an extension to the Process Safety Management (PSM) compliance period for agricultural retailers. The letter follows a July decision by … Continued
Source: Asmark Institute Process Safety Management (PSM) is an OSHA standard that until recently did not apply to most retailers. To comply, one must first understand the definition of a process. A process is any activity or combination of activities … Continued
Your Association Office received the following memo from the Kansas Department of Agriculture regarding their new Intent to Install policy and would like to share it with our members: We are changing the policy on the submission of intent to … Continued
The Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA) has chosen the following five Kansas students to receive college scholarships for the 2015-2016 school year: Brittany Duer, Abilene – to study Agronomy at Ft. Hays State University Carley Hockett, Ulysses – to study … Continued