Recently, I was watching an animated movie with my one-year-old son. A fairy tale, the magical characters were approaching the conclusion of their epic quest and one of them asked the group’s magician how they could be certain their tale would have a happy ending.
“There are no happy endings,” answered the magician, “because nothing ever really ends.”
Words of wisdom. And, perhaps, a business lesson for ag retailers to boot.
It’s no secret that the ag marketplace has come under increasing fire since the beginning of 2009. That, in itself, hasn’t been the troubling part. It’s the products/issues coming under attack that have raised eyebrows and concerns —products/issues that many in the industry would have thought already had “happy endings.”
In March, for instance, McDonald’s Corp. publicly announced it would implement a review of its potato growers and recommend ways for them to reduce their reliance on pesticides.
Reading the press release on this topic, a reader would get the impression McDonald’s has finally decided to forego crop protection product use for the crops it buys. What it fails to mention is that the Golden Arches has had pesticide reduction programs in place for more than a decade, making the announcement seem like little more than a public relations ploy.
Then there’s the story of 2,4-D. One of the nation’s most important herbicides for weed control — particularly as glyphosate-resistant forms have become more commonplace — 2,4-D was released commercially in 1946. Today, it can be found in more than 1,500 herbicide products because of its ability to control unwanted plant pests.
Despite this 63-year usage history and a mid-2007 ruling by EPA that existing scientific data indicated 2,4-D isn’t a health risk to humans when used properly, environmental groups continue to question this “happy ending” assessment. In mid-April, the Natural Resources Defense Council asked EPA to reconsider its ruling, claiming 2,4-D disrupts estrogen and progesterone in humans.
The next “happy ending” battleground could take place on the nation’s roadways. I recently attended a meeting of the Indiana Risk Coordinators and found out that the Hours of Service exemption ag retailers have enjoyed since 1995 is once again being reconsidered by federal lawmakers. Also, some Department of Transportation inspectors are telling border-located retailers that they won’t be able to transport nurse tanks across state lines without first installing lights and brakes. This could represent a significant investment for dealerships in parts and maintenance.
The bottom line is simple: Happy endings don’t exist in ag retail, either. Retailers must continually fight to defend their hard-won business victories year-after-year and not assume that today’s legislative climate will remain that way forever. Otherwise, our industry risks having plenty of “unhappy endings” to tell going forward.
