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 $ Now more than ever it pays to insu cut the soaring cost of heating and bills* by up to 20%. It’s easy with Ow PINK Fiberglas™ Insulation. For max PINK PAYS! Energy for most zones. Don’t miss Cash In With Up 20% On Energy Bills* Cash In With Up To 20% To Savings On Savings Heating/Cooling Heating/Cooling Energy Bill’s IN SUL AT E NOW. W Now more than ever it pays to insulate! You can Now more than ever it pays to insulate! 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Higher R-values Savings vary. Find out why in the seller’s fact sheet on R-values. Higher R-values mean greater insulating power. 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].
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