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26 May

Posted at 06:26h in Advocacy
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On Thursday, May 21st, the Kansas legislature returned for one final day of business in 2020. Through 24 straight hours of debate and deliberation, conference committees met and assembled multiple bill packages. The Legislature was initially scheduled to return for a full veto session in April. That date was postponed, however, in response to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the truncated timeframe with which the legislature had to conduct its final business, Leadership limited action to only those bills which were arguably related to the pandemic. The weighty issue of...

18 May

Posted at 07:50h in Regulatory
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Governor Laura Kelly's Executive Order 20-33, maintaining the 10 percent weight waiver up to 90,000 lbs for trucks hauling essential goods and supplies expires on June 14, 2020. For our members’ clarification of the Executive Order, we requested clarification from the Kansas Highway Patrol if the waiver applies to the following: transport of agricultural crop inputs (seed/pesticide/fertilizer/diesel) from import/manufacturer to the end user/farmer transport of grain from farm to elevator transport of grain from commercial elevator to end user (i.e., feed yards, feed mills, biofuel plants, export market, etc.) transport of...

18 May

Posted at 05:00h in Advocacy
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The Kansas legislature will return for one final day of business on Thursday, May 21st. Multiple committee met this week to consider various bills – all of which will all compete for limited action next Thursday. Large items, such as Medicaid expansion, might still be open for discussion, as will certain tax bills and COVID-related items. The Legislature was initially scheduled to return a few weeks ago in April for a full veto session. That date was postponed, however, in response to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to adjourning in...

18 May

Posted at 05:00h in Industry News
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Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association's (KARA) scholarship committee met in late-April and awarded nearly $10,000 in scholarships to Kansas high school graduating seniors and current college students for the 2019-20 academic year. The scholarship committee, comprised of KARA's membership, received more than 100 applications and awarded six students scholarships to assist in advancing their academic endeavors. “KARA has a long and proud history of providing scholarships to worthy students,” KARA’s president and CEO Ron Seeber said. “We congratulate this year’s recipients and wish them the best with their studies and their future contributions...

15 May

Posted at 14:23h in Industry News
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Recently, the USDA has announced their new Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive (HBIIP) program to increase higher ethanol blend availability. Projects may include costs related to upgrading fuel dispensers, retrofitting equipment, underground storage tank system components, and other installation costs required to offer ethanol blends greater than 10 percent or fuel containing biodiesel blends greater than 5 percent. HBIIP covers up to 50% of the eligible project costs, for a maximum of $5 million per applicant each. Along with USDA dollars, the Kansas Corn Commission will be contributing additional matching funds for...

15 May

Posted at 14:18h in Regulatory
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The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today published a final rule modernizing hours of service (HOS) rules to improve safety and flexibility for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and the American public. The final rule brings a key reform to the short-haul exemption by extending it to 150 air miles and increasing the maximum on-duty period from 12 to 14 hours. ARA sent comments to FMCSA on Oct. 21, 2019, requesting regulatory reform to HOS rules including an expansion of the short-haul exception and maximum on-duty period. Read...

14 May

Posted at 15:20h in Advocacy, Industry News, Regulatory
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This afternoon, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 20-31, which establishes a new phase to the “Ad Astra: Plan to Reopen Kansas.” The new “1.5” Phase, effective May 18, 2020, continues reopening efforts while preserving some data-driven restrictions necessary to prevent community transmission of COVID-19. “The good news is that hospitalizations and COVID-related deaths continue to decline, enabling us to move forward with our efforts to safely reopen Kansas,” said Kelly. “Unfortunately, the daily rate of disease spread has not shown the downward trajectory necessary to move fully into Phase...

13 May

Posted at 15:16h in Industry News
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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_single_image image="2280" img_size="full" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]Following direction received to enhance the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA) external brand during its board of directors strategic planning session in September of 2019, KARA is proud to unveil its refreshed logo. The association staff began evolving its external facing presence by rebuilding its database and accompanying website, launching a mobile app and now, refreshing its logo.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row"...

07 May

Posted at 06:47h in Advocacy
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On May 6, the Legislative Coordinating Council voted to reconvene the Kansas Legislature on Thursday, May 21st at a time to be determined. May 21st was the pre-scheduled date for sine die adjournment – the final day of the 2020 legislative session. While the full legislature will not meet until May 21st, House and Senate leadership may yet approve meetings by certain committees (budget, tax, etc.) for consideration of bills. A motion by Senate leadership to return a few days before the 21st to conduct additional business fell by a vote...

04 May

Posted at 15:09h in Industry News
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U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza announced today that agricultural businesses are now eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs. SBA’s EIDL portal will reopen today as a result of funding authorized by Congress through the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act. The legislation, signed into law by the President one week ago, provided additional funding for farmers and ranchers and certain other agricultural businesses affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “For more than 30 years, SBA has been prohibited by law from providing...

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