Grain Journal - July/August 2008 - (Page 92) Ben Boerner Interview TGFA WORKS ON MYCOTOXINS, FRANCHISE TAX, AIR QUALITY, INSURANCE ISSUES Ben Boerner, president of the Texas Grain and Feed Association, Fort Worth (TGFA/817-336-7875), since 1993 actually is serving with the association for the second time. The first go-round was from 1986 to 1988. Boerner had earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the 1980s in animal science from Texas A&M University and had spent six months working for the university’s extension service in College Station and Vernon. Ray Nolen, who was then the chief executive staffer for the association, contacted Boerner to come and work as director of member America in Chicago, IL. He then returned to Texas to take up his present position with the TGFA. Grain Journal interviewed Boerner early in June at his office in Fort Worth concerning issues currently facing the grain and feed industries in the Lone Star State. Agriculture in Texas Ben Boerner services. Boerner left the TGFA in 1988 to work for five years in sales and product development for Oil-Dri Corp. of Two issues that affect us a lot are the possibility of drought and problems with mycotoxins such as aflatoxin and fumonisin. These are the biggest challenges our producers have. As a result, the State of Texas is seen as a high-risk farming area. We find that we have to spend a lot of time educating our grain members on the need to test for mycotoxins and disproving common misconceptions like being able to fix the problem with aeration or temperature control. We’ve been doing this with aflatoxin since the 1980s. For the last five or six years, we’ve been dealing with fumonisin. The conditions for developing fumonisin are almost the exact opposite from aflatoxin. Fumonisin is associated with wet and cool weather. In 2006, it was a tremendous problem in most of the state. We saw the worst of it in the Panhandle, related to climate and the use of irrigation. Franchise Tax Changes to this will affect some of our members. It’s related to the fact that Texas has no state income tax and relies exclusively on property taxes. Since George W. Bush was governor, we’ve been wrestling with the issue of property tax relief, and the franchise tax is part of that. The franchise tax is levied on businesses. The tax has been based on profit, with capital expenditures facResponse No. 921 92 GJ J/A http://www.integraplastics.com http://www.integraplastics.com
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