ASSOCIATION NEWS


Alliance testifies at hearing


The Senate Energy and Nat- ural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Water and Power conducted a legislative hearing in July in Washington, D.C. Family Farm Alliance Ex- ecutive Director Dan Keppen was one of three witnesses who testified and answered questions online. The purpose of the hearing was to receive testimony on five bills related to the Bureau of Reclamation.


In addition to the bills dis- cussed at the hearing, Keppen urged the subcommittee to consider additional legisla- tion to address aging water infrastructure and insufficient water storage projects. That same week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resourses Com- mittee conducted a hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic. The written testimony of Doug Kemper of the Colorado Water Congress included a section prepared by the Alliance that addressed impacts of the pandemic to Western irrigated agriculture.


For more information, go to www.familyfarmalliance.org.


WG launches COVID- 19 resources page


With the steady stream of new information and guidance still coming out from government agencies, Western Growers has created a COVID-19 resourc- es page to make it easier for specialty crop growers to navigate and access the mate- rials relevant to their business operations.


The resources page has specif- ic sections on the agricultural, business loan and business tax provisions of the CARES Act; the paid sick and paid family leave mandates in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; WG-developed guidance for our membership; govern- ment guidance for employers; important documents and posters our members may want to download; and a handy set of frequently asked questions.


Visit this new resource page at www.wga.com/covid-19- resources-page.


ASA applauds bipartisan House bill


On July 29, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act of 2020 by a voice vote. The American Soybean Association is pleased the bill includes changing the cost-share ratio for Inland Waterways Trust Fund-financed lock and dam projects to 65% general fund/35% IWTF through fiscal year 2027, a policy priority for soy growers.


Soy growers applaud the bipartisan efforts to recognize the significant role that inland waterways play in the United States. This change would be of great value to soybean growers, who rely on our country’s waterways infra- structure to stay competitive with other soybean-producing countries like Brazil and Argen- tina. The inland waterways sys- tem is the most cost-efficient mode of transporting agricul- ture and agriculture-related products. ASA looks forward to final passage of new WRDA legislation.


For more information, go to www.soygrowers.com.


Virtual BWCC scheduled in January


The virtual 2021 Beltwide Cotton Conferences (BWCC) will be held Jan. 5-7, 2021. This National Cotton Council-coor- dinated annual forum provides attendees with information for helping cotton growers make key production/market- ing-related decisions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the virtual 2021 BWCC replaces the in-person event that was originally planned to be held in New Orleans.


The virtual platform will include three days of live- streamed individual reports and panel discussions from the 11 technical sessions along with poster presentations and seminars. During and after the event, attendees will be able to submit questions to oral or poster presenters via www.cotton.org/beltwide using on-demand viewing. In the weeks ahead, that site will be updated with information about meeting registration, schedules and other BWCC- related activities.


For more information, go to www.cotton.org.


CAIA member companies provide scholarships to students with a desire to pursue a career in the agricultural irrigation industry. Here are this year’s sponsors and winners:


Scholarship winners announced


• Brayan Garcia, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Irrigation Design & Construction LLC and RDO Water • Alexa Sutter, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Buckner Superior • Jose Amezcua, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Agri-Valley Irrigation • Joshua Porter, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Fresno Valves & Castings and Agri-Valley Irrigation • Liliana Reyes Solorio, Fresno State University, Western Ag and Turf


Scholarship recipients also automatically receive student memberships in CAIA for the duration of their scholarship period. To join these sponsoring companies in supporting our leaders of tomorrow, contact Jane Townsend at jane@agamsi.com.


36 Irrigation TODAY | Fall 2020 irrigationtoday.org


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