The Agricultural Retailers Association recently recognized two legislators who have lead efforts to defend the industry’s freedom to operate. Sens. Thad Cochran (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) were both were named ARA’s 2015 Legislator of the Year during the organization’s recent meeting in Washington DC. ARA recognized Sen. Cochran, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, for his determined efforts on … Read More
AgGateway & ARA Offer Standardized Sales Reporting
If your job includes sales reporting, perhaps that job just got a little easier. AgGateway and the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) have collaborated to design a standard file format for sales reporting to manufacturers and suppliers. The new format is simple to use and has been generally accepted in the industry. This standard was created through AgGateways’ collaborative process as … Read More
Policy Priorities for Ag Retailers
GMO labeling, energy policy, regulatory actions and water transportation were among the top issues discussed by members of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) meeting in Washington, DC last week. ARA Chairman Harold Cooper of Premier Ag says their biggest priority was the retail exemption to OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations. “OSHA has elected to take a statute that’s over … Read More
Sen. Thune on What Now for WOTUS
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was named one of the Legislators of the Year this week by the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) and he spent some time with organization leaders on Tuesday talking about industry priorities. One priority for all of agriculture is the EPA’s Waters of the United States or WOTUS, which was the subject of a disapproval resolution passed … Read More
Ag Retailers Meeting on Capitol Hill
Members of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) board of directors have been in Washington DC this week taking their priorities to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The agribusiness company representatives were able to meet with many of their elected representatives and senators and/or their staff members, as well as officials from agencies such as OSHA. “We do a February board meeting … Read More
ARA Releases Statement on West Fertilizer Report
More than two years after the fire and resulting explosion at the West Fertilizer Company the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has issued its concluding report and safety recommendations. The fire was responsible for the deaths of 12 emergency responders, three individuals and millions of dollars worth of damage. The Agricultural Retailers Association is appreciative of the extensive investigations and resulting report … Read More
ARA Asks Stakeholders To Voice Opinions
The Agricultural Retailers Association is putting a call-to-action out for stakeholders to make their voices heard regarding the future use of an important insecticide, chlorpyrifos. Popular products that include chlorpyrifos include Cobalt, Cobalt Advanced, Lorsban, Lock-On, etc. Read the full letter below: Dear Stakeholder: As you probably know, on October 30, 2015, U.S. EPA announced a proposal to revoke US … Read More
Precision Impact Award Given to Leading Retailers
AgProfessional Magazine, MapShots AgStudio, and the Agricultural Retailers Association sponsored an award presented to three retailers leading the way in precision agriculture. Accepting the Precision Impact Award on behalf of their companies were: Elliott Marsh, East Georgia Agronomy Services, Southern States Cooperative; Glen Franzluebbers, Central Valley Ag Cooperative, and Luke Lightfoot, Co-Alliance, LLC. The award was presented on December 3 at … Read More
Congress Halts OSHA Overreach
In July the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent a memorandum to end the exemption of retail stores to the Process Safety Management (PSM). PSM is a set of procedural, operational and organizational standards to intended to prevent the release of hazardous chemicals at manufacturing facilities. The rescinding of this exemption would force virtually all ag retailers that store … Read More
Notter Discusses Millennials at #ARA15
While at ARA, Jamie Notter, Culture That Works, gave a presentation on organizational culture to the retailers attending. He specifically spoke about the value in attracting millennials and how to build a successful working relationship with them as most management teams have an older management style that millennials don’t relate to. Attracting millennials as employees or customers is less about … Read More