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The MWFPA News Bulletin is underwritten in part by Bug Blocker Doors & Screens
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MWFPA's Spring Summit & Scramble Fast Approaching
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 It's Spring...are you ready to roll?
Last year over 200 golfers participated in this event and we awarded over $3,000 in cash prizes.
There are many opportunities to promote your company by sponsoring: a golf hole, the evening reception, cash prizes, lunch, and donating items for drawings and goodie bags.*
All sponsors will be recognized with signage at the event, on our website, and in our bi-monthly e-bulletin. The sooner you sponsor the longer your logo is displayed.
This year's golf outing will again afford participants the opportunity to help raise money for MWFPA Scholarships. In 2017 MWFPA awarded sixteen $1,000 scholarships to the children of MWFPA member company employees.
Get your foursome together and join us!
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Kalahari, (608) 254-5466. When you call be sure to indicate that you are with MWFPA.
*If your company plans to bring a door prize, please contact
brian.deschane@mwfpa.org, or phone 608-255-9946 in advance of the event so your contribution can be included on the appropriate signage. A MINIMUM of 225 ITEMS MOST BE DONATED.
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Perdue Made U.S. Ag Secretary
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George "Sonny" Perdue of Georgia was approved by the U.S. Senate and sworn into office as agriculture secretary in President Donald Trump's administration last week.
Perdue won confirmation in the Senate on a strong bipartisan vote of 87-11. He sailed easily through his confirmation hearing March 23, gaining the support of several Democrats, including WI Sen. Tammy Baldwin, MI Sen. Debbie Stabenow, and Tom Vilsack, the previous secretary of agriculture under former President Barack Obama.
He will be faced with a number of challenges including the implementation of the new labeling law for food with genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
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School Lunch Nutrition Standard Delayed
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 U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the department will delay the requirement on lowering the amount of sodium in meals while continuing to allow waivers for regulations that all grains on the lunch line must be rich in whole grains.
Schools could also serve 1 percent milk instead of the nonfat now required.
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Gottlieg As FDA Head Clears Senate Hurdle
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 The U.S. Senate health committee voted 14-9 to approve physician Scott Gottlieb to be the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sending the nomination to the full Senate. The Senate returns today and may consider Gottlieb's nomination.
Read more from the Washington Post.
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Negotiations Press Forward On MN State Budget
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The MN Legislature is into the home stretch of the 2017 regular legislative session. With less than a month to go before they must adjourn by midnight on Monday, May 22.
Legislative activities now consiste of reconciling the differences in major House and Senate omnibus bills.
At the same time, legislative leaders and Gov. Dayton continued to meet in an attempt to reach an agreement on the various omnibus budget bills.
Without a budget in place by July 1, a partial or full state government shutdown could occur for the second time in seven years. The 2011 shutdown lasted nearly three weeks.
MWFPA will continue to monitor developments and report back to its membership.
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IL House Approves Sick Leave Mandate
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The IL House approved a mandated paid sick leave bill on a partisan vote,
66-51-0.
HB 2771 (C. Mitchell) would require all employers, regardless of size, to provide up to 7 days of paid sick leave to their employees, both full-time and part-time.
MWFPA strongly opposes this costly mandate on employers. More than ninety percent of manufacturers provide paid time off as a benefit to attract and retain employees. However, this should be a decision made by individual employers rather than a one-size-fits all mandate from government.
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Family & Medical Leave Bill Clears IL House Comm.
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The IL House Labor and Commerce Committee approved a measure to create an insurance program to compensate employees who take unpaid family or medical leave.
HB 2376 (Flowers, D-Chicago).
The state-administered program would be funded by a payroll deduction that would start at 0.3% of employee salary but can be raised at the discretion of the Illinois Department of Employment Security depending on the viability of the fund. The program would include all Illinois based employees.
An employee would become eligible to receive benefits after working for more than 1,200 hours in a 12-month period. At that point they could receive up to 12 weeks of benefits each year equaling the employee's average weekly wage over the previous 8 weeks. The benefit could be used all at once or split up over the year.
An employer is also required to keep detailed records that the Department of Employment Security can access at will to determine the employee's benefit. This legislation would create a payroll tax in excess of a billion dollars a year and create a significant administrative burden for employers.
The legislation was approved along partisan lines with 17 Democrats voting yes and 10 Republicans voting no. The legislation will now be considered on the House floor. MWFPA opposes the bill.
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Finance Committee To Begin Voting On WI State Budget
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The WI Legislature's Joint Finance Committee (JFC) will begin taking votes on the 2017-19 state budget today.
JFC plans to meet once the first week of May and then twice a week until they are finished. Typically, JFC begins their executive session with the less controversial budget proposals and saves the "big-ticket" items - transportation, Medicaid and education, for last.
As with most years, there are several of the governor's budget proposals that JFC decides to drastically change or reject entirely. Among the contentious issues prominent in this budget cycle is transportation funding.
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WI Hi-Cap Well Bill Set For State Assembly Vote
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A bill modifying high-capacity well regulation in Wisconsin is scheduled for a vote in the State Assembly on May 2. It would then go to Gov. Scott Walker for his consideration.
The measure would exempt well repairs, replacement, reconstruction and ownership transfers from state oversight, while maintaining Wisconsin's stringent environmental requirements for such wells. It also provides for a study of watersheds in Wisconsin's Central Sands region.
MWFPA supports the bill as it will provide regulatory certainty for farmers who rely on high-capacity wells to irrigate their crops and hydrate livestock.
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Guest Article: Is Cyber-Coverage Part of Your Business Insurance Program?
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 Everyone is aware of the problem of computer virus and computer hacking issues that have caused considerable havoc and unrest in corporate America.
News of malicious intrusions by hackers stealing millions of personally identifiable information from businesses has grabbed the headlines, and rightfully-so, but it's the less publicized claims that insurers see in far greater numbers that can be just as involved and costly.
These claims involve privacy-related breaches that require strict compliance within numerous state and federal laws; incidents arising out of human error, lost equipment with unencrypted data, insider threat, and more.
Read about the need to examine what you are doing within your own organization to minimize your exposure to this growing concern in this article from MWFPA's insurance program administrator, Hays Companies.
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MWFPA Offers Exclusive Property & Casualty Insurance Program For Members
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 The Midwest Food Products Association is pleased to announce that
its members now have access to an exclusive insurance program that is written specifically for our industry. With assistance from the risk management firm Hays Companies, this program offers a customized Property and Casualty insurance program.
The program offers a complete insurance program for all business types, from processor to manufacturers, logistics to wholesaler and anything in between. No market segment is excluded, and no organization is too large or too small.
Learn more about what the MWFPA Insurance Program can do for you by visiting the program's website:
https://mwfpa.haysprograms.com/.
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MWFPA Events You Won't Want To Miss
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May 31 - June 1, 2017:
MWFPA Spring Summit & Scramble.Trappers Turn Golf Course, Wisconsin Dells, WI
October 5, 2017:
MWFPA Sporting Clay Challenge. Milford Hills Hunt Club,
Johnson Creek, WI.
November 28 - 30, 2017:
MWFPA 113th Annual Convention and 90th Processing Crops Conference. Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN.
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Other Educational Opportunities
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May 30, 31 and June 1, 2017:
FMSA: From Legalese to Implementation - A Preventive Controls Qualified Individual Training
One of the key parts of FSMA is the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis and Risk-based Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation (referred to as the Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation).
This course, developed by Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance, is the standardized curriculum recognized by FDA: successfully completing this course is one way to meet the requirements for a "preventive controls qualified individual" and receive a PCQI Certificate. Even those who do not currently need to have this designation will benefit from this course as it will cover one of the main components of FSMA and how it is being practically implemented.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
612-626-6626
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