FARMERS
COOP
THE CHOICE
KEOTA * RICHLAND * BRIGHTON * AINSWORTH * LIBERTYVILLE
STOCKPORT*HEDRICK*SIGOURNEY*BATAVIA
VISION
AG
www.keotafarmerscoop.com
LOCAL EMPLOYEES SERVING LOCAL COMMUNITIES
October 2013
TOM EDWARDS, GENERAL MANAGER and CCA: The October harvest start will take the Coop and Vision Ag into an
application and delivery period which will run up to Christmas. LP deliveries will be going strong thru spring. The LP
market that most people thought would be soft took the opposite direction as markets often do. The fertilizer market which
was a little soft in late summer is feeling the logistics pressure of all products needing to move rapidly. Anhydrous will be a
local market as the only way to keep up the pace in late October and November will be to load at the terminal in West
Chester/ Demand will be heavy as always and the shortage of contracted tons will create an allocation. Phosphates are
already pegged as possibly becoming in short supply. It seems like the entire season has been a month or so behind. The
Keota fuel project is near completion and the fill area was only shut down for a few hours one day. Our construction crews
did a very professional job and Jeff Bermel did a great job getting them organized to complete the project. The above
ground tanks give us some flexibility for the future if long range planning requires the fuel sites to change. The best thing
will be that we will not be digging up these tanks in the future. Broadway has employed some experienced tire and
maintenance personnel to handle the fall harvest season. Dave Hyman did a good job of getting the staff ready for the very
busy time that is coming. Everyone could have done without the week of 100 degree weather in Sept. The Auditors have
come and gone and we feel that both the Coop and Vision will have successful years. Thank you for your business as it is
greatly appreciated.
FEED DEPARTMENT: DUANE SPROUSE MANAGER: I hope harvest has started well and the yields are good under the
circumstances. With the corn coming out of the fields it should give you more pasture which is really needed. Do not
forget to supplement those cows for maximum usage of the forage in the fields. We recommend using Rangeland 30-13
tubs as well as Wind & Rain mineral to balance the forage for the cows. We also have a supply of products to creep feed
calves. For those of you who are weaning we also have the products to get those calves off to a great start in the lot. With
fall approaching the rodents will start to move into buildings and surroundings so stop in and see our great selection of rat
and mouse baits to control them. We are starting to see some weakness in the commodity markets due to the changes in
basis and some of the yield numbers we have seen. We will be glad to work with you to shore up your needs when the price
is right. We have soyhull pellets in inventory as well as corn gluten pellets and ddgs. Thank you for your business and
look forward to serving you.
PROPANE: MIKE GERST MANAGER: Fall harvest has begun with the corn dryers firing up for another season. Please
take the time in the morning to check your tanks and give us a call if you will need a fill. This will give us time to plan a
route filling tanks for the day. Have a SAFE harvest! Thanks for your continued support!
GRAIN: JONI SANDBURG GRAIN MERCHANDISER: Harvest is rolling, prices seem to be holding their own, corn yields
are “better than expected” and beans yields are disappointing for most but still hearing some good yields. There is The
USDA Quarterly Stocks Report on Sep 30th; this will give us a direction as well. With the busy season, don’t forget to
leave offers!! Thank you for your business and have a safe harvest!
LIBERTYVILLE, DEB SWAN MANAGER: Happy Harvest time is upon us again. We have plenty of storage for corn and
beans and hope we have good yields down here for once. Remember to treat last year’s corn before you bring it in or put
new corn on top because the weevils are active and eating. And always remember to be careful around machinery. Give us
a call to keep your dryer tanks filled. Nathan is starting to get pretty busy again so please watch the gauges and give him
time to get there before it’s too late. Winter will soon be here (85 days until Christmas from Oct 1) and need to check
house LP tanks too. Also, please keep an eye on your fuel barrel gauges. It really helps Jason out to order before you run
out. We have mineral, Liq 40 and tubs on hand to keep your cattle in good condition. The cheapest, best amusement you
can have is to learn to laugh at yourself….and I’ll laugh with you.
RICHLAND, RANDY BOMBEI MANAGER: The final Answer Plot session for 2013 was once again a success. Even with
the extreme heat we had that week many of you came out for an evening of education and fun. Thank you for coming and
being a part of it. Corn yields around the Richland area have been coming in above expectations. Keep this in mind when
placing fertilizer orders this fall so you won’t be short on fertility next year. As you complete harvest on your fields, please
let us know when you are ready for spreading or sampling. It takes some time receiving the results of Grid Sampling;
therefore calling early allows us plenty of time to get P & K applied preventing delays in your fall tillage practices. Some
new equipment has arrived; this is an ongoing process that helps us keep up with the pace of today’s agriculture and better
serve our customers. It has started off to be a busy fall season already and our team is ready and up for the challenge. Have
a safe and bountiful harvest.
REFINED FUELS, JEFF BERMEL MANAGER: The Coop is planning to continue to handle clear unleaded gasoline.
Clear unleaded gasoline contains 84% sub octane gasoline with 91% octane premium gasoline to make a clear 87% octane
unleaded gasoline. A few draw backs to this blend will be the higher priced 91% and the availability of it at the pipeline.
The gasoline that contains 10% ethanol will be available as well which is 84% sub octane unleaded with 10% ethanol to
reach a 87% octane level. This will be the least expensive . This is something new in the Petroleum business. We will
decide in the future what Farmers Cooperative will offer from our customer’s comments. Please call Jeff or Jason with
any comments or questions. Thank you for your business. Have a safe harvest season.
SIGOURNEY, BRENT NESS MANAGER: Well it looks as if most are in the field picking corn or cutting beans. Yields
seem to have a range, with corn hanging in and soybeans jumping around. As fields are finished let us know so we can get
the new soil tests sent in we have planned for this year. If the results call for lime we will want to get started on that as soon
as possible since most quarries were depleted last fall and only a handful have a supply now. We are also ready to start
applying dry to those fields as they become ready. I have the weigh wagon ready to go and have done some checks so if you
want to do a check on any fields give me a call. I would like to do some checks in the fields with ascend. They have looked
great all year. As always stay safe and have a great fall harvest season.
BATAVIA, TONY BOS MANAGER: Fall has officially arrived. It’s always my favorite time of year, with the cool crisp
weather, high school football season, and of course harvest season. Batavia is getting equipment ready for the fall fertilizer
season. Some crops are beginning to come out. If you have made plans with your Vision Ag agronomist to have fields grid
sampled, be sure and let them know when the crop is out so that it can be sampled in a timely manner. The sooner we have
results the sooner you can plan your fertilizer application. Be sure and talk to your Vision Ag rep about the R7 Tool and
the information you can utilize from this tool. Vision Ag can put together yield potential maps, organic matter maps, along
with satellite derived management zone maps from the R7 tool. This information along with your grid sampling results
will help you put together the best fertilizer and seed program for your fields. Have a safe harvest season.
RICHLAND’S ANSWER PLOT DAY 2013