ASGA board of directors discusses tough issues facing industry.
The ASGA held a board of directors meeting July 21 at the Grove Hotel in Boise, ID. The group discussed important issues currently facing growers.
According to Mark Duffin, executive director of the Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association, most of the discussion involved a potential Payment-In-Kind program from the USDA. The Department plans to use the 132,000 tons for the program from the purchase earlier this year.
The group also discussed legislative affairs, Mexican trade negotiations related to the NAFTA agreement and the "stuffed molasses" problem. The association also reviewed a draft copy of a cost-of-production survey for growers from the USDA.
Although growers are facing tough issues, Duffin says it is important to keep a positive attitude.
"There's a lot of concern about the state of the industry," he says. "But there is hope."