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Late on Friday, December 17, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a split decision removing the stay on OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for large employers. The ETS requires covered employees to be vaccinated or wear a protective face covering and test weekly. The ETS was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021, and then immediately challenged in federal court by dozens of states and other plaintiffs. The very next day, a stay was issued on the emergency standard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. OSHA...

The selection committee for the Tomorrow’s Agribusiness Leaders (TAL) program met in early-December to review applications and select five members of the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and five members of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association to comprise the 24th class of agribusiness’ premier leadership development course. The selection committee, comprised of former TAL graduates chose: Michelle Busch (Syngenta); Garrett Buschjost (Koch Agronomic Services); Adam Butler (MKC); Douglas Graber (Producers Cooperative Association); Brandon Legg (Concordia Terminal LLC); Jacob Leis (CoMark Equity Alliance); Stacy Letourneau (Cloud County Cooperative Elevator); Adam Niehues (Jackson Farmers Inc.); Scotty Yerges (Team Marketing Alliance); and Mike Zacharias (MKC) to...

In a one-day historic Special Session yesterday brought by legislative petition, the Kansas legislature passed House Bill 2001. The Special Session was called following legislative hearings where over a hundred people testified to a special committee on the negative affects the COVID-19 mandate would have on their employment status. The bill was championed by both House and Senate leadership and was the sole purpose for the Special Session. The Senate passed the bill 24-11 and the House passed it by a vote of 77-34. Your association joined others in the business community in lobbying against specific portions of the bill that...

The Kansas Grain and Feed Association board of directors have approved the association's 2022 legislative and regulatory policy guide in advance of the state's legislative session in January. The KGFA Policy Guide contains the policy and position statements of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association relating to state and federal legislative and regulatory issues. It is intended to serve as a general reference for Association members, legislators, and other state officials. The policy guide is reviewed and updated annually by the KGFA Legislative Committee and approved by the KGFA Board of Directors....

The Kansas Department of Transportation is committed to keeping the highways cleared whenever inclement weather impacts the state.In line with workforce shortages across the nation, KDOT does not have enough equipment operators – the agency’s primary snowplow operators – in a number of areas across Kansas. These shortages create the potential for highways to not be cleared of snow and ice as quickly as in the past.The agency has dealt with reduced staffing in the past, but the shortages are greater this year. KDOT is about 30% short of snowplow...

On Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, President Joe Biden released details of the administration's long-rumored COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The mandate includes two newly-released policies and updates the previously announced federal contractor/employee rule: Vaccine requirement for employers with 100 or more employeesVaccine requirement for health care workersNew timeline for federal contractors/employees of vaccination by Jan. 4, 2022. OSHA) is announcing the details of a requirement for employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is fully vaccinated or tests for COVID-19 on at least a weekly basis. The OSHA rule will also require that these employers provide paid-time for employees to...

Jess McCluer | NGFA Vice President, Safety, Regulatory Affairs The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Oct. 25 updated its COVID-19 technical guidance outlining procedures for religious objections to employer COVID-19 vaccination requirements, specifically relating to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The guidance focuses on questions that arise when applicants or employees seek exemptions from vaccine requirements. The seven key points from the EEOC’s update are: Title VII does not require employers to exempt employees from vaccine requirements for their political, social, or economic reasons, which are not...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are hosting the Cybersecurity Summit for Private Industry Partners in Food and Agriculture on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, from 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. EST. The summit will provide a forum for sharing information among food and agriculture industry Chief Executive Officers (CEO), Chief Information Officers (CIO), and Chief Information Security Officers (CISO). Greg Beck, NGFA First Vice Chairman Greg Beck, senior vice president of the Grain Division at CGB Enterprises, is featured as a speaker.  “Ongoing ransomware...

On October 19, 2021, Kansas Grain and Feed Association joined with the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and the Kansas Cooperative Council in providing comments to the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the agency reviews an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Vaccination Mandates and Testing by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in response to Presidential Executive Order 12866.  As it has been announced, the proposed standard will require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are either vaccinated or are tested...

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is seeking volunteers to participate in a road usage charge (RUC) study. The study will focus on identifying how a RUC system that reflects unique Midwestern needs could help fund transportation investments. The study is being supported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and coordinated with the Minnesota DOT to expand the pilot’s reach.This study is a only a test-run – not implementation. What is RUC?A road usage charge, or RUC, is a policy whereby drivers pay to use the road based on miles driven. It...

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