TPI GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE By Casey Reynolds, PhD Turfgrass Producers International has been working closely with various U.S. governmental agencies on issues impacting sod producers. One of the many benefits of being a TPI member is having a collective voice in governmental policy, and the last couple of years have seen significant regulatory successes. They have also brought new and renewed relationships with policy makers that will only serve to benefit us in the future. Below is a quick recap of a few of the areas TPI has been working diligently on with regard to public policy.
Transportation A new mandate on Electronic Logging Devices and Hours of Service Supporting Documents was published in the federal register in 2015. This mandate established minimum performance standards for ELDs and required their use for documenting hours of service after 2019. While the rule and the date seemed clear, it caused much confusion among truck drivers and law enforcement officials with regard to who could claim agricultural exemptions relieving them of HOS and ELD requirements. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced on November 24th, 2020, an Interim Final Rule (IFR) on agricultural commodities, and TPI was there with them every step of the way making sure our industry’s voice was heard. This IFR defines agricultural commodities under 49CFR 395.2 as follows: Agricultural commodity means: (1) Any agricultural commodity, non-processed food, feed, fiber, or livestock as defined in this section. (2) As used in this definition, the term “any agricultural commodity” means horticultural products at risk of perishing, or degrading in quality, during transport by commercial motor vehicle, including plants, sod, flowers, shrubs, ornamentals, seedlings, live trees, and Christmas trees. Under these regulations, drivers transporting agricultural commodities, including sod, from the source of the commodities to a location within 150 air miles of the source, during harvest and planting seasons as defined by each State, are exempt from the HOS requirements. TPI is pleased to provide its members with a Glove Box Doc! This gives your drivers the documentation for the Hours of Service and Agricultural Exemptions which they can use if they are pulled over by authorities to prove sod is listed as exempt in the latest legislation. The front page of the document is shown on the adjacent page. The full list of exemptions is on the back of the document as provided to TPI members.
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Coronavirus Relief U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced on May 19, 2020, details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which provided up to $16 billion in relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by Covid-19. While sod producers were initially left out of the initial CFAP program, TPI worked with the U.S. Farm Service Agency (FSA) to allow sod farmers to apply for federal relief through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP2). We released a call for information in late 2020 and sod farms from throughout the United States responded with pricing and volume data for 2020, when Covid-19 impacts were most substantial. Representing TPI in my role as executive director, I also visited with USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey in October at Turf Mountain Sod in Hendersonville, NC, to discuss this important topic. As a result of these efforts, sod farmers were included in CFAP2 relief funds and farmers throughout the U.S. have applied for, and received payments, from this program.
Crop Insurance TPI has been working with the U.S. Farm Service Agency to develop a specialty crop insurance program specifically for sod producers. Many farmers have told us that the Non-Insured Assistance Programs (NAP) and Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) programs are not a good fit for many sod farms, but FSA also offers specialty crop insurance programs. We are working with them now to develop a program for sod and are seeking sod farmers who may be willing to serve on a committee to develop this program.
And More TPI has also recently been monitoring other programs including herbicide re-registrations important to sod producers, various state laws aiming to ban or limit natural grass, and health insurance for TPI members and their employees. If you would like to learn more about any of these programs, please contact TPI’s office at (847) 649-5555 and we will be happy to assist you.
Casey Reynolds, PhD, is executive director of Turfgrass Producers International.
TPI Turf News July/August 2021