We’re putting it all together and it will be bigger and with a bang-up group of speakers. You may be aware that WASA staff helps with the Four-state Applied Nutrition Conference along with the Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, Univ. of Illinois, Univ. of Minnesota, and Iowa State Univ. That program is almost entirely presentations of private and public research. The evaluations we have received are almost unanimous in their praise for the format. Well, why reinvent the wheel? To that end, we have lined up cutting edge presentations by recognized public and private researchers in dairy feed science, seed technologies and grain merchandising. You will be hearing nationally known speakers on issues that either are or will be in the news at a local venue. And the venue isn’t too bad either. The event will be back at the Kalahari Resort in the Dells again. So we’re combining a great location with a great speaker line-up.

We’ll be getting more info to you shortly, but be sure and mark your calendars now for January 25 & 26. You won’t want to miss it.

Fires, dust explosions, equipment failure, vehicle crashes, and personnel injuries are by definition, unplanned incidents, that can have a devastating effect on your business. You can’t keep every accident from happening, but, by pre-planning, you can exercise some control over the outcome of these events and limit your exposures.

One example of where pre-planning recently paid-off was the experience of a WASA member. In this case, a skid-steer loader backed into and ruptured a natural gas pipe feeding a dryer. The company was able to immediately implement the emergency action plan that they had previously developed. This plan, which included: notification of law enforcement and emergency personnel, employee evacuation to a designated area, orderly shut-down of plant operations, head-count of all on-site personnel (employees, contractors & visitors) and designation of a company contact to act as a media spokesman. Everyone had their job and did it.

While this accident did not result in a fire or explosion, or in injury or loss of life, the emergency responders as a precaution evacuated a large portion of the community, including a local school. The outcome of this accident could have been dramatically different, without preplanning. The response and reaction went about as smooth as one could hope for. Luckily, for the member, they are part of the WASA Loss Control Program, which helped them develop this emergency action plan. The program can’t guarantee that accidents won’t happen, but it can sure help you in how you deal with them when they do.

The WASA Loss Control Program is a cost-effective resource that is available to aid you in meeting your obligations under the law. For more information, please contact RB Willder, in the WASA office, at your convenience.

We need to remind everyone potentially involved with the indirect vitamin litigation, the clock is ticking. Whether you need to file a claim under the program or opt-out, time is a-wastin’. WASA staff has downloaded the claim and opt-out forms. Interestingly enough, the opt-out form will take just about the same time to complete and the same information that a business filing a claim will require. Also, there is a new twist that we became aware of while reviewing the claim form. The form states that ‘very small claims relative to the cost of administering them’ may be disallowed. There is no guidance as to what size claim might constitute a ‘very small claim’ and the form states the Settlement Advisor won’t know themselves until all claims have been filed. There is also the question regarding filing a claim, in which you are required to provide proof of your claim, but on the claim form you may give an ‘estimate’ of your claim. This begs the question, ‘If you have the receipts, why would you have an estimate?’

If you intend to opt-out and pursue your own claim individually or as a member of a group, you must complete a Request for Exclusion form. The Settlement Administrator must receive the Request for Exclusion form no later than Friday, December 7, 2001.

If you wish to remain and participate in the settlement, you must file a Proof of Claim form with the Settlement Administrator no later than Monday, January 7, 2002. You can receive a Notice Packet, which has all the necessary forms including a Proof of Claim form, by either calling 1-800-424-6662 or visiting the website www.vitaminlitigation.com and following the instructions there.

Disclaimer: Neither the WASA Board of Directors nor its staff has taken a position regarding whether individual members of the Association should remain in the class action settlement or opt-out and participate in a group pursuing further action against the defendants. That decision is a private decision made individually by the management, owners and/or boards of each member of WASA based on their own views and situations. The information is solely provided to inform the membership.

Following the September 11 terrorist attack, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), instituted a series of increased security initiatives directed at all transporters (carriers AND shippers), of hazardous materials (HM). FMCSA staff and Wisconsin State Patrol inspectors will be visiting all registered HM transporters, to conduct Safety Sensitivity Visits, in the next few weeks. While these visits will initially be limited to transporters of placarded amounts of HM, legislation is being proposed that would include all fertilizers and pesticides, regardless of the quantity being transported. We are also hearing that inspection visits for transporters of some non-hazardous materials (milk and grain haulers, for example) may be in the works once the HM visits are complete. While these visits will not automatically result in enforcement action, for failure to have the required motor carrier records available for review, it is likely that subsequent safety reviews would be scheduled for those that were found to be seriously delinquent. Translation: They will be back.

The focus of these initial visits appears to be a review of driver files. The items that are being highlighted are I-9 forms and photo copies both front and back, of the CDL for each driver. We have also included, as an insert, are the additional points that will be made during a Safety Sensitivity Visit by either the State Patrol or FMCSA agents. If you have questions or concerns, please contact RB Willder in the WASA office, at your convenience.

Overweight loads of corn and soybeans, up to 92,000 lbs., can be transported on state highways until Dec. 21, 2001, under an agricultural transportation emergency announced by State Transportation Secretary Terry Mulcahy. Although all state highways in Wisconsin are included in the exemption, I-39 between Portage and Wausau is the only interstate highway where the overweight loads may be transported. Under the terms of the emergency declaration, farmers and commercial transporters are not required to obtain overweight permits from the DOT. Vehicles are not allowed, however, to exceed a road's posted weight limit.

The declaration affects only truck weights. All other laws, including height and width limitations and operation, must be observed.

If you are in the agronomy business, your world has changed and possibly will change even more in the coming months because of the events of September 11. There is great concern on law enforcement’s part that agricultural chemicals, either fertilizers or pesticides, may be obtained by terrorists. This concern points up more than ever the need for vigilance. Please remind all of your employees of the need for increased scrutiny of all purchasers or even inquiries regarding ag chemicals.

As a reminder here are the suspicious purchase indicators:

Æ Customer cannot answer or is evasive about agricultural use questions,

Æ Customer insists on taking possession rather than having it delivered,

Æ Customer insists on using cash, money order or cashiers check,

Æ Customer is a stranger and unfamiliar to area or your business,

Æ Customer provides suspicious business or credit information, and

Æ Customer is vague or resists providing personal information.

If a customer fits any of these criteria, wait until the person has left your business, write down an accurate description of the person(s), vehicle, license number, etc. and contact the ATF at 1-800-800-3855 or local law enforcement authorities immediately.

We have included photos, as an insert, of some of the prizewinners from the September golf outing that we couldn’t get in time for last month’s newsletter press time. The event was a blast and belated recognition is better than none. Well, that might be true for some of our winners and maybe not for others. You decide.