The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) is the only national trade association focused solely on serving the needs of ag retailers. In fact, “retailers” is our middle name.
On what seems like a daily basis, we hear from federal agencies such as the EPA about new policy that infringes on ag retailers’ right to operate efficiently. Thus, ARA’s presence in Washington, D.C., remains indespensable.
But what would a world without ARA look like? What if lawmakers and federal regulators did not consider the voice of the ag retailer when making policy decisions that impact your bottom line?
Delivering Products Farmers Need
Without ARA fighting for reform to the hours of service (HOS) agricultural exemption and farm-related restricted commercial driver’s license (CDL) program, more commonly known as the seasonal ag CDL program, agricultural retailers would be limited by the inflexible and too-short hours they are able to operate for just-in-time delivery of critical crop input supplies during a growing season’s busy planting and harvesting times.
ARA listened to its membership, coordinated with coalition partners and successfully advocated to protect the HOS ag exemption and secure an additional 30 days of restricted CDL validation to the existing 180 days in order to accommodate longer, fluctuating seasons and more diverse crop production. This helps ensure ag retailers can provide the level of service their farmer-customers require during the busy planting and harvesting times.
Restoring Common-Sense Regulations
Without ARA, ag retailers would still face uncertainty with the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) when categorizing their businesses. Previously, there was not a code that fit their line of work.
ARA received help and support from The Fertilizer Institute for this ARA policy initiative. We advocated for a new NAICS category of “farm supply retailers” to include facilities primarily engaged in the retail distribution of farm supplies as well as those providing soil testing, nutrient planning and other services to their farmer-customers. With ARA, retailers now have the necessary clarity on which NAICS code is best for them—saving confusion and potential unintended federal regulations.
Securing Essential Status
Without ARA’s swift action to underscore how crucial ag retailers’ operations are to food supply chains nationally and worldwide, ag retailers may not have been designated as “essential” and exempt from any temporary closures of retail businesses when the pandemic lockdowns started.
Because the COVID-19 restrictions began at the beginning of the busiest time of the year for farmers and ag retailers, ARA penned multiple letters to the White House, Congress and agencies such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Transportation to emphasize that even missing one or two days during tight windows for optimal planting, fertilizing or applying crop protection may significantly and negatively impact fresh food and row crop production as well as farm income.
With ARA, ag retailers were deemed “essential” and those carrying farm supplies were granted the same waiver of HOS requirements as citizens carrying medical supplies.
This prevented a potentially devastating impact on our food supply chain.
Educating Decision-Makers
Without ARA, many regulators and members of Congress who make decisions impacting your work would not have the first-hand knowledge about the role ag retailers play to safeguard a secure and affordable supply of food, fuel and fiber.
ARA seeks opportunities to close the gap between rural America and Washington, D.C., by coordinating educational tours for legislators and regulators to visit ag retail facilities.
One example is when ARA hosted more than 30 staff from the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs at two ag retail facilities just outside of the nation’s capital: Nutrien Ag Solutions in Delaware and Willard Agri-Service in Delaware.
For some EPA staff, this was their first time stepping foot onto an ag retail location to witness our industry’s exceptional efforts to offer sustainable, environmentally safe ag products — such as atrazine, paraquat and glyphosate — and solutions to grower-customers.
The ARA Mission
Imagine, if you will, a world without ARA where the voice of the ag retailer would be lost among the other competing voices. With ARA, all our voices are aligned, amplified and cannot be ignored. ARA serves as your eyes and ears in Washington, D.C., to save you real money by keeping the cost of doing business under control while offering member-only services that improve your bottom line.
So much in agriculture is changing — from burdensome regulations to emerging technologies to new crop input practices. As a member, you can focus on what matters: optimizing your business and delighting your farmer-customers.
Learn more about the power of your membership at www.aradc.org.
