Sept. 2008
__________________________________________________
From
The Manager’s Desk
I hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend. Now we all
will be busy with the planting of the wheat and getting our fall crops
harvested. The kids are busy in school and we wish all the area athletes good
luck in the coming season. Our PEETZ SAKE celebration will be on Saturday,
October 4th. The station will be closed on this day, but if you need
something to keep you going in the field, after-hour phone numbers will be
posted.
In August we did lose a shareholder, Melvin Eberhardt from Peetz. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his wife, Eleanor. Also we did lose a patron, Leisha Muggli. Our deepest sympathy goes out to Jonathon , Leisha’s husband, and to Jim & Pam Meick, Leisha’s parents, and to all her family.
CRVS,
better known as Ampride, is doing well. Kevin and his staff have done a
wonderful job with all of our stores. It has been more of a struggle this year
over last with the fuel margins being very low. Their fiscal year ended on
August 31st. CRVS net profit is still doing ok, adding dollars to
our bottom line. Adding dollars to our bottom line is very important especially
through drought and low margin years. Also we have added another store in Brush,
Colorado. We think this will be a nice addition to our other eight C-Stores
which include Sterling Downtown; Sterling Interstate; Cameo; Grand Junction (a
leased store); Wray; Yuma; Johnson City, Kansas and Tribune, Kansas. Also we
have Eagle Tire in Sterling and Eagle Tire in Yuma. This is a growing business.
On August 29, 2008 wheat was $ 7.26 bu., corn was $ 5.03 bu.
and millet was $9.00 CWT. New crop 2009 wheat is $7.43. This price is
down from
last month. For some of you that may not know, your Co-op has changed the
policy on buying grain. With the grain prices taking such big jumps and drops,
we can no longer put your Co-op at risk by buying grain after the market is
closed. If you are thinking about selling your grain in the elevator or
contracting for delivery, you must call in to the elevator while the markets are
trading. This is fair to both buyer and seller since the market can take a big
jump or fall at the beginning of the day. The Kansas City markets start trading
at 8:30 a.m. and closes around 12:15 Mountain-time. If you don’t want to watch
the markets, give us a price you have in mind and we will buy your grain if it
reaches your goal.
For all your feed grinding, mixing and delivery please
contact Wayne or Gary at 970-334-2341. These two employees have been to a feed
update seminar. They should be able to update you on any feed changes. We do
make deliveries in all surrounding communities. Check with Wayne and Gary on any
feed products we have available.
We are still doing our Lp safety checks. Call in and get
your Lp safety check. Most customers are very happy knowing that their home
is
safe. In our checks that we have done this year we have found at least one gas
valve with the 100% not working. This is not a good situation. This allows
propane to flow through the main burners even if the pilot is not burning. We
find this in older valves. The newer valves are double protected. It does pay to
have your system checked and anything that is not code be repaired. When you are
on our program your system will be tested for leaks and all codes every five
years. We think propane is a safe product but only if handled correct. Sorry it
has been taking so long to get all these done. We are in a good problem and that
is growth, meaning taking care of any new customer in which we have had several.
I have had customers that have old tractors or vehicles and
think they should be using a high octane gas. Steve Thompson from Progressive
Farmer magazine writes on ask the mechanic. This article is called Cry Foul On
High Octane. The reader writes in to Steve, I have a Model M John Deere tractor
that fouls plugs after about five hours of running. I use the highest priced gas
I can buy at the station, but it still fouls plugs. I will send you a bucket of
fouled plugs of all brands and heat ranges if you can help me.
Steve responded, thanks for the plug offer, but I have plenty of fouled plugs on hand at this time. Older gas tractors do not like today’s fuel. However, there are a few things we can do to help the problem. If possible make sure that your carburetor never floods. Always shut off the gas after use. You also never want to over-choke your engine. Any unnecessary amount of raw gas on an old tractor’s plug will kill it. Your carburetor needs to be adjusted so it is running at the proper mixture. If it is running too rich (black smoke), your plugs will foul. Always make sure your choke is fully open during tractor operation. One more thing you can do: Always buy the lowest octane gas possible. If you are buying the most expensive fuel, it probably is the highest octane, which could be the cause of your problem. Lower – octane fuel explodes more radically (burns faster) than high octane fuel; that’s why cheap gas makes your car’s engine ping. This faster burn of low octane gas will help keep your plugs from fouling. Your tractor’s engine is designed to run on leaded fuel. There is an additive available to replace the lead that was in the gas supply when your tractor was in its prime.
I hope this article will help those of you that have these old vehicles and thought you were doing them a favor by buying the high octane gas. I know that is what I thought.
I asked for comments and opinions on the ten percent ethanol gasoline. I did get some and most where against replacing our gasoline with this product line even though it would be about ten cents cheaper. I did have only one in favor, so for now we will sell the straight gasoline product. Keep in mind when you are in this area almost every gas station is selling the 10 percent ethanol which is 10 cents per gallon cheaper.
We did contract several thousand gallons of propane. We
went out with some great prices as the competition also did. Keep in mind that
by signing the contracts you committed to be on a keep full program. To try and
keep the costs of our propane down, this winter patrons will see extra charges
for small deliveries if they are not on a route. Large deliveries worth the cost
of delivery will not be affected. The cost of operating these trucks has
increased dramatically. Please everyone help each other out and place yourself
on a route.
The summer fuel contract ended August 31. These contracts in the past including this year did well for everyone. In fact everyone was scrambling to get their diesel. I want you to now that there will be years just the opposite. Diesel will be cheaper on the rack than your contract is and nobody will want to use their contract up. If this happens, you will be billed the margin call. So please in the future do not over contract your fuel needs as it could cost you in the end. The Coop will not be liable for your mistake.
With the very high fuels I thought a little information you
might be interested in. We really cuss the large oil companies and
their record
setting years and I think that is wrong also. The thing you might want to know
is that when you use a credit or debit card to get fuel, the rate is somewhere
around three percent cost to your Coop. Example gas at $4.00 per gallon would
cost your Coop twelve cents per gallon where not too long ago gas at $1.50 per
gallon cost your Coop four and one half cents per gallon. Wished I was a card
company and could triple my income by doing nothing but watch prices go up. I am
not trying to discourage people from using their credit or debit cards but just
letting you know that they are adding to the cost of the fuel. Using your Coop
card does not cost your Coop much money at all, plus you will receive a
patronage check back where you will not on your credit or debit cards.
We do have an oil shuttle program. This is a program that
entitles you to a 120 gallon shuttle that is filled on a route with savings on
your oil. The tanks and stand are at no cost to you. You do have to take 100
gallon of oil per year to qualify for this program. This is a very good program.
Cenex will not fill just any container in fear of contamination, as they do
warrant their product. You will appreciate the convenience of bulk oil for many
reasons, especially the convenience that comes from no longer handling messy
drums. If interested, talk to me on this. We are also putting in shuttles at our
station, trying to reduce the price of oil.
When you schedule a service job on your vehicle, ask Jody
to check your tires and brakes out for you. This is simple to do while your
vehicle is already on the rack. It can also save you money not letting your
brake pads get so wore out that it ruins the rotors. Keep in mind that Jody can
get you almost any brand of tire there is. Stop and talk to Jody on this. This
helps the whole community to shop local.
One issue is that if pumping fuel at our service station and the pumps are slow; please shut the nozzle off for 10 or 15 seconds. This is with all submersible pumps. Try it, it works.
Are
you buying the right diesel fuel. Ruby – Fieldmaster diesel fuel exceeds all
standards for any make or model of diesel engines. The straight #2 diesel has
had most of the sulfur taken out for pollution reasons. The Sulfur was the
lubricant for your engine. Without this lubricant it can become very hard on the
injectors, etc. Ruby – Fieldmaster has an additive package that contains this
lubricant. It also gives you a higher cetane for quicker easier starts and will
not gel the fuel as easily. Ruby – Fieldmaster costs three cents a gallon more
than the straight #2 diesel. Money well invested. I have talked to patrons who
tried both diesels and they claim they get more power and better miles per
gallon from the Ruby – Fieldmaster diesel. This premium diesel can be purchased
in either red off-road or clear on-road.
Have a good month of September.
Phillip M. Schumacher
CEO/PRESIDENT
