What are the major issues confronting the cotton ginning industry?
A – We will be dealing with a number of important issues this year. First and foremost is the cottonseed assistance program passed by Congress last year. We are working with the National Cotton Council and our friends in Congress to ensure timely delivery of this much needed assistance. Our association also has joined with other agricultural interests to work for much needed immigration reforms. Agriculture needs access to a workable guest worker program and we are supporting legislative efforts to accomplish this. This year, we hope to also get USDA to make necessary changes in the Step 2 program so that reginned motes are treated the same as lint. I also would mention that our association has policy to work with Congress to exempt module truck beds from the federal excise tax. One of our industrys truck manufacturers contested this tax in a federal court, and a jury ruled in its favor, so we would like to see Congress change the laws to reflect how this court ruled. Another NCGA prio
