December 2015 - New Vision Co-op

Volume 17, Issue 6 • www.newvision.coop • December 2015
Directory
Agronomy & Seed
Manager’s Report
Brewster:
By Frank McDowell, CEO
Heron Lake:
Hills:
Jeffers:
Lismore:
Wilmont:
Court Baumgard
Mark Eisfeld
Tina Luther
Trent Palm
Kelly Siverhus
Cullen Walser
Denny Weber
Jared Knips
Emily Remmers
Gerald (Berr)
Hubbling
Craig Vreeman
Andy Krueger
Dave Leenderts
Clay Walser
Curt Luing
Dave Lutmer
Mark Ruesch
Feed
Brewster:
Magnolia:
Windom:
Worthington:
Brenda Appel
Neil Cuperus
Bob Prins
Grant Prins
Micah Rupp
Paul Smit
Randi Strandberg
Jeff Schutz
Lindsay Watterson
Glenda Zeman
Al Prins
Scott Scholtz
Shad Jacobs
Grain
Adrian:
Beaver Creek:
Brewster:
Dundee:
Ellsworth:
Heron Lake:
Hills Terminal:
Jeffers:
Mt. Lake:
Reading:
Wilmont:
Windom:
John Palaschak
Bert Verhey
Jim Den Hartog
Marlis Einkopf
Deb Gerdes
Kevin Hietbrink
Sue Nau
Keith Newman
Sue Paulzine
John Varley
Kevin McBreen
LaDean Fletcher
Jim Westerman
Nelva Behr
Roger Hemiller
Brent Piotter
Glenn Crowley
Becky Remakel
Scott Zamzow
I really appreciate
the show of support
from everyone that
attended the Worthington Feed Mill
Open House. It’s great to see New
Vision members and guests get together
to see the Worthington warehouse
expansion and the new pellet and
bagging equipment in action. It’s a
valuable message for New Vision
employees to see the members
demonstrate an interest in the
employees’ work environment and
observe the new investments. Thanks
again!
Our best estimate for annual meeting
attendance was approximately 300,
including guests and vendors. The goal
of the annual meeting is to deliver the
financial news to the members, review
operations, discuss the future and have
some fun while all this is accomplished.
For those of you that couldn’t attend,
my message included some charts that
showed New Vision’s growth in
volume, Sales, Total Assets, Total
Equity and Total Cash Returned to
Members. This entire success story has
its roots in the Prairieland Coop and
Consolidated Coop memberships’ vote
to form New Vision Coop in 1998. The
Hills-Beaver Creek Coop merger vote
in 2003 and Wilmont – Adrian Coop
vote in 2011 also had a very positive
impact on New Vision’s current
financial strength. Thank you for the
confidence you demonstrated with your
“Yes” vote to form New Vision and the
merger votes at Hills – Beaver Creek
Coop and Wilmont – Adrian Coop. I
think it’s safe to say that the mergers
have worked well for the members and
New Vision Coop is positioned well for
the future. Thanks again for your
support.
The 2015-2020 Business Plan
projected approximately 25 million
dollars of capital expenditures over the
five year term.
The recent
announcement of a small interest rate
increase and lower steel prices in
combination with some special needs in
grain and agronomy will likely
accelerate the Five Year Business Plan’s
construction schedule. The Directors
will review the options and you will be
kept informed as these decisions are
made.
I want to recognize all the employees
that are committed to make New Vision
Coop relevant to your farm operation
and sustainable into the future. The
employees’ commitment is part of the
formula that rewards you for your
support through patronage, equity and
estate retirements.
It starts with
employees you trust. As I said during
the annual meeting, trust is at the core
of New Vision’s value proposition.
Thank you for your support and trust. It
is the foundation for a successful
cooperative.
Board Room News
By Kelly Dunkelberger
Worthington mill and the new warehouse addition.
The meeting followed at the Worthington auditorium.
A strong financial statement was reviewed.
As Frank McDowell, CEO stated during the annual
meeting, if you do your grain, agronomy and feed
business with New Vision, we thank you. If you do
only a portion of your business, consider New Vision
for all your operations’ needs. We are equipped to
handle it and would appreciate it. For the year ending
August 31, 2015 we paid out 1.7 million dollars in
cash patronage, retired 3.5 million dollars in cash
equity and paid 300,000 dollars in cash to estates.
Since 1998 New Vision has returned a total of 36.5
million dollars in cash to its patrons.
I help with our family farming operation south of
Jeffers with Lisa, our kids Makaela and Wyatt, my
father in law, David Jorgenson & Lisa’s uncle, Ron
Jorgenson. We raise corn and soybeans and have a
cow-calf operation. I also manage the Farmers Co-op
Oil in Jeffers. I have been involved in production
agriculture for over twenty five years and cooperative
management for 15 years at Jeffers Co-op Oil. If any
of you have any questions, concerns or suggestions
that will improve New Vision Coop, I can be
contacted by email at dunk56145@yahoo.com or on
my cell 507-822-0827.
Holiday greetings from the New
Vision Coop Board of Directors!
Immediately following the annual meeting on
December 14th, the Directors select board officers for
the coming year. Through this process Chad Wienke
was elected Secretary-Treasurer, Tim Hansberger Vice
Chairman, and I was elected Chairman. The 2015
annual meeting marked the end of my sixth year on
the New Vision Coop Board of Directors, serving the
last two as Vice Chairman. Something you may not
realize is the New Vision Coop Directors usually
change chairman every two to three years. Some of
the rationale for this is to provide more directors the
opportunity to serve as officers, give them a better
understanding of operations, increase board contact
with our banker and auditors and maintain New
Vision’s representation at cooperative meetings. I
would like to thank Jim Eigenberg for doing a great
job as chairman the last two years. I would also like
to recognize past directors and officers for their
contribution to the growth and success of New Vision
Coop.
I would like to thank all the patrons that attended
the annual meeting in Worthington on December 14.
The day started with a tour of the Worthington feed
mill and a noon lunch. This was a great opportunity
to see the pelleting and bagging improvements in the
New Vision Grain Marketing Meeting Schedule
DATE
START TIME
LOCATION
01/14/16
THUR 9:30 AM
NEW VISION COOP BREWSTER OFFICE
01/14/16
THUR 1:30 PM
NEW VISION COOP BREWSTER OFFICE
01/15/16
FRI
9:30 AM
BLUE MOUND BANQUET CENTER, LUVERNE
01/15/16
FRI
1:30 PM
WILMONT COMMUNITY CENTER, WILMONT
01/18/16
MON 1:30 PM
NEW VISION COOP BREWSTER OFFICE
01/19/16
TUE
COTTONWOOD CO. HISTORICAL SOCIETY, WINDOM
9:30 AM
2
Agronomy News
By Trent Palm
When thinking about what to
write for my first newsletter article, I
had trouble coming to a decision on a topic. Do I
write about my role within Winfield? What is the
definition of a value-added co-op? Or, what is my
view of the current state of the agricultural industry?
All of these topics sounded great and will probably
come out in later editions; but, I decided to start with
the obvious - an introduction - to build the foundation
of who I am and where I come from.
My start in the industry takes me back to my home
farm in Isanti, Minnesota. It was there that even
today my dad, brothers and I raise corn and beans on
the Isanti sand planes of northern Minnesota. My
love of farming and everything it entails started there
and continues there still today. The love of planting,
growing and helping today’s producers make day-today decisions that are going to bring return on their
investments for every dollar they spend stems from
walking the journey of farming with my family since
youth. As soon as I was of the appropriate age, I
began a job at the local co-op as a warehouse
manager at their retail store and then transitioned to
their agronomy division. Here I did everything from
applicate, sort seed, fill chemical tanks or anything
that was required of me. From there my passion
continued, and I was given sales responsibilities
under the local agronomist. In that role, I was able to
assist her with sales calls and work with customers on
an individual basis.
From there my zeal continued to grow, and I
transitioned to the Red River Valley based out of
Dilworth, Minnesota. Up there my responsibilities
included managing a fertilizer plant in-season,
growing a sales crew and maintaining a customer list
of local producers. There were quite a few challenges
working in the northern corn belt area. The soil,
deemed “gumbo clay”, was very tight, and, with little
amount of water, one could not do the field work
many times and therefore was not able to cover the
acres that needed to be accomplished in a day. The
various crops are what I enjoyed the most. Many of
the farmers that I worked with had a 4 crop rotation:
corn, soybeans, wheat, sugar beets. Though, some
farmers also threw edibles and potatoes into the
rotation. This unique rotation set-up furthered
broadened my skill-set as the various herbicide and
pesticide mixes needed for the multiple crops
demanded daily expertise and careful attention.
Through this process I was able to continue my
experience in each of these crops and various soil
conditions. In pursuit of career growth, particularly
on the management track I was aiming for, I
eventually took a job in Hutchinson, MN. During this
time, I spent my time as a fertilizer plant location
manager. My duties included much outside of
managing a fertilizer plant as I also managed the coops precision ag platform and their grower data input
management software with premier crop.
Though I greatly enjoyed and appreciated my years
in the co-op and all the experience gleaned, I had a
deep desire to see the corporate side of the world.
Two years ago I came on board as a Master
Agronomy Advisor with Winfield Land O’ Lakes.
During this time my duties included maintaining a
grower list of large pro-active growers in southwest
Minnesota, helping said growers make crop input
decisions, and in return earning the place of trusted
agronomic advisor on their farm. Through this
process I have built many relationships with many of
you, especially over the last summer in helping New
Vision manage their Greater Acre Intern Experience.
During this time, I have become even more aware of
the need to bring a value-added experience to each
patron as they do business with their local co-op.
This will be one of my primary focuses in my role of
Master Agronomy Advisor partnered with New
Vision, as well as uniting the sales staff in this one
goal.
Many times, as I look back on my experiences,
this question is constantly on my mind: “How do I set
myself apart when I drive up to the farm gate on a
patrons’ farm?” Many people have and do drive up
each one of your driveways every day, but it is my
goal and the vision of the management staff that when
you see someone driving up your driveway you know
you will not only have the expectation of being asked,
“How can I earn the right to do business on your
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farm?”, but you will also know that the business
model and insight brought by that person will be
value added and from a co-op leading southwestern
Minnesota in data, insights, and knowledge to help
you make each and every decision on your farm from
start to finish.
In my years in the Ag industry I have never looked
forward to an opportunity with greater excitement
than this one. I look forward to meeting getting to
know each one of you and your farms. I look
forward to this partnership between Winfield/Land O’
Lakes and New Vision, and in that I also look
forward to growing their brand and business; and,
through that, grow each and every one of your farms
as you invest in your local co-op.
Grain News
By Keith Newman
POST HARVEST OF 2015
What a change in weather from
harvest to post harvest! We went from one of the
driest harvests in history to a period of wet and
warmer than normal temperatures. While we all can
appreciate the winter weather postponement, the
post-harvest weather is not ideal for picking up corn
piles. At the conclusion of harvest we had
approximately 2.5 million total bushels outside at
four locations. These corn piles have had as much as
10 inches of rain and 12 inches of snow on top them.
Even with this amount of moisture on the corn piles
the quality of the corn kept fairly well. As of this
writing we have finished the corn pile retrieval at
Jeffers, Brewster and Hills. We expect to have the
Mt Lake corn pile picked up by the New Year. New
Vision grain and agronomy employees have worked
very hard in less than ideal conditions to get these
corn piles up in a timely fashion and I appreciate all
their efforts. I would also like to thank all of our
customers that were trying to haul grain into these
locations during this time period for their patience.
As a reminder make sure you are checking your
grain bins. With the unseasonably mild weather that
we have been having some grain has already started
to go out of condition. Pulling peaks and centers out
of grain bins is always a good practice.
Thanks again for your support of New Vision Coop
and wish you a Happy New Year. I look forward to
doing business with you in the New Year.
Feed Department
By Grant Prins
On behalf of the New Vision
Coop Feed Department employees, I
want to extend our thanks to all of you that took time
out of your day to attend the Worthington Feed Mill
Open House on Monday, December 14th. For those
of that couldn’t attend, we hosted lunch in the new
120’ X 200’ warehouse addition and gave tours of the
automatic bagging system and new pellet mill in
operation. The support each of you demonstrated by
attending the Open House is appreciated by every
New Vision Coop feed employee. Thank you.
2015 patronage rates:
Corn
Beans
Feed
Fertilizer
Chemicals
Seed
Storage
Drying
3.59 cents
8.78 cents
2.55%
2.25%
2.35%
1.67%
9.88%
10.17%
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NEW VISION GROWTH TIMELINE
Sept. 1, 1998: Prairieland Coop and Consolidated Coop members vote to
approve the formation of New Vision Co-op.
March 1, 2003: Hills-Beaver Creek Coop merges into New Vision Co-op.
Sept. 1, 2011: Wilmont-Adrian Coop merge into New Vision Co-op.
www.new
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Adrian (507) 483-2110 Beaver Creek (507) 673-2388 Brewster (507) 842-5944 Dundee (507) 468-2416 Ellsworth (507) 967-2565
Heron Lake (888) 792-2301 Hills (507) 962-3221 Hills Terminal (507) 962-3243 Jeffers (800) 882-9772 Lismore (507) 472-8233
Mt. Lake (888) 427-2423 Reading (507) 926-5185 Wilmont (507) 926-5141 Windom (888) 294-6366 Worthington (800) 657-3200
PRST. STD.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MADELIA, MN
56062
PERMIT NO. 16
PO BOX 877
WORTHINGTON, MN 56187
For Sale
If interested in any of the For Sale item listed contact
Dan Koopman (507-793-2301).
Grain bins to be removed at:
Job Opportunities
Hills. (2) 40’ dia X 50’ tall MFS bins @downtown
Hills. Approximately 50,000 bushel capacity. Good
condition. Minimum bid $ 5,000 each.
Wilmont. 27,000 bushels capacity. Good condition.
Minimum bid is $ 3,500.00.
Wilmont. Wooden grain bunker sections 8’ wide X 6’
tall. Plastic drain tile. Approximately 140 pieces of
12” diameter with couplers. Approximately 200’ of
4”.
Windom North Elevator. Grain flat storage building
with cement form walls and steel roof to be removed.
Price negotiable.
Current open positions at New Vision:
- Night Shift Feed Production Technicians –
Worthington, MN
- Grain Elevator Operators – Mountain Lake &
Windom, MN
- Maintenance Technician – Heron Lake, MN
- Feed Ingredients Truck Driver – Worthington, MN
- Feed Truck Driver – Magnolia, MN
For an application, go to: www.newvision.coop. You
can also contact Katie Meyer at 507-842-2021 or
kmeyer@newvision.coop.