TURFGRASS INDUSTRY NEWS
Conversely, Operating Leases provide clients with a flexible and cost-effective way to use needed equipment without the burden of ownership, much like leasing a car or truck. In this way, clients can rent FireFly equipment from a funding partner by making monthly payments throughout the payment term, with purchase options also available at the end of the lease. Organizations and individuals interested in investigating FireFly's leasing program should visit
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leasing@fireflyautomatix.com or call 801-683-7301 to learn more about the leasing programs.
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates As 1440 Daily Digest reported on September 19, 2024, the Federal Reserve announced a half-percentage-point cut in benchmark rates on September 18, at the higher end of market expectations. Te decision marks the central bank's first rate cut since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Te decision to lower rates to a range of 4.75 percent to 5 percent comes amid a recent hiring slowdown, though last month's 4.2 percent unemployment rate remains relatively low by historical standards. Te Fed's decision also followed last week's consumer price index report, which showed inflation slowing to 2.5 percent year- over-year in August, approaching the Fed's 2 percent target. Despite the announcement of a higher-than-expected cut, markets closed lower on the September 18 news (S&P 500 -0.3 percent, Dow -0.3 percent, Nasdaq -0.3 percent). Traders appeared concerned that the decision indicated the Federal Reserve sees risk of an elevated economic downturn. However, in subsequent days the Stock Market again made record gains.
NASDA Analyzes Potential Impacts of Overturning Chevron Doctrine Editor’s note: Te following is taken from a September 24, 2024, press release from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).
At its annual meeting, during the Natural Resources and Environment Policy Committee meeting, NASDA hosted National Agricultural Law Center’s Director Harrison Pittman, Senior Staff Attorney Rusty Rumley, and Staff Attorney Brigit Rollins, for a discussion on the potential impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the Chevron doctrine Te Chevron doctrine is a legal precedent that guided judicial deference to federal agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes for four decades. Established in the 1984 Supreme Court case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., the Chevron doctrine allowed federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency to implement and enforce regulations based on their interpretation of laws passed by Congress. When NASDA spoke with Pittman on this discussion, Pittman said the recent reversal could lead to significant changes in how environmental regulations are created, interpreted, and enforced.
“Tis landmark decision will take years to fully play out, but the potential consequences for a host of laws applicable to agriculture, including the Endangered Species Act, wetlands regulation, the Clean Water Act, and pesticide regulation cannot be understated,” Pittman said. State agriculture departments work closely with federal agencies to implement environmental programs, and in many cases, as co- regulators with other state agency counterparts. “We’re extremely proud to be a resource to NASDA on this and other important issues facing agriculture,” Pittman said. NASDA thanks Pittman for his insights to this developing situation and will continue to monitor the impacts of this decision. NASDA is committed to advocating for clear and effective environmental policies that enhance agricultural productivity and protect natural resources. NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries and directors of the departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four U.S. territories. NASDA enhances American food and agricultural communities through policy, partnerships and public engagement. To learn more about NASDA, please visit
www.nasda.org.
agInnovation Leaders Unveil 10-year Agricultural Research Plan In a press release issued September 17, 2024, leaders from agInnovation, the network of agricultural experiment stations at the nation’s land-grant universities, revealed a new 10-year Research Roadmap in Washington D.C. Te plan was created by a working group consisting of state agricultural experiment station directors from each of agInnovation’s regions: North Central, Northeastern, Southern, Western, and 1890 land-grant universities, as well as members of the Association of Public and Land-grant University’s (APLU) Boards on Agriculture Assembly and Natural Resources, 1994 land-grant institutions, and others. Te Roadmap will address some of the primary obstacles to a prosperous future, according to George Smith, Michigan State University AgBioResearch director and agInnovation chair. Smith noted that 70 percent of publicly funded research and development is conducted by universities and other nonfederal institutions. Tose research results deliver $20 of economic activity for every $1 invested. He said university-led research plays a critical role in the daily lives of all Americans, but there are limitations caused by current funding levels. “We’ve constructed the 10-Year Research Roadmap around the themes of climate solutions, water resiliency, and sustainable agriculture systems, which broadly encompass the central issues we need to grapple with,” Smith said. “To do that, we need strategic investment from the federal government. As many of our nation’s leaders have repeatedly said, food security is national security. Te U.S. must devote greater resources to agricultural innovation to keep pace with countries like China, the top investor in the world in this area.” Te Roadmap advocates for an increase in research funding over the next decade to agInnovation institutions that amounts to just one percent of the federal research and development budget, $1.9 billion per year.
Read the full article at the link that follows. agInnovation leaders unveil 10-year agricultural research plan.
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