November
__________________________________________________
From Phil’s Desk
Hope
everyone was good to the spooks on Halloween. As we move into November I would
like to congratulate all the volleyball and
football teams who participated this year. Good luck to all the teams who are
entering into the state playoffs.
Also,
I would like to congratulate our Peetz Sake Days Parade Marshalls, Ivan
and Donna Fehringer. They are deserving of this honor. Thank you for
all you have done for our community!
We try to keep this a customer friendly coop. The board, employees and I keep our ears open to the customers to see what their needs are. As a small coop we can not do everything, but have a lot to offer. Our cooperative is a long term player. Our coop is here thru good times and bad. Cooperative earnings are returned back to the shareholders. If the market gives us a successful year we do return earnings to the shareholders. All of you who were shareholders in last fiscal year will see a good example of this as we will be sending out patronage checks in December. If you are not a shareholder and wish to be, contact our office for an application.
Your Coop will be CLOSED
November 24 for Thanksgiving. 
In just a few weeks, families across the nation will be gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving. I would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere thanks to you, our customers, for the opportunity to serve your needs. We know that without you we cannot be successful; that is why we are dedicated to offering you only the best in service to help you reach your profit goals. We appreciate your business and look forward to many more years of working together to create better opportunities for your business and ours, and to strengthen the community that we share. We wish all the best for you and your family during the holiday season and hope that this Thanksgiving finds you and yours with much to be thankful for.
We
did finish our fiscal year August 31, 2011. Not the best year we ever had but
it was ok. Local profit was nearly $400,000 and the gross profit was
$1,200,000. this will help our Coop pay off your equities. Your coop owns about
17.1% of this company. If you ever get the chance to stop in the main office in
Sterling Colorado and thank Kevin Griffee (our President/CEO) for the fine job
he does with all of our C-Stores.
On October 31, 2011 wheat was $6.28 bu., corn was $6.22 bu. and millet was $10.75 CWT.
When hauling wheat from your farm bins PLEASE check for bugs. We are no longer accepting live bugs. If there are live bugs, you will need to take your load back to the farm and have the wheat treated. There will be no exceptions.
Finally our new grain facility near Iliff Colorado is in operation. The first truck dumped a load of corn on October 18th. Since then we have taken several loads and everything is running smooth. A couple things about the facility is that we are a seasonal run facility. This means the doors will be open only at harvest time. If you need to haul grain in after harvest please contact our office at Peetz at 970-334-2204 and we will be glad to take that grain in. There will be no books kept at the Iliff office, all records, production of checks will be done at the Peetz office. We are really looking forward to serving that area.
EPA Grants SPCC Extension
The U.S. EPA announced Tuesday October 18, 2011 a proposed regulatory amendment that would extend, for farmers only, the November 10, 2011 SPCC compliance deadline. The proposed extended SPCC compliance date for farmers is May 13, 2013. I will try to explain the new ruling the best that I can. If your fuel storage on the farm or ranch exceeds 1320 gallons no matter how many tanks or types of fuel. If you exceed the 1320 gallon you must have proper venting, lighting (if you have a fuel facility not near your farm), proper dikes around your tanks, proper valves and a SPCC Plan. If your farm or ranch was in operation before August 16, 2002 you must have this done by November 10, 2011. If your operation was in business after August 16, 2002 you have until May 13, 2013. Confused, me too. Call me for questions.
For
all your feed grinding, mixing and delivery, please contact Gary or Wayne at
970-334-2341. It is a good idea to
give Gary a call before you come to pick up your feed. With corn harvest in
full swing, we have sent Wayne and Jason down to Iliff to run that facility.
Gary may be out on delivery so it is a good idea to call ahead.
We do make deliveries in all surrounding communities. With cornstalks here look
into our protein and mineral tubs, a very easy and convenient way to feed.
Check with Wayne or 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 checks that we have done this year we have found at least one gas valve that was 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 to 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. We have completed several of these this year. It is an on going battle to get this program current, but we are gaining with the help of Dean Koester.
Also
anyone operating an lp truck must take and pass the CETP training. This is not
a simple class and takes a full week. Nick Fehringer has taken and passed this
class. Great job Nick!!!
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. 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 or Brad 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 by not letting your brake pads get so worn
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 that has been brought up is when pumping fuel
at our service station sometimes the pumps are slow. When this happens, please
shut the nozzle off for 10 or 15 seconds and then start pumping again This
happens with all submersible pumps. Try it, it works.
THINGS WE LEARNED AND/OR REMEMBER IN 2011 (SO FAR)
1) 35 days can encompass a price swing of more than $2.00 a bushel.
2) The price can drop when the crop seems small and demand is strong.
3) Livestock can and will eat wheat if it gets cheap enough relative to corn.
4) A volatile market can dramatically change the mental value we put on a price (2011: “Corn is only $6.00 at harvest? I can’t sell that cheap – it was just $8.00!”) (every other year of our lives: “Corn is $6.00 at harvest? Eureka – our ship has come in!”)
5) Trying to judge or predict market movements based on logic and sound reasoning is a waste of time.
6) The cost of waiting for an extra dime can be measured in dollars.
7) Farming has in all likelihood never been a more risky endeavor than it is right now.
8) Farming has in all likelihood never been a more profitable endeavor than it is right now.
9) When you lock in high input cost, it doesn’t hurt to lock in a high selling price too.
10) The higher a market goes, the farther it can fall.
11) It is hard to sell at a profit, but it’s even harder to go broke doing it.
12) A lot of the people who predict grain prices don’t have their income for the year riding on whether they are wrong or right.
13) No matter how crazy things get, we are doing this because we can’t imagine doing anything else, and these are the good times – let’s make the most of them!
Have a good month of November and a nice Thanksgiving.
Sincerely yours,
Phillip M. Schumacher
CEO/President