HOS Decision Coming Soon

Yesterday, Illinois Congressmen Aaron Schock, Tim Johnson and John Shimkus joined with several other Midwestern Congressman to send a letter to Dept of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urging him to support the agricultural hours of service exception and the use of the exception for all distribution segments within a 100 mile radius.  Congressman Jerry Costello's office is also weighing in to support this endeavor.  IFCA thanks our elected officials for recognizing how vital this exception is for the movement of ag inputs from the terminals to the retail plants as well as from retail to farm and between farms, and for sending this letter of support on our behalf.  We expect a decision from USDOT on the meaning of "distribution point" any day.  Keep your fingers crossed that the use of the exception from the terminals to the retail sites remains.  IFCA has a back-up plan in place to obtain an emergency HOS exemption from the Illinois DOT should USDOT come down with a decision that is not favorable to our industry.  If you have a moment, please send a thank you note or email to these Congressmen.  Thanks also to Ag Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute for making the rounds on the Hill working with the congressional offices to get this done.