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Conveyor Currents                            November 22, 2013
Upcoming Dates

2014

January 15-16, 2014   Grain & Feed Industry Conference, Embassy Suites, Monterey, CA

April 23-26, 2014  CGFA Annual Convention ~ The Sheraton Resort, Maui, HI 
*** Information Click Here ***

May 14-15, 2014 California Animal Nutrition Conference,  Radisson Hotel in Fresno, CA

 
2015
 
April 22-25, 2015   CGFA Annual Convention - The Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row.

Annual Convention - Room Reservation Link to Sheraton

This is the link for the on-line reservations for the CGFA Annual Convention - April 23-26, 2014.  

 

 

Mahalo!

 

 

 

Quick Links
 
California
 Grain & Feed Assn.
      www.cgfa.org
 
California Dept. of Food & Ag 
   www.cdfa.ca.gov
 
U.S. Dept. of Food & Ag
    www.usda.gov
   

 
In This Issue
Feed Manufacturing Study Group to Meet Dec. 3rd
Farm Bill Conference Drags On
EPA's Announcement on Renewable Fuel Standard Makes Waves
CGFA Member Outreach Meeting & Christmas Luncheon
No Progress Made in Budget Talks
Boxer Advocates Shift to Wholesale Tax on Motor Fuels
Rockefeller Renews Fight to Protect Shippers From Freight Rail Charges
Governor Makes Key Appointments
California Fiscal Analyst Projects Large Surpluses
2014 Grain & Feed Industry Conference
Outcome of key Assembly Seat in Los Angeles Too Close to Call
Latest News Releases From the U.S. Department of Labor.
Central Valley Land Sink Issue For High Speed Rail,
Public Meeting for Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board
Feed Manufacturing Study Group to Meet Dec. 3rd - All Interested Members Are Invited To Attend

 

Chairman John Austel and CGFA staff have rescheduled the meeting of the CGFA Feed Manufacturing Study Group for Tuesday, December 3rd from 9:30 am until approximately 12:00 noon. The meeting will take place at the DoubleTree Hotel in the Sonoma Room- 1150 Ninth Street, Modesto, CA 95354 (209) 526-6000.

 

The staff would like to have input and discussion with the committee on various issues facing the industry at this time.  

 

Topics will include:

  • Discuss strategy and potential comments for the FSMA Public Meeting being held on December 6th at the John E. Moss Federal Building, Stanford Room in Sacramento.   The purpose of that public meeting is to review one of several proposed rules that will establish the foundation of, and central framework for, the modern food safety system envisioned by Congress in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The meeting is also designed to solicit oral stakeholder and public comments on the proposed rules, inform the public about the rulemaking process (including how to submit comments, data and other information to the rulemaking dockets), and respond to questions about the proposed rules.
  • Provide input on legislation and regulations impacting feed manufacturers.
  • Address major problems facing feed industry and recommend solutions to CGFA Board of Directors for action and implementation.

CGFA members are invited to attend this meeting  - please rsvp to Donna Boggs at [email protected]

 

Farm Bill Conference Drags On

 

Thursday morning, things looked promising for Farm Bill completion. The so-called "Big Four" (Senate and House Ag committee Chairmen and Ranking Members) met for an hour to hash things out with the goal of resolving disagreements or the framework for a completed bill.  However, it was clear by Thursday afternoon that Congress would break for Thanksgiving recess without an agreement in place.  With next week's Thanksgiving break and the House of Representatives scheduled to leave for the Christmas break on December 13th, it now appears that Congress will not have a new Farm Bill in place before the end of 2013. 

 

At the beginning of this week, House Ag Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R, OK) said that completion of conference committee action on the Farm Bill was critical to having legislation move through both chambers and enacted before the current extension of the Farm Bill expires.  He seemed optimistic about a compromise on the commodity title, pointing to the downturn in corn prices.  He was not receptive to a proposal by corn, soy and canola interests, which offered up a five-year rolling average of recent planting acres. House Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D, MN) told The Hill newspaper that he had a similar proposal for the commodity title.

 

Conferees seemed downright chipper after Wednesday's meeting, with Peterson reporting that progress had been made on "everything" and Senate Chair Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) stating, "It's complicated and we're making progress."

 

The biggest policy hurdles for the conferees remain cuts in federal food stamp payments, reconciliation of House and Senate approaches to shifting direct payments, international food aid, and crop insurance issues.   Staff discussions will continue over the Thanksgiving Break and the conferees have scheduled a conference call for Monday afternoon.  As of Thursday evening, House Speaker John Boehner (R, OH) would not comment on an extension to the Farm Bill. 

 
EPA's Announcement on Renewable Fuel Standard Makes Waves

 

As reported last week, Friday's announcement by EPA - which marked the first time the agency has lowered the target from the prior year - was warmly received by animal agriculture and the petroleum industry. The total RFS proposal for all renewable fuels is 15.21 billion gallons, based on a range of options from 15-15.52 billion gallons. This compares with the statutory requirement of 18.15 billion gallons for the coming year.  A breakdown of the fuels number reveals the conventional biofuel volumetric mandate - the category that includes corn ethanol - is proposed at 13 billion gallons, down from the statutory level of 14.4 billion gallons.  

 

The total for cellulosic ethanol was proposed at 17 million gallons based on a range of 7-30 million gallons.  The RVO for advanced biofuels was proposed at 2.2 billion gallons, based on a studied range of 2-2.51 billion; for biomass-based diesel (plant and animal-based biodiesels), the total proposed was 1.28 billion gallons.

 

Questions remain for the petroleum industry regarding how it is to implement the proposal on the official start date of January 1, 2014 when the regulation likely won't be finalized until March 2014.  Critics of the program continue to push for Congress to repeal the program in its entirety.  Administration officials who spoke with Policy Directions staff last week emphasized that they are taking comments from stakeholders on a range of volumes, leaving open the possibility that the numbers could be altered in a final rule next year.

 

A public meeting has been scheduled for December 5th.  More information about the meeting and the proposal can be found here.

 

CGFA Member Outreach Meeting & Christmas Luncheon

Wednesday, December 11, 2013
11:30 am-2:00 pm
Ontario Airport Hotel (formerly Hilton)
700 North Haven Avenue, Ontario, CA 91764
(909) 980-0400

CGFA EVP Chris Zanobini will update members on issues affecting the Association. Local Legislators have been invited to attend and participate in our discussions. Please join us for fun and fellowship with CGFA Members during this Holiday Season.


$20.00 per person-Jingle All The Way Buffet
For reservations contact the
CGFA office at: (916) 441-2272

PLEASE BRING A GIFT TO EXCHANGE!!

No Progress Made in Budget Talks

 

Conferees are still working on a budget agreement but do not appear to be making progress on a deal that would stave off another government shutdown in January and ensure the nation doesn't default on its debt in February.  December 13th is the target date for a report and no framework for a deal in sight.

 

Appropriations lawmakers said this week they worry not only about this year but also next.  Senate Committee Chair Barbara Mikulski (D, MD) joined with her House counterpart, Hal Rogers (R, KY) to ask Budget conferees to set a funding level for fiscal 2015 by Thanksgiving and no later than December 2nd in order to have as much time as possible to craft a spending package for the fiscal year that begins October 1, 2014.  By setting the allocation for 2015 early, they said, "we can avoid the situation we encountered this year of having two different overall numbers guiding the House and Senate appropriations process."

 
Boxer Advocates Shift to Wholesale Tax on Motor Fuels

By Nathan Hurst, CQ Roll Call

 

Barbara Boxer, chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said Thursday she favors shifting from the per-gallon tax on motor fuels to one that would be levied "upstream" at the wholesale level as a model for raising more revenue to shore up the Highway Trust Fund.  "This was my idea: You get rid of the fee at the pump completely," Boxer told participants at an American Highway Users Alliance summit in Washington. "So you take that away, but you replace it with a sales tax on fuels."

 

The idea is based on Virginia's recent overhaul of state transportation programs. A bipartisan coalition in the state agreed to scrap the 17.5-cents-per-gallon tax at the pump and replace it with a wholesale tax of 3.5 percent on gasoline and 6 percent on diesel. The state's general sales tax was adjusted as well, and drivers in heavily populated areas in the northern and Tidewater regions of the state pay an extra 2.1 percent sales tax on gasoline to fund projects of regional interest. "Whether we get this through, we don't know," Boxer, a California Democrat, told the highway users group. "I've been meeting with Sen. Baucus. He is trying very hard to fix the problem."

 

Boxer said Max Baucus, the Senate Finance chairman, is eager to include a fix for the highway fund in a broader package to overhaul the nation's tax code. The Montana Democrat and his House counterpart, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., are preparing tax overhaul proposals, although prospects for enacting an ambitious rewrite of the tax code next year are considered dim.

 

Absent a broader tax bill, Baucus and Camp would still need to pass some kind of surface transportation revenue package to avoid shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund. But Boxer said a bill that would force lawmakers to vote solely on an increase in transportation taxes would be a more difficult lift. Congress last raised motor fuels taxes, to 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel, in 1993. The impact of inflation, a shift to more-fuel-efficient vehicles and a decline in the number of miles that Americans drive have cut into the Highway Trust Fund's buying power.

 

The current authorization (PL 112-141), which expires next September, required $21 billion in general-fund offsets to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent through fiscal 2014. Baucus has told authorizers he will be unable to cobble together a similar package of offsets to pay for a new bill. A wholesale tax could be set at levels that would raise more money and would adjust automatically for inflation. The cost would be built into the price that motorists pay.

 

Boxer and House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., addressed the American Highway Users Alliance as it prepares a lobbying blitz next year in advance of a surface transportation reauthorization. Shuster urged industry lobbyists to make their case for infrastructure investments before talking about the sticky issues of funding. "We've got to build the case to the American people that there is a problem," Shuster said. "Don't lead with funding."

 
Rockefeller Renews Fight to Protect Shippers From Freight Rail Charges

By Nathan Hurst, CQ Roll Call

 

Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Chairman Jay Rockefeller isn't giving up on his fight against major railroads and the fees they charge shippers. The West Virginia Democrat released a committee staff report Thursday that shows record profitability for the nation's railroads, which are still operating under a 1980 law (PL 96-448) designed to prop up their then-ailing businesses. Rockefeller argues they are now in a better financial state and says he will continue his pursuit of new rules.  

 

"The evidence is overwhelming at this point that the four dominant freight railroads are financially strong," Rockefeller said Thursday in prepared remarks at a confirmation hearing for Surface Transportation Board nominee Debra Miller. The board adjudicates railroad rates and service disputes, occasionally handling trucking and maritime issues as well. "It's time for the [board] to re-focus its mission on supporting the businesses and people who use the rail network."

 

With Congress expected to write a rail authorization bill next year, Rockefeller is renewing his criticism of the freight rail industry and support for so-called captive shippers, businesses with access to only a single rail carrier and vulnerable to what they complain are inflated shipping rates. Other lawmakers have taken on the freight rail industry in recent years. Former Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., twice tried to amend federal antitrust laws to eliminate rail-specific exemptions.  

 

But these efforts have run into objections in the House. In 2011, former Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John L. Mica, R-Fla., was joined by ranking Democrat Nick J. Rahall II of West Virginia in urging the Surface Transportation Board to resist initiating investigations. The panel's current chairman, Pennsylvania Republican Bill Shuster, also signed the letter.  Allowing the board to begin its own investigations has been the centerpiece of earlier Rockefeller legislative efforts to change the rate system. Industry groups including the Association of American Railroads fended off Rockefeller's legislation last time it was being seriously considered.  

 

Rockefeller has argued that it is critical to allow the board to investigate rates on its own because filing formal complaints is time consuming and expensive. "I think the [board] needs to stop worrying so much about the financial health of the railroads, and focus more on the persistent complaints coming from the shipper community - about poor service, bullying tactics, and lack of competition," Rockefeller said. "I also think the [board] needs to a better job responding to its stakeholders in a timely way."  

 

The committee's report details resurgent profitability among the nation's four big rail carriers: Union Pacific, for instance, has broken its earnings per share record for 15 of the past 16 quarters, while rival Norfolk Southern set similar records for six straight quarters in 2011 and 2012.  The industry replied that the report ignores its $70 billion investment in the freight rail network over the past three years, including spending on positive train control systems in advance of a 2015 mandate.  "There is nothing wrong with success," Association of American Railroads President and Chief Executive Edward R. Hamberger said in a statement. "In fact, the rail industry's success is predicated on the fact that the balanced regulatory system in place today is working. This should be lauded, not undermined."

 
Governor Makes Key Appointments

 

Thursday the Governor announced the following appointments:

 

Camille Wagner, 31, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary in the Office of Governor  Edmund G. Brown Jr., where she has served as Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary since 2011. Wagner was legislative director for California Assemblymember Steven Bradford from 2009 to 2011, a legislative aide for California State Senator Christine Kehoe from 2005 to 2009 and a Senate fellow for the California Senate Fellows Program from 2004 to 2005. Wagner is a member of the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association.

 

Grant Cope, 43, of Washington, D.C., has been appointed Deputy Secretary for Environmental Policy at the California Environmental Protection Agency.  Since 2005, Cope has been senior counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works since 2005. He was the Sierra Club's Washington representative in 2005 and an associate attorney at Earthjustice from 2002 to 2004.



California Fiscal Analyst Projects Large Surpluses, Governor Urges Caution

 

California's budget is on track for multibillion dollar surpluses in the coming years, the Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal analyst said Wednesday in an upbeat assessment of the state's fiscal picture.  An improving economy and continuing revenue from voter-approved tax increases in 2012 have left state finances in strong shape, Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor wrote in his office's five-year fiscal outlook released this morning.

 

One day after the Legislature's fiscal analyst projected years of multibillion-dollar budget surpluses, Gov. Jerry Brown urged caution Thursday, calling on the Legislature to bolster reserves.  The Democratic governor, speaking at the Milken Institute California Summit, said the budget's reliance on capital gains - a traditionally volatile source of revenue - makes financial peaks and valleys more pronounced.

 

"The question is, 'When do we get the next valley?'" he said. "And the only way to avoid that is to put it in a rainy day fund, to say no when necessary, along with saying yes when that's appropriate."  Brown said he has a "lot of optimism about this state. I mean, I would have never thought we could go from financial instability to stability and surplus, and we can do that." But he said significant financial concerns remain.

 

 
2014 Grain & Feed Industry Conference - Monterey, CA

The CGFA staff and the GFIC committee have finalized plans for the 2014 Grain & Feed Industry Conference.  As you know, the Grain & Feed Industry Conference is an annual two-day educational event that is planned and coordinated by the California Grain & Feed Association.  The basic purpose of the conference is to provide mill managers and key employees of grain handling and feed manufacturing operations an educational program consisting of both managerial and technical information specific to the industry.

The GFIC committee believes the program topics are very timely and encompass subjects which address the concerns of many of our customers.    The 2014 GFIC will be held January 15-16 at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Monterey Bay.   We are very fortunate to have secured some top notch speakers for our event.  

The success of the Grain & Feed Industry Conference is a direct result of  feed industry management, equipment, ingredient and all associated suppliers once again teaming up to make the conference valuable.  We are confident the 2014 GFIC will once again be beneficial to all attendees.

Registration materials will be mailed out next week along with additional information detailing the program.  Please call the Embassy Suites Hotel by December 31, 2013  to reserve your room.  Identify yourself as part of the California Grain & Feed Association and receive our discounted group rate of $139.00.  The Embassy Suites Hotel phone number  is (831) 393-1115 or go on-line for a hotel reservation form www.cgfa.org/events.

 

  • Hotel Reservations (831) -393-1115  - Group Rate of $139.00 reserve now.
  • 1-800-Embassy: Be Sure  to the say  "2014 Grain Feed Conference" or by referencing the group code "CGF".    

 

 Outcome of key Assembly Seat in Los Angeles Too Close to Call

 

The outcome of a key San Fernando Valley Assembly seat that would allow California Democrats to reclaim a two-thirds majority remained in doubt this morning, according to preliminary returns reported by the Secretary of State's office.

 

Democrat Matt Dababneh was hanging on to a thin lead, 13,309 to 13,136, over Republican Susan Shelley with all 100 precincts in the 45th Assembly District reporting in Tuesday's special election. Late absentee and provisional ballots remain to be counted.

 

An election victory by Dababneh would ensure that Assembly Democrats will enter the 2014 legislative session with their supermajority back in place. The candidates are vying for the seat left vacant after former Democratic Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield won election to the Los Angeles City Council.

 

 
Latest News Releases From the U.S. Department of Labor.

 

Read the latest news releases.

 

DOL announces rules to update regulations and decrease burden on businesses 

11/20/2013 01:00 PM EST

 

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced four rules designed to reduce unnecessary burdens on employers by updating or rescinding obsolete regulations and requirements. A rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration updates and streamlines the standards for the use of mechanical power presses while the remaining three rules from the Employment and Training Administration rescind outdated Foreign Labor Certification regulations for the H-2A, F-1 and H-1A programs. The rules published today complement President Obama's executive order 13610 to modernize the regulatory system and reduce unjustified regulatory burdens.  

 

From Ben Franklin to Betty Friedan, from "Of Mice and Men" to "The Devil Wears Prada," DOL launches Books that Shaped Work in America 

11/20/2013 12:00 PM EST

 

From Ben Franklin's "Poor Richard's Improved" to Sonia Sotomayor's "My Beloved World," nearly 100 titles of fiction, nonfiction, plays and poetry begin the initial roll of Books that Shaped Work in America-a Centennial project of the U.S. Department of Labor in partnership with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

 

Central Valley Land Sink Issue For High Speed Rail, Flood Control, Water Deliveries

Large groundwater withdrawals are causing land in California's Central Valley to sink. It's become so serious that it's threatening flood control and water deliveries. The proposed high speed rail system will also have deal with the changing terrain.

Chase Hurley is general manager of the San Luis Canal Company in Dos Palos. He points to a small dam near the river in western Madera County. It's likely the most important structure for the irrigation company because it guides water from the river into its canal system.

"That dam, and this canal are sinking roughly six inches a year," says Hurley."So when that happens the dams not going to be high enough to physically gravitational push that down the canal."

 

Public Meeting for Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board

Thursday, December 5, 2013 - 9:00 a.m.
Friday, December 6, 2013- 9:00 a.m.
Central Valley Regional
Water Quality Control Board
11020 Sun Center Drive, #200
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

The purpose of this meeting is for the Board to obtain testimony and information from concerned and affected parties and to make decisions based on the information received.

Persons who want to submit written comments or evidence on any agenda item must comply with the Notice of Public Hearing for the item and the Meeting Procedures described at the end of the listing of Agenda items. Persons wishing to speak at the meeting should complete an attendance card and provide it to staff. Although filling out the attendance card is voluntary, we do appreciate receiving a card from all persons in attendance.

Persons applying for, or actively supporting or opposing, waste discharge requirements before the Board must comply with legal requirements if they or their agents have or propose contributing more than $250 to a Board member for an election campaign. Contact the Board office for details if you fall into this category.

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