The topics that our panelists will be addressing were chosen by the National Ginners' Technology Committee as very important and timely. We are fortunate to have speakers with the experience and expertise that these offer. I certainly appreciate their taking time to be with us.

As an introduction, the ginning industry is facing a number of serious safety and labor issues. In addition, workers compensation insurance rates and even its availability have become increasingly larger concerns for our industry. Fortunately, our industry has in place organizations that are dedicated to serving their memberships in these areas. We should also note the cooperation and commitment from many of our insurance companies in teaming with our associations to address these concerns.

Let's do a quick review of association programs:

-Starting with Southeastern Ginners, they early on established a safety and insurance committee which developed an association insurance plan and a number of safety programs, including funding for a gin safety video. This committee continues in a strong fashion today, being the leading force behind a comprehensive educational program on farm safety.

-In California, where CAL-OSHA and various legislative initiatives have burdened the ginning industry with regulations and requirements much more stringent than federal standards, California Ginners has provided its members with regular safety seminars, materials, and consulting services. Hands-on lockout/tag-out training in the gin and management seminars on labor regulations are some of their latest activities.

-A good safety program with weekly mailings through the season and an awards banquet encouraging a safe ginning season have been the mainstay of Southern Ginners. They have worked closely with the self-insurance program in Louisiana by developing materials for a mandatory safety program. And in the last year, a safety director has been hired to expand and implement their written program.

-At Texas Cotton Ginners, bold steps were taken to become involved in state workers compensation reform, while developing a comprehensive safety program and insurance package for their membership. Additional technical staff have proven effective in their safety program's implementation.

-On the national scene, both National Cotton Council and National Ginners provide services for the industry by monitoring proposals, responding to them, and assisting the local associations with educational and compliance efforts.

Others play a significant role on this industry team and much credit must be given to the programs developed by extension service.

Again, I am pleased that some of these team members are with us today to share information on some important issues affecting the ginning industry.