AmericanHort has a long history of involvement in federal policy debates with an eye toward ensuring members’ business profitability and growth. Our members are mostly small, family-owned or closely held, horticultural businesses. Many are multi-generational, and many are diversified. Human resources, tax reform, and other small business issues affect all AmericanHort members, so our approach is to engage on issues that present special challenges for our members based on the nature of our industry.
Clarifying the Department of Transportation’s “Agricultural Commodity” Definition
The “agricultural commodity” definition currently in-use by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) continues to lead to compliance confusion for horticultural crop growers. AmericanHort supports the explicit inclusion of nursery and greenhouse crops under the agricultural commodity definition, ensuring shippers are allowed access to an exemption for “Hours of Service” regulations available to those transporting highly perishable goods within a 150 air-mile radius.