SPRING 2015
EVENTS
MEMBER VOTES NEEDED
Class A Members vote on the
proposed Five Star Co-op & Viafield
merger by consolidation beginning
March 13th. Please vote!
Grain Marketing & Agronomy
March 17th-Diamond Jo Casino
Northwood, IA at 9:30 am
March 17th-Best Western
Clear Lake, IA at 4:00 pm
March 18th-Pub at the Pinicon
New Hampton, IA 12:00 pm
Watch for more information on our
website & social media pages.
New Hampton Open House
March 19th Open House at the
New Hampton Liquid Fertilizer
Facility at 1:00 pm.
Watch for more information on our
website & social media pages.
Scarville Open House
Grand opening of our newest
cardtrol in Scarville will be
scheduled soon. Watch for more
information on our social media
pages & our website.
Joice Open House
New fertilizer facility open house
soon. Watch for more information
on our website & social media pages.
Dates are subject to change,
watch for announcements on our
website & social media pages.
www.facebook.com/fivestarcoop
www.twitter.com/fivestarcoop
www.youtube.com
OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW
March is here and full of anticipation. Not only for a new planting season, but two new
Agronomy Facilities will be in operation, and our customer Class A Members will vote on
whether to create a new and improved Cooperative.
The planting season is always looked forward to with optimism, as another opportunity to
surpass your previous yield and learn how to duplicate this in future crops. Most crop inputs
are in good supply and the only challenge will be trucking it in, if we don’t have it on hand
already. So, this is the time to review your plans one last time and let us know what you need
so we can have it available when you need it.
The Liquid Chemical / Fertilizer Load-out building at New Hampton is done with only minor
finishing touches to be made. You are welcome to come to the open house and learn more
about how this facility can help your operation. See the Events section for date and time.
The Dry Fertilizer Plant construction in Joice is done as well. Electrical work continues
through March. The receiving system was tested the last week of February, and shipments are
scheduled in March for the spring season. There will be an open house scheduled which will
be announced later in March.
The Five Star Co-op/Viafield merger vote is a huge decision for all Class A members to make.
Both Boards of Directors and employees have invested a significant amount of time and
analysis to determine feasibility. In my 19 years with Five Star Co-op, we have analyzed many
business opportunities, and the ones we acted on, specifically Rockwell Ag Center near Mason
City, and Top of Iowa Co-op west and north of Mason City, have strengthened our Cooperative.
In the Agronomy Department, we have been able to attract and retain exceptional employees
and customers which has enabled us to upgrade facilities and equipment in a short period
of time. I challenge anyone who thinks we are not a better cooperative than we were 20
years ago; providing better expertise and information, and more product & service offerings
than in the past. The key to adopting new technologies is having the financial strength and
size to withstand the monetary investment in the startup phase. We would have the ability
to hire people with specific expertise, and purchase specialized equipment for our member
customers to utilize. It is my opinion that this merger will only enhance our ability to serve
your needs in the future. Olin Amundson,
Agronomy Department Manager
Dry Fertilizer Facility, Joice
Liquid Fertilizer Load-out, New Hampton
www.fivestar.coop
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LETTER FROM THE
BOARD CHAIRMAN
LETTER FROM THE
GENERAL MANAGER
Are you ready for Spring? I sure
am. We are preparing to serve all
your agronomy needs this season.
Sometimes as spring approaches,
I think in terms of agronomy, but
when I think about how busy all of
our departments are, we are truly a
very busy co-op. We pride ourselves
on exceptional service to all of our
customers with knowledgeable and
hard working employees. Each of our
employees are dedicated to giving
you their best and are willing to work
long hours to make sure you get the
products you want, and/or the pickup services we offer.
If you didn’t know, we have 190
full-time employees, and use
approximately another 100 part-time
employees during the busiest times
of the year to service your operation’s
needs. We have a great group who
believe in agriculture. Our newest
entry-level employees have seen
how agriculture is a promising career
for the future. The recent growth of
agriculture, and the growth at Five
Star Co-op is creating excitement
for everyone including colleges
and technical training facilities who
are seeing an increase of students
in agriculture. I believe this trend
will continue. We are attracting the
students close to our facilities which
is very encouraging to us. We do not
need to search too far to satisfy job
positions. We like having local people
to fill these openings.
We are very busy currently on the
merger by consolidation process that
our board of directors have agreed
to send to our members for a vote.
I feel very comfortable to support
this, because they have done their
due diligence to check it out very
thoroughly over the last few years.
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The process was initially a “Discovery
Process”, by which they assessed area
cooperatives to decide if it fit as a
possible partner for the future. They
chose Viafield to take to the members
for a vote, because of the good fit
logistically and operationally. The
efficiencies with both cooperatives
together are exceptional. Employees
from both cooperatives met last
summer to evaluate as well and also
agree this is something that works for
the future of both cooperatives.
Producers have some
important decisions to
make this time of year.
Crop inputs and acreage
mix are decisions with one
year implications. The farm
program is a decision that
effects the next five years.
However, the consolidation
of Five Star Co-op and
Viafield is a decision that
effects the next year, five
years, and beyond.
Informational meetings will be held.
I hope everyone can attend one of
these, so you can determine, and
understand how we feel confident
about the merger of these two
financially strong cooperatives that
reside next to one another. If you
can’t make a meeting, please email or
call me with your questions. The main
thing is that you VOTE. We need 50%
of our Class A members to vote, with
67.7% passing. I hope we will have
your support on this very important
merger for the continued strength of
your cooperative for the future.
Mergers and consolidations
of local co-ops in the
midwest have been very
successful. Sharing of
facilities, equipment, and
employees have resulted
in savings and efficiencies
for the new company.
The study of combining
Viafield and Five Star Coop outlined a very bright
future. The proximity
of Five Star Co-op and
Viafield are a key factor.
Another key consideration
is the similarity of size and
services offered. I strongly
urge every Class A member
to cast their secret ballot
no matter which way you
decide to vote. This is your
Co-op, make your voice
heard.
Please have a safe spring. Let’s all
slow down enough to be here for
many years ahead. It is hard to
believe, but we could be busy with
field work in another month.
Thanks for your business!
Ron Pumphrey
General Manager
Five Star Co-op continues
to meet the needs of it’s
loyal members and is in the
middle of a good financial
year thanks in large
part to the outstanding
cooperative employees.
Recent purchases of trucks,
spraying equipment, and a
new grain bin in Lawler are
prime examples. The board
has also approved retiring
$684,000 of members’
deferred equity which were
in the mail around March
1st. These are several
examples of your co-op’s
financial strength.
Five Star Co-op has eight
$500 scholarships available
to graduating high school
seniors with an interest
in agriculture. Excellent
opportunities are available
for skilled educated people
in the local co-op.
Thank you for supporting
your local cooperative
and remember safety
is an important part of
everyone’s job.
Please take time to let your
voice be heard, and vote on
the upcoming consolidation
proposal.
John Eichenberger
Board Chairman
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
There have been several questions on the recent patronage payment
that was just distributed to our members. This payment was
authorized by your board of directors at the last board meeting. The
payment affected a variety of members as well as non-members
who were previous Class A members from years ago. Some are
now retired and some have moved out of the area, but were at one
time, loyal Class A members of Five Star Co-op. Even some Class B
members who have transferred several years ago from Class A. The
balance receiving checks are still current Class A members. I would
like to commend the board for taking action on this stock that has
been accumulated from 1989 through 2003.
identify the surviving cooperatives, and have been a huge help to
both Five Star Cooperative and Viafield Cooperative.
Another question is if the level of service will continue to be the
same. A person once told me, and I’m a true believer of it, “If your
service changes then we haven’t been doing our job.” This is not an
option for our staff and employees because it is what we practice
everyday and take pride in. We will do what it takes to get the job
done.
We’ve identified the savings in all departments. With the overlay of
our territories, there will be a big savings in logistics. We have trucks
and equipment that travel the same roads and we will become more
efficient by eliminating miles and using facilities that are closer to our
customers. In a perfect world I would like to see all of our patrons
vote.
This payment in no way affects your right to vote for the upcoming
consolidation merger. Several meetings on the consolidation will be
held, and we hope to see many patrons at these meetings.
A huge challenge taking place now, is that in the past few years
we have seen Canadian and Japanese companies buying up
former cooperatives and privates right at our back door. Regional
cooperatives have identified this as a big threat, are starting to
Bob Lynch, .
Assistant Manager .
FIVE STAR CO-OP & VIAFIELD TERRITORIES
Myrtlle
Minnesota
Iowa
London
Northwood
Scarville
Lake Mills
Carpenter
Joice
Grafton
Hanlontown
Clear Lake
Manly
Mason City
Ventura
Colwell
Rudd
North Washington
Charles City
Burchinal
Rockford
Ionia
Klemme
Galbraith
Swaledale
Rockwell
Lawler
Marble Rock
New Hampton
Clermont
Elgin
Nashua
Greene
Dougherty
Randalia
Sumner
Sheffield
218
Maynard
Arlington
Oelwein
35
Lamont
Winthrop
20
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GRAIN COMMENTS
I have noticed that our recent receipts of both corn and beans
have had moisture on the higher side of what we think would
normally be coming in as we head into spring. I encourage you
to take advantage of our current no charge price later program,
take quality risk away from you and put it on our shoulders. You
can deliver directly to one of our locations or, if you prefer, deliver
through us to one of the local ethanol plants and price anytime
between now and the end of July.
Speaking of ethanol, it’s time for me to get up on my soapbox;
we’ve all heard about the “blend wall” and the fact that ethanol
production is near topped out because the nation has reached
a point where all the gasoline sold contains 10% ethanol. The
only way to increase demand for ethanol is to up the blend.
Five Star has done a fantastic job in this department and by
not gouging E-85 customers. Five Star Co-op has 3 locations
with blend pumps; New Hampton, Hanlontown, and the new
cardtrol in Scarville. The current spread between E-85 and E-10 at
these stations is between 60 and 70 cents per gallon, more than
making up for any mileage that might be lost. Other area stations
that handle E-85 are taking a much larger margin on E-85, and
therefore not promoting the use of it as much as your co-op is. I
encourage anyone with a Flex Fuel vehicle to fill up with E-85 at
one of our stations. In my opinion, this is a much better fight than
the food vs. fuel we seem to hear so much about.
There is not really much to say about the grain markets as it seems
like we have been in the winter doldrums for quite some time.
Corn has been range bound for the last two months, supported by
lack of producer selling, which has kept basis levels stronger than
expected. Attempts to rally, however, get met with selling above
the market.
Beans have been trending higher since the first of February on
outstanding demand and waiting for South American harvest to
ramp up, and world demand to go there. A strong US dollar and
high US bean prices will eventually move prices lower as demand
moves to South America. In the mean time, I urge you to take
advantage of rallies and make sales of beans; perhaps even new
crop 15 beans. It is difficult for me to look at projected balance
sheets for next year and not think cash beans will have an 8 in
front of them eventually. On the new crop corn side, it seems
to me December 15 corn should be well supported until we are
assured of adequate acres, and that battle has yet to play out.
Planting intentions come out March 31st so, until then, I expect at
least new crop corn to be well supported.
Save the Date: Marketing combined with Agronomy meetings
are scheduled for March 17th and 18th. More details will likely be
known by the time this newsletter goes to press.
As always, feel free to call me with any concerns or questions
Scott Gudbaur,
Grain Department Manager
SAFETY FIRST
In our effort to improve on safety related issues, we recently
conducted Infrared Analysis (IR) at many of our Five Star Co-op
locations and are planning to conduct more on an annual basis.
Simply put, this technology allows one to see variations in
temperature by detecting energy in the infrared range of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
Infrared Analysis (IR) is the #1 diagnostic tool to determine
premature electrical circuit failure. Utilizing IR within a predictive
maintenance program will provide information that will effectively
reduce energy consumption, increase
equipment reliability, decrease overall
maintenance costs and increase safety.
These temperature differences can be measured and captured as
well, allowing for easy reporting and documentation. But, how can
this affect the maintenance, production, or reliability at our facility?
Infrared Thermography is one of the most
widely used predictive maintenance (PdM)
tools in the industry today. With a wide range
of applications and benefits, many facilities
and PdM providers utilize this technology on
a variety of diverse and unique equipment.
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The differences in temperature can indicate anomalies
that are not detectable by the human eye. Identification
and elimination of these anomalies can have a wide
range and variety of potential benefits at our facilities.
Tony Myers,
Safety Manager
PRODUCTS & SERVICE AT YOUR CONVENIENCE
We will soon be moving out of another
Iowa winter and hopefully we can look
forward to an early spring. With the brutal
cold snaps that we have had our Cenex
Wintermaster premium diesel fuel has
performed excellently again, and has kept
our customers and Five Star Co-op’s diesel
engines running smoothly. Keep in mind
all winter fuels are not the same; you can
count on Cenex Wintermaster from Five
Star Co-op.
E-85 has enjoyed a big price advantage
over unleaded last year and at this writing
it is priced at $1.499 at New Hampton,
Hanlontown, and Scarville. That is a $1.10
savings over regular unleaded gasoline.
With the recent increases in the gas prices,
ethanol has again showed to be our lowest
priced gasoline motor fuel. Be sure to fill
up with ethanol when you go to the pump.
and we are ready to assist you with your
projects while getting ready for the spring
fertilizer and spraying season. We have
large inventories of parts in New Hampton
and Lake Mills with smaller assortments in
some of our other locations. We have the
ability to get parts to all of our locations
for next day shipments on our daily route
truck.
We have always been proud of the quality
of our Purina equine, show and companion
animal feeds, and now with the addition
of Cory Lubben to our sales team, we also
have the expertise in this field to help you
have the best fed animals possible. Cory
and our staff have the knowledge and
training to answer any questions you might
have, with the best products to meet your
needs. Try Purina feeds today.
Five Star Co-op’s hardware department
has been receiving shipments of poly
tanks, sprayer hoses, pumps and fittings,
Steve Breitbach,
Hardware Department Manager
True Value Hardware Store
Store Hours
Monday thru Friday – 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Saturday – 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM
INVESTING IN AG & FUTURES WITH SCHOLARSHIPS
Are you interested in a career in Agriculture?
Did you know there are a wide variety of career
opportunities in the field of Agriculture?
Five Star Co-op is investing in your youth by
offering scholarships to high school graduating
seniors planning on studying agriculture at a
community college or university this fall.
We have eight $500 scholarships available to
children of our Class A members.
Applications are available on our website at www.fivestar.coop or at the Five
Star Co-op location near you.
The scholarship application deadline of March 31st is fast approaching.
Call Laura Schwickerath at the New Hampton office with questions or for more
information.
5
ENERGY DEPARTMENT
Another winter season is on the wind
down which is a good thing as these
past few weeks have been somewhat
brutal with cold temperatures.
Hopefully spring temperatures are
not far away. Coming up soon we will
have a spring bulk oil run which will be
towards the end of March. Contact any
location to place your order. Over the
past couple of months a good share of
you took advantage of the attractive fuel
prices by either filling your storage or
contracting for future months. Although
prices have crept up some, it’s not too
late to lock in any uncovered needs you
have. We are currently still quite a bit
cheaper than last fall’s fuel prices. Call
for current booking prices for spring
or fall. We all know markets continue
to be very volatile, and any global or
economical news can create big market
swings without much warning.
We have had some cold temperatures
lately which has increased propane
usage for everyone. Remember, if you
are not on our monthly fill route, check
ONLINE TOOLS
your tank to avoid possible extra charges
at delivery. Typically, the best time to
call is when your tank is at 20% as this
gives us time to fit you into our delivery
route. Be sure to check our 2015-2016
propane booking prices as they are
somewhat attractive compared to last
year’s propane prices.
We continue to have tank programs
available for those of you who wish to
increase storage. Call for additional
information. As most of you know, a
10 cent tax increase on gasoline and
clear diesel took effect March 1st. Our
booking prices & current prices reflect
this increase.
May you all have a very good upcoming
spring and summer season. For those of
you who have crops to plant I hope all
goes smoothly for you. Thank you for
your business and be sure to contact us
for your petroleum needs.
Connection Central is one of these valuable
tools. Login to see your Five Star Co-op
account information:
-Balances
-Tickets
-Statements
-Sales Volume
-Prepays & Bookings
-Grain Positions
-Deferred Bills
-ACH Payments
-Patronage Dividends recently added!
To view your patronage, Login and click on
the Membership tab.
Until next time,
Bruce Halvorson,
Petroleum Department Manager
VOTE: YOUR BALLOT COUNTS
Class A Members, please remember to VOTE!
Your voting ballot will be mailed directly to you. Consider
all of the information shared over the last few months.
Remember that this is your cooperative and every ballot
counts. Mark your ballots and seal it shut before you
return it to be counted. All ballots will be counted by 3rd party auditors. Both
Five Star Co-op & Viafield have dedicated a lot of time and effort to get the
information together for our members to make an informed decision.
6
You can utilize Five Star Co-op’s online tools
to access the information you need at your
convenience allowing your operation to
continue to run smoothly.
If you are not yet using Connection Central,
sign up at our website, www.fivestar.coop,
click on Account Login, and click on Connection
Central to get started today!
Tommie Jo Thompson,
Communications & Marketing Design Specialist
FROM THE FEED MILLS
Believe it or not, spring is just around the
corner. Winter has been up and down just
like the prices. Soy seems to go up for a
few days, then down for a few days and
just settles in there at a so called NORMAL
price, whatever that means. Distillers was
at an OK price, until China started buying
in January, the price jumped around $80/
ton in only about a week’s time and then
stayed fairly constant. Many customers
have stopped using or cut back on
distillers. My recommendation is to not
book any until the price lowers quite a bit,
which usually does not happen until late
spring, if it does. The problem with this is
that then the distillers plants only let you
book out a couple months at a time. My
recommendation on soy is when you see
a 2 or 3 day drop in prices, you might want
to book around a month’s needs at a time.
It seems soy has no upside or downside
to it, so buy on the down slide until this
market makes a decision on which way it
is headed. Remember this advice is only
worth what you paid for it, so use it very
delicately.
Make sure the planter is ready to roll
because in just about a month or so the
dirt will be flying again.
Have a Safe Spring!
John Winter,
Feed Department Manager
REALISTIC PROFIT MARGINS AND ADVANCEMENTS
Well, last year’s market highs brought us
to today where we are dealing with profit
margins that are in the single digits to low
teens, which are more realistic or at least
margins we are accustomed to. We are
also realizing that pigs are more readily
available than they were last year whether
they are isoweans or feeder pigs. But
what has happened to the PEDv virus that
showed itself during the summer of 2013?
PEDv is still affecting swine herds
throughout the country and it is active
in North Central and North East Iowa,
although somewhat sporadic. In our
experiences, it has caused the looseness
in the finishing animals and set them
back a few days with a small percentage
of additional cull pigs. The sow units that
dealt with the virus most definitely had
greater challenges and recognized the loss
in cash flows due to deaths in their young
pigs. If you remember the update from last
summer, there were an estimated 7 million
baby pig deaths from this virus. While
there have been more associated deaths
over the last 9 months, the number has
been lower than the initial virus intrusion.
What PEDv has done for the industry is
promote stronger biosecurity which is
always a good thing!
While we work through the challenges
of the swine industry, both positive
and negative, we must remember we
are feeding a very large portion of the
earth’s population with a protein of
choice. Advancements in the industry are
readily available in the form of genetics,
management techniques, building
dynamics, and nutrition requirements from
Purina Animal Nutrition to assist and make
this task possible. Please contact the Five
Star Co-op swine sales and service staff for
more information.
Joe Trygstad, Brian Logan
Jeff Hageman & Tim Maas,
Swine Feed Sales
PROJECTED HIGH PRICES FOR CALVES
As spring gets closer, the snow will be
gone and the grass will soon turn green.
Prices for feeder cattle are starting to rise
again as the supply is still tight. The futures
market is not going up in the same fashion
as the feeders. If you are in the market
for a set of feeder calves, contact me for a
projection to see where your breakeven is.
Calving season is in full swing. Most
producers are talking about being a 1/3 to
1/2 done. Soon it will be time to turn the
bulls out or A. I. the cows. One thing to
keep in mind, feeding Aureomycin 30 days
prior to breeding will improve conception
rates between 4 to 9 percent. With the
projected high prices for calves again
this fall, an extra bred cow or two will pay
off. Currently, we have a booking special
for Loose Mineral, Tubs and Creep Feed.
Contact me to discuss savings for your
operation.
Terry Wicks,
Beef Production Specialist
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P.O. Box 151 - 1949 North Linn Avenue
New Hampton, IA 50659
Steve Gebel, True Value Hardware Store New Hampton
QUESTIONS? NEED MORE
INFORMATION? Contact us:
Five Star Cooperative • P.O. Box 151 - 1949 North Linn Ave.
New Hampton, Iowa 50659 • 641.394.3052
Ron Pumphrey – General Manager..................................................641.394.6144
Bob Lynch – Assistant Manager / Controller....................................641.394.6142
Wayne Steven – Operations Manager .............................................641.896-2610
Steve Breitbach – Hardware Department Manager.........................641.394.6141
Olin Amundson – Agronomy Department Manager.........................641.394.6140
Laura Schwickerath – HR/IT/Project Manager.................................641.394.6145
John Winter – Feed Department Manager...................................... 641.330.3543
Bruce Halvorson – Petroleum Department Manager...................... 641.394.6148
Scott Gudbaur – Grain Department Manager..................................641.425.3985
Travis Thomas – Sales Manager . .....................................................201.988.5526
Tony Myers - Safety Manager...........................................................641.512.3598
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