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July 25, 2014     
Inside This Issue.....
CSA Mid Year Meeting 2014
EPA's McCarthy Meets with GOP Senate Ag Panel Members; ASA Snags Stoner for Webinar.
American Sustainable Business Coalition supports EPA Proposal to Extend Clean Water Act
Advertisements in the CSA Membership Roster
House Approves Tax Extenders
Spending Bills Deadlocked, Emergency Supplemental CR Needed, Omnibus Coming
Upcoming Meetings
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CSA Mid Year Meeting 2014

Registration materials are available for the upcoming Mid Year Meeting in Monterey.  While we have streamlined the meeting schedule, all committees will have sufficient time to meet and discuss current issues impacting the seed industry.   

The meeting will be held at the InterContinental Clement Hotel on Cannery Row in Monterey, September 30/October 1, 2014  The InterContinental Hotel is located at  750 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA  93940.   Please make reservations directly with the hotel by calling (888) 666-5734 by  5:00 pm on Aug. 30, 2014 and please mention that you are with the California Seed Association to receive the group rate of $199.00.  We also have our own meeting reservation website you may access through the CSA  Website on the calendar of events page www.calseed.org.

The golf tournament will again be a fundraiser for the "Ginny Patin Scholarship" and will be held on Tuesday, September 30th at 1:00 pm  at the Carmel Valley Golf Ranch.  The tournament will begin with a shot-gun start at 1:00 pm and will include lunch on the carts.   For those of you who do not golf the Bocce Ball Tournament will also be held on Tuesday afternoon as a fundraiser for the scholarship program. (flyers for both events are enclosed).    

All committees will meet on Wednesday, October 1st  Participants can look forward to an engaging presentation by our keynote speaker this year, Laura McIntosh. The Mid Year meeting provides an opportunity for industry communication and a chance to get together with your business colleagues in a social atmosphere.  I look forward to seeing all of you in Monterey.

Call ASAP To Book Your Hotel Room - Guests can reserve a room using the below link, by calling 1-888-666-5734 or by emailing [email protected].

Click Here for CSA Personalized Webpage for On-Line Booking

For A Full Packet of Registration Material and Schedule - Click Here


 

EPA's McCarthy Meets with GOP Senate Ag Panel Members; ASA Snags Stoner for Webinar

A meeting this week between EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Republican members of the Senate Agriculture Committee unleashed a flood of member press releases all touting how they told the agency head what's wrong with water, greenhouse gas and other EPA rulemakings.

 

Sen. Pat Roberts (R, KS), running for reelection, accused EPA of "unfairly targeting farmers, ranchers and rural America with burdensome regulations." "Kansans tell me the agency's work to regulate fuel storage tanks, prescribed burning of the Flint Hills prairie, cap and trade, pesticide limits, fugitive dust, and our water resources, is an assault on our way of life," he said. Roberts went on to allow the "rocky relationship" between agriculture and EPA isn't new, but the latest round of proposed rules "makes many people believe the rules are driven by an anti-agriculture agenda that is hurting the Kansas economy."

 

When it came to the EPA proposed rulemaking on "waters of the U.S. (WOTUS)," Roberts said he was disturbed to hear the agency dismiss producer concerns as "myths," and was disappointed McCarthy wasn't persuaded by meetings held two weeks ago in Missouri that the rulemaking carries "far-reaching and negative impacts." Roberts has cosponsored legislation to block the rulemaking.

 

Sen. Charles Grassley (R, IA) reiterated his opposition to the WOTUS rulemaking, and seconded Roberts' contention that EPA is perceived as operating with "an unhelpful approach and general negative attitude toward agriculture." He said the meeting did little to alleviate his concerns the agency routinely doesn't listen to those most impacted by its rulemakings.

 

Going after both WOTUS and EPA's greenhouse gas/carbon capture rulemakings on power plants, Sen. Thad Cochran (R, MS), also up for reelection, announced after the McCarthy meeting he would cosponsor a resolution citing "a litany of faults with EPA's ongoing effort to finalize regulations on carbon emissions." He said the agency's efforts have "zero chance" of altering world climate trends.

 

On the WOTUS rulemaking, Cochran said, "The...proposal and the agriculture interpretive rule are a source of uncertainty, anxiety and distrust for people in rural areas...and this is particularly true in states like Mississippi whose economies are built on agriculture production; landowners want peace of mind that what they're doing is not going to be subject to more regulations."

 

American Sustainable Business Coalition Supports EPA Proposal to Extend Clean Water Act

In another WOTUS development this week, a poll by the American Sustainable Business Coalition (ASBC), says the EPA proposal to extend its Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction beyond "navigable waters of the U.S." is supported by 80% of small business owners it surveyed. The group said, "This makes perfect sense given the vital importance that clean water plays in running a successful business."

 

Advertisements in the CSA Membership Roster

Businesses that continue to advertise regardless of economic times have a competitive advantage over businesses that trim their ad budgets.

Competitive advantage
Advertising during a sluggish economy clearly creates a competitive advantage with a majority of executives agreeing that seeing a company advertise during slower times makes them feel more positive about the company's commitment to its products and services. But perhaps most important is staying at the top of buyers' minds when purchase decisions are made.

The bottom line is clear: If a company is not communicating with customers when they enter the market, then that company will not be considered in the buying decision. That fundamental truth does not change, regardless of the economy.

While many companies readily understand the value of short-term advertising � generating new sales, generating repeat business from existing customers and generating new leads that turn into future sales � it can be more difficult to comprehend the long-term value. Think of a snowball rolling down a mountain � consistent advertising has a cumulative effect. The more familiar buyers are with your brand, the more likely they are to purchase the brand.

Don't Miss Your Opportunity to  Advertise in the 2014/2015 Membership Directory ADVERTISE  TODAY!

The CSA Membership Roster is an excellent source of information for both members and non-members of the seed industry.  If you choose to sponsor the Roster, your company's name will reach companies and individuals who are your potential customers, not to mention the advantage of keeping your company's name in clear view of your existing customers.

For the 2014-2015 CSA Membership Roster we are offering business card size sponsorships, and full page displays.   

House Approves Tax Extenders

 

A series of bills extending federal tax benefits important to farmers and ranchers were approved by the full House this week, including depreciation and conservation easement tax credits.

 

The depreciation bill makes the so-called "50%- bonus" permanent, and expands the tax deduction to vines and fruit and nut-bearing trees. The bonus allows producers to write off capital expenditures on machinery, equipment and the like in the year in which the purchase is made.

The bonus depreciation deduction dovetails with similar action in June making permanent increased Sec. 179 small business expensing processes. The new max deduction is $500,000, retroactive to 2013, while the current maximum is $25,000.

 

Another bill which makes permanent a tax deduction for donation of conservation easements and food donations was also part of the House action. The easement tax break is designed to encourage producers to donate the conservation acreage as part of a long-term farmland protection effort. Food donations from producers receive the deduction so that more producers can cover the cost of production, harvest and processing.

 

 

Spending Bills Deadlocked, Emergency Supplemental CR Needed, Omnibus Coming

With both House and Senate failure to pass all 12 FY2015 appropriations bills, the battle is on to cobble together a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government operating past September 30. Both chambers' appropriations committees are also wrestling with an unexpected emergency supplemental spending bill, and have also quietly begun work on an omnibus spending package for the coming fiscal year to be dealt with during the post-election lame duck session.

 

House Speaker John Boehner (R, OH) said this week his chamber will not take up the CR until the House returns from its August summer recess. And while members of the House and Senate continue to say all the right public things about the appropriations process and moving individual bills this year, it's known staff is crafting an omnibus bill and most if not all FY2015 spending bills will be part of the package to be taken up in the lame duck session.

 

Chief among the culprits blamed for the deadlock on spending broadly is the emergency supplemental spending bill requested by the President to deal with the flood of illegal immigrants into Texas and other matters. Since most of the undocumented workers are minors, both chambers are willing to spend more money on dealing with the crisis, but solutions, amounts and duration of the assistance remain undecided.

 

Complicating the debate is Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D, MD), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who insists her bill will be an emergency spending bill and will carry no policy riders. She's including in the Senate bill $225 million in U.S. aid to Israel to bolster its "Iron Dome" missile defense system, and Mikulski is including $615 million for wildfire management. She finally admitted "she has a full plate, but a flat wallet" and won't be funding the full $3.7 billion the President wants.  

 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (D, KY) opposes the aid to Israel being included in the immigration supplemental spending bill because it puts opponents of the President's immigration plan at odds with their support for Israel.

 

The House supplemental spending package will be about $1.5 billion, what House Appropriations Committee Chair Hall Rodgers (R, KY) said this week "can feasibly and sensibly be spent before the end of the calendar year." The House bill will be paid for by taking end-of-year unspent budget monies from several agencies. There is no wildfire management money or Israeli assistance in the House bill.

 

Upcoming Meetings

     

 

2014
  • September 30, October 1, 2014 - CSA Mid Year Meeting - InterContinental Hotel in Monterey, CA 

 

2015 

  • March 23-25, 2015 - CSA Annual Convention at The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, CA