www.keycoop.com | October 2014
IN THIS ISSUE
Railroads, profits and the
cooperative business model__ 2
Avoid washed-out rations___ 3,6
Bushels for Ag form_________4
Co-op month celebration______5
Key’s statewide honor_______6
Summer fun with Key_______7
your essential business partner
Harvest is a great time to consider donating
to Bushels for Ag, a program that promotes
agricultural learning in Iowa classrooms.
A monthly publication dedicated to informing and connecting members.
Farmers promote ag learning in
classrooms
The road ahead
Laying the foundation
for the future
By Jim Magnuson, GM,
[email protected]
It is often said in business that “Our
people are our most important
asset.” Several months ago, Human Resources Manager Bryan
Bandstra and I were considering an
employee survey to determine the
level of employee engagement in
continued on page 5
Support your local FFA chapter—participate
in Bushels for Ag
By Sara Clausen, Director of Communications, [email protected]
Since it was created five years ago, Key Cooperative has highlighted the success of our Bushels for Ag program. With the help of local
farmers, the program promotes agricultural learning in Iowa classrooms.
This program has greatly increased in size since it began and now has a
presence in 13 schools and one community college.
How does the program work?
Key Cooperative partners with local FFA chapters in a collaborative effort
to offer students the opportunity to market corn and soybeans in their schools’
agricultural marketing classes. Key Cooperative helps jump-start the program
September 2014 Key Connections | 1
continued on page 4
Cooperatives: Why?
Appreciation for cooperative business model deepens with
industry challenges
By Scott Stabbe, Grain Merchandiser, [email protected]
Over the last year, we’ve experienced a railroad meltdown—shipments of
grain, automotive supplies, and chemicals
have backed up—and now some lawmakers are telling the railroads they need to
put investments ahead of profits. One
comment was “You are doing a great job
for your shareholders. What about these
folks [your grain and auto customers]?”
This brought to mind a comment
from a producer that I heard about. It cut
to the chase on what being a cooperative
means. (Although after 30-plus years
in the cooperative system, you would
have thought I had heard it before, but
then again my memory is not like it used
to be.) Anyway, the explanation of the
difference between a cooperative and
a private stock company was this: The
stock company is attempting to always
maximize its returns for its investor/
stockholders while still serving the needs
of its customers. The cooperative is also
trying to make a profit while serving its
customers, but since its customers are
also owners, the profits are returned to
customers.
Years ago, I was with another cooperative as we bought an elevator location
from a big, private stock company. The
market was similar to what we are going
back into now: bigger crops and bigger
carries. The elevator had always filled the
facility with beans in the fall, then closed
the doors until later in the year and just
captured the carry in the market. That
made excellent business sense since it cut
expenses, and with the carry the market
provided, maximized profits on the beans
and returned more to stockholders. But
2 | www.keycoop.com
when the cooperative bought the facility,
we took in both corn and beans yearround and upgraded the facilities, and with
those changes, we received a number of
compliments from area producers. When
you looked at it in true business fashion,
what the previous owner had done made
more sense business/profit-wise, but if
you looked at it in terms of serving your
customer/owner, what the cooperative
did made more sense. In short, the cooperative looks at business differently than
normal stock companies and tries to bring
additional value to our customers/owners.
At the heart of it, that is the reason Key
Cooperative has put significant effort into
developing the AgroMetrix program, and
it’s why we continue to improve it along
with our other services.
Now let’s move on to the latest
USDA Crop Report as it was the largest increase in yield numbers from August to September since at least 1973
(up 4.3 bu/acre to 171.7). Even beans
were increased by 1.2 bu/acre. Going
forward the next thing will be the
actual planted acres: Will they drop
acres to adjust the overall crop lower?
Regardless of what they do, we know
it is a big crop with a larger carryout
(2.002 bil/bu), and the carryout-touse percentage of 14.7 is the largest
we have seen since the 2005/06 corn
crop, which was 17.5 percent. It has
been five years (the 2009/10 average
price was $3.55) since the carryoutto-use has been in the double digits on
corn, which would explain the drop in
prices we are experiencing. The bean
carryout-to-use is at 13.3 percent,
and it has not been in double digits
since the 2006/07 crop (18.6 percent),
although world carryout-to-use has
been higher since then. Given these
facts, a look back in the history book
at prices may be in order.
At the time of this writing we
had not set Key Cooperative harvest
policies, but it did not look like there
would be any changes. Nonetheless,
please check with your Key Cooperative
location for the current harvest policies.
Also I would like to ask ahead of time
for your patience. This fall looks like it
may be a wet crop and a possible drying
bottleneck. But as always, we will do our
best to keep things running smoothly
and rolling along for harvest. Please
always be careful and SAFE. Thank you
for your patronage.
“In the business world, the rearview
mirror is always clearer than the
windshield.” – Warren Buffett.
Join us for
lunch in Sully
Key Cooperative will be holding a
Customer Appreciation Lunch on
October 14 from 11:00–1:00. All
customers are welcome to stop by,
eat and visit—or grab a lunch and
go if you’re in a hurry!
Key Cooperative Sully Location
504 6th Ave.
Sully, IA 50251
Washed out!
Don’t let your forages
wash out your ration
By Justin R Crocheck, Beef Specialist,
[email protected]
The summer of 2014 will
certainly be a grazing and haying
season to remember. After two summers of drought conditions, the Key
Cooperative trade area was blessed
with regular moisture. We had some
areas that were overly blessed, causing an abundance of washy grass
that at times this summer could not
meet the dry matter (DM) needs
of the lactating cow. The levels of
some nutrients in the grass were
also washed out along with DM.
This quality of grass was also baled
for feeding this winter. If we have
never tested our forages in the past
then we will want to test this year to
ensure that we don’t wash out our
winter ration.
As we get ready for this coming
winter feeding season, now is the
time to take samples of our hay and
other forages that we have available
on the farm. Some Key producers
have already taken me up on sampling of their 2014 forages, coming
up with balanced rations and a plan
to get the most out of their forage
for the upcoming season. If the
testing is done early and the results
show that the forages are nutritionally deficient, then we have the ability to fill in the “holes” and balance
rations before the winter feeding
season. Whether we have a total
mixed ration (TMR) mixer or not,
we need to know the quality of these
forages and what we can do to meet
the nutritional needs of the cow for
her stage of production. These cows
and future calves are too valuable to
take the chance. We have an opportunity to balance rations and add
protein supplementation to fill any
nutritional “holes” in our forages.
The addition of supplemental
protein from products like QLF®
Beef Elite 40 liquid and Rangeland®
30-13 tubs allow the cows to get
more out of your forages. The protein works to feed the “fiber bugs”
continued on page 6
PORK IS KEY
OCTOBER IS NATIONAL PORK MONTH
We proudly support Iowa’s hardworking pork producers.
your essential business partner
October 2014 Key Connections | 3
Key Cooperative is partnering with your local FFA chapter in a program called Bushels
for Ag. In the collaborative effort, ag students will have the opportunity to gain
experience marketing corn and soybeans in their school’s Ag Marketing class.
continued from page 1
Key Cooperative will help get the program started by donating the first 100 bushels of
corn and 40 bushels of soybeans to each participating FFA chapter. Any producer
desiring to
donate
to the program
is welcome
do so
by filling
out theyou
form
below
or to
life experience
rather
than
the students
learn to
about
how
bushels
would
like
by contacting your local Key Cooperative Grain Office.
Farmers promote ag learning in classrooms
by donating the first 100 bushels of corn and 40 bushels of
soybeans to each participating
FFA chapter. In addition, any
producer desiring to donate to
their local chapter is welcome
to do so. All proceeds will go
directly to the FFA chapter.
“The program provides a
great learning opportunity
for students and instructors
as well as the ability to raise
money for other chapter activities,” said Key Cooperative
Agronomist Dennis Janssen.
“The program really benefits
the entire chapter.”
Bushels for Ag is a
unique program because
students have a physical
product to learn with—making grain marketing a real
just a process. Students are
grain marketing works, they donate, then return the form
All
proceeds
will
go
directly
to the
FFAan
chapter.
If you have
donating,
engaged in an actual manalso
gain
understanding
of antointerest
any ofinour
Key Cooperative
please contact your local FFA chapter or Key Cooperative Grain Office.
agement plan and actively
finances.”
locations. (Please designate a
Thank
you
for
your
support!
participate in the sale of the
For those interested in
minimum of 10 bushels.) The
commodity. “The decisions
participating in the Bushels
form will allow us to transfer
made by the students directly for Ag program, we have
the contribution directly
affect their profit,” said Key
included the contribution
from your Key Cooperative
Cooperative Agronomist
form below. Simply designate account to the FFA chapter
Ted Hammes. “Not only do
the chapter and how many
of your choice.
Partner with us today! Simply designate an FFA chapter from the list below as well as
how many bushels you would like to donate. Please designate a minimum of 10 bushels.
The form will allow us to transfer the contribution directly from your Key Cooperative
account to the FFA chapter of your choice.
AUTHORIZATION TO TRANSFER BUSHELS
PINK PAY
I, _______________________________, authorize Key Cooperative to transfer __________ bushels of
CORN and/or __________ bushels of BEANS from my Key Cooperative grain account to the
following FFA chapter.
□ Baxter FFA
□ Colo-Nesco FFA
□ DMACC
□ East Marshall FFA
□ Gilbert FFA
$
□ Grinnell-Newburg FFA
□ Lynnville-Sully FFA
□ Montezuma FFA
□ Nevada FFA
□ Newton FFA
□ North Polk FFA
□ North Mahaska FFA
□ Roland-Story FFA
□ South Hamilton FFA
Cash In With Up To 20% Savi
□ ____________________
Signed_____________________________________________
Can you help us contact
these members?
Key Cooperative has equity for the following people:
(city listed is the last known address for these people)
•MIKE MITCHELL (Ankeny)
•MIKE WRIGHT (Grinnell)
•SHAWN FOPMA
(West Des Moines)
•SCOTT COGDILL (Huxley)
•ROD KAMPMAN (Baxter)
The member’s disbursement and equity interest with
Key Cooperative will be forfeited unless a claim is
filed for the disbursement within six months from the
date of this publication.
Contact Vicki Gruhn in Sully at 641-594-8102
or via email at [email protected].
4 | www.keycoop.com
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Laying the foundation for the future
Key Cooperative. Surveys are a great tool to gain the unbiased
opinion of our team members and to identify areas that need
attention. About the same time, The Des Moines Register
announced its annual “100 Top Iowa Workplaces” survey.
Bryan did some research and we agreed participation would
be a good opportunity to gain insight into our team members’
attitudes, thoughts and concerns. We did so just to gain the
information and without any expectation of future recognition. In fact, I was a little apprehensive about how we would
stack up against other similarly sized Iowa employers across a
wide variety of industries and businesses.
The employee survey was conducted online and was
strictly confidential and voluntary. We were pleased to learn
that a very high percentage of our team members participated, providing a wealth of valuable information. Several
weeks later Bryan was informed Key Cooperative would
be included as one of the 100 Top Iowa Workplaces to be
announced by The Des Moines Register in late September.
Management author Jim Collins concludes that successful businesses begin with WHO and not WHAT. In
other words, to move an organization ahead you need to
have the people and talent first and then follow with other
needed resources. Collins said successful organizations, over
the long term, “Get the wrong people off the bus; get the
right people on the bus; and get the right people in the right
seats.” Then and only then do they start the journey. It did
not take a survey to know that Key Cooperative has a lot of
the right people in the right seats on the bus. But the survey
does provide great confirmation of what we are doing right
and strong motivation to do even more for our customers by
attracting, retaining and developing the right people.
In related news, I am pleased to announce that
Brent Deppe has joined the senior management team as
agronomy supply chain leader. Brent will be responsible
for purchasing, pricing, logistics and risk management for
all agronomy input products. He began his career as a sales
agronomist in Newton and later served as location manager. Brent will work from the office in Sully and is looking
forward to tackling a new set of responsibilities.
In early September, members of the Boards of Directors
of West Central and Key Cooperative toured several locations
of both cooperatives. This was a great opportunity for the
directors to get better acquainted, learn more about each
continued from page 1
cooperative and hear from team members. Phase two of the
unification study process is underway with the development
of a comprehensive study outline and timetable, as well as
the identification of outside resources available to assist in
specialized areas of interest. The study should be completed
and ready for Board review by mid-February 2015.
As we begin the 2014 harvest season, please use caution around machinery and equipment. Take extra time to
evaluate potential risks and make sure everyone on your
harvest team is fully informed and will put safety at the
top of the priority list.
Celebrate the co-op connection!
This October, Key Cooperative joins other cooperatives
across the nation in celebration of National Co-op
Month. For more than 100 years, farmer-owned co-ops
have given individual farmers a fair chance to compete
and succeed in the global marketplace. According to
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),
2.2 million farmers own the nearly 2,300 farmer
cooperatives in the nation. Farmer-owned cooperatives
generate $213 billion annually in economic activity and
184,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs. (Source:
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives)
First named Co-op Month in 1948, the month of
October is used nationally to educate members and
communities about the positive impact cooperatives
continue to make. For Iowans, this designation may
sound very familiar—just last year Governor Terry
Branstad signed an official proclamation declaring
October as Cooperative Month for the state of Iowa.
We hope you’ll join us in celebrating our proud
cooperative heritage and all the ways we connect with
each other, our communities and our world.
October 2014 Key Connections | 5
Don’t let your forages wash
out your ration
continued from page 3
with nitrogen so they can break down the
fiber in the hay and other forages. With
this, the animal has the ability to consume more forage because of an increased
rate of fiber digestion. The use of nonprotein nitrogen (urea) in the liquid and
tubs helps to increase fiber digestion
over using “natural” protein alone. Urea
readily breaks down to feed the “bugs”
and provides degradable protein to the
cow at the rumen and bypasses protein
at the small intestine. Urea (46 percent)
provides us with the equivalent of 287
percent crude protein, so it only takes
a little of it to make a big impact in the
rumen of the cow. The major drawback of
urea is that it is not very palatable to the
cow, so we need to mask the taste with
molasses to get them to consume it.
Molasses provides us with the added
power of sugars to work with protein to
improve the digestibility of forages. The
combination of the two creates a synergy
that improves the ability of the “fiber bugs”
to unlock nutrients like energy in the
ration. This is a more efficient way of getting
energy to the cow than adding corn. Corn
has the tendency to increase the energy of
the ration, but reduces the forage intake and
fiber digestibility as the inclusion increases.
The effect of corn in a forage-based ration
is that the energy that we were hoping to
receive from the corn in the diet is nullified
by inefficient fiber digestion, with the end
result of us washing out the nutritional
needs of our cows.
Don’t let your forages wash out your
ration. Have Key Cooperative sample your
forages today. Please feel free to contact me
at my cell phone number 515-291-0763 or via
e-mail at [email protected].
6 | www.keycoop.com
Key achieves statewide honor
On Sunday, September 21, The Des Moines Register published “100
Top Iowa Workplaces”―a list of the best places to work in Iowa. We are
delighted to share that Key Cooperative has earned a place on that list.
The evaluation for the Top Workplaces program is based upon
feedback from an employee survey that was completed this past summer.
We are honored to have been selected for the award and thank
all Key Cooperative employees for all they do for our members,
customers and communities!
FUEL FOR
THOUGHT
From farm equipment
to fuel storage, here
are a few tips to help you prepare
for the upcoming cooler weather.
• Drain and remove all water
and contaminants.
• Change filters and clean
pump screens.
• Keep tanks full to reduce
condensation,. fill equipment
every evening.
AS ALWAYS, USE RUBY
FIELDMASTER OR RUBY
FIELDMASTER SEASONALLY
ENHANCED DIESEL FUEL
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rod Meyer
Chris Nady
Shawn Welcher
641-521-6318
515-290-0009
641-521-5243
Members hit the road for the annual Poker Run.
Fun had by all at summer events
Thanks to the members who attended the Annual Member Golf Outing and Poker Run on August 28. A great time
was had by all! Below are the winners of the 2014 member appreciation events.
Golf Outing Championship Flight Winners
Poker Run Winners
1st – Aaron Teig, Ben Winecoff, Justin Hanson, Mark Hanson
2nd – Chuck Semler, Tom Wynia, Rich Olive, Arlan Oakland
3rd – Brad Rutherford, Clint Wobeter, Mike Hilleman, Tim Friday
4th – Jim Wolken, Sam Zoske, Lenny Johnson, Pete Kelly
1st – Dale and Julie Van Wyk
2nd – Eric Jensen 3rd – Kevin Van Kooten
Golf skills were put to the test at the Member Golf Outing.
Members who participated in the annual Poker Run thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
PRST STD
AUTO
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
SULLY, IA
PERMIT NO. 250
your essential business partner
13585 620th Ave
Roland, Iowa 50236
Photo contest winner: Welcome to Iowa!
By Maretta Grattan – Grinnell, IA
Siblings Sydney and Steven pose with their friend Hannah (left)
from Arizona in a cornfield north of Grinnell, Iowa.
The Connections photo contest is open to any member or customer that receives our
newsletter. Each month, one winning photo will be selected and placed in the newsletter.
Photos must feature agriculture or rural settings; Iowa-based scenes are preferred. Photos
must be submitted by the 10th of each month in order to qualify for the following month’s
newsletter. Please include your name, address, phone number and email address with your
submitted photo(s). Submissions may be made by mail or email.
MAIL: Sara Clausen | 13585 620th Ave. | Roland, IA 50236
EMAIL: [email protected]
OUR BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
Bob Finch, President
Rick Fopma, Vice President
David Hassebrock, Secretary
Dave Vander Pol, Treasurer
R. Chris Anderson
Bryce Arkema
Tim Couser
Terry Leonard
Branon Osmundson
Perry Ritland
Brian Sampson
Bernie Veenstra
Key Connections is sent to you
courtesy of Key Cooperative. Please
send comments or suggestions to Sara
Clausen at 515-388-8030 or at Sara.
[email protected].