December Vision Newsletter

School-Based Learning Program

Southern Valley High School offers a work-based learning for seniors. This is the second year that the program seniors have had this opportunity. During the fall semester each senior must find a job that they are interested in. Senior Jessica Lambert, worked in the marketing department and learned numerous skills including social media Jessica said, "The best thing about working in marketing is there is always something new to do, and oftentimes, it is not the same job two days in a row Mason Noel also worked for Grain as a Scale Operator He learned how to successfully "operate the scale and grade commodities" Mason said, "Ag Valley taught me how to be social with all the faces coming in the building I also learned how a cooperative works."

Jessica is planning on attending Fort Hays State University next fall to study nursing. Mason plans on attending NCK Tech to study welding.

Left: Jessica Lambert poses in front of Ag Valley Co-op Agronomy building in Edison.

Left: Mason Noel operates the scale in Edison during his SchoolBased Learning Program.

Christmas has come and gone. As we prepare to move into 2023, I am reminded of how thankful I was just a year ago to get 2021 behind us. Little did I know the challenges that 2022 would bring to our communities and the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities. Our state, nation, and the world continue to deal with unprecedented events that have led to extreme volatility in all aspects of our lives. Locally, we continue to recover from the devastating effects of the fires from this past spring. On top of that, we are in the middle of a drought that will undoubtedly impact the operations of Ag Valley Co-op and our member-owners I think this year's events, more than ever, have proven what can be accomplished when everyone works together That is the essence of being part of a cooperative and why I think the cooperative business model is still viable and productive I genuinely believe that we are all stronger working together than separately, and I thank you for allowing us to be your partner in production agriculture

Ag Valley Cooperative has announced the sale of its Ampride Convenience store in Oxford, NE, to Alex and Lorissa Kermmoade, effective January 20, 2023 As part of our fiscal due diligence, your Board and management team have determined that owning and operating the Ampride convenience store does not deliver the level of return on investment that we know you, as an owner of Ag Valley Co-op, expect Putting this business into the hands of someone with strong local ties will enhance the services to Oxford and the surrounding communities while allowing Ag Valley to focus on our core lines of business: providing strong grain, agronomy, feed, bulk fuel, and propane services.As a result of this change in ownership, Ag Valley local fuel cards will no longer work at the Ampride store in Oxford after January 20, 2023. We will continue to serve customers' cardtrol, bulk fuel, and propane needs out of Edison, along with their feed needs from the grain office in Oxford.

I want to thank the people of Oxford and the surrounding communities for their past patronage of the Ampride store. I am grateful that it will remain under local ownership and continue to serve the needs of these communities. As always, I want to thank you for your business and continued support of Ag Valley Coop. We know that you have options for your agricultural needs, and we will work hard every day to continue to earn your business I hope

Jeff Franzen - North Platte Agronomy, 15 years. Carla Meyers - Maywood Admin, 3 years. Willis Ruppert - Maywood Agronomy, 3 years. Branigan Schaben - Cambridge Agronomy, 1 year. Diane Stevenson - Edison Admin - 9 years.

From the CEO, Jeff Krejdl

Agronomy Year in Review, from Kirk Nielsen Agronomy Department Manager

As I look back at the year of 2022, I would describe it using one word, “extreme” The extreme drought that we faced through the entire territory was the focus of the year We started the year with a mild and dry winter that led into a very dry spring Then came the fires, the gale-force winds pushed the fires faster and burning hotter than anyone expected As I looked out my office window in Edison towards the west, you could see the smoke funneling upwards Little did we know that this would be just the first of several fires in our territory this year. But out of the hardships caused by the fires, we also saw extreme hospitality and community. From the volunteer firefighters and farmers that were on the front lines trying to contain the fire and protect life and property. To the agronomy service providers that provided water to the firemen, and to the schools and businesses that provided food and shelter when needed. The sense of community was strong in a time when we needed it the most. I want to say Thank You to everyone that helped during this time.

The path of destruction that was left behind by the fires was a gift that kept giving all year. The loss of residue off the land given our climate was devastating to croplands and grasslands alike. The fire was so hot that it destroyed the topsoil structure that is used to support life of our crops. But out of this event we learned how to approach a situation like this if it should happen again in our territory. Getting growing plant matter back on the soil is the most important part of this and adds fuel to the value of no till farming within our territory Soil residue is the biggest part of the preventing evaporation, soil erosion and organic matter loss In these fields, it was a battle all year From crop establishment to watering and finally to the bottom line when the yields weren’t there to harvest All in all, we learned how to handle this situation if we ever run into it again Hopefully never Also, the drought showed us how far plant breeding has brought us since the last significant drought in our territory In 2012, I remember almost none of the dryland continuous corn was even harvestable in the entire territory This year certain hybrids were much better than what we thought they would be I’m not saying it was great, but from 0’s to 30-70 bushel is a vast improvement in 10 years’ time. It was a true test of the genetic improvement of the seed companies.

I would like to thank all the customers of Ag Valley Co-op and hope next year brings you more prosperity than the last. As always, the agronomy team is looking forward to partnering with you for the coming years.

Energy Year in Review, from David Dodson Energy Department Manager

The DEF delivery trailer that we purchased last year got a lot of miles put on it this year Eric and Cody were busy last spring, summer and fall taking care of our bulk DEF customers We were able to secure some extra DEF totes this year and have them in stock and ready to find a home In the past, we were ordering them on an “as needed” basis This led to some (longer than we liked) lead time challenges If you are thinking about adding bulk DEF to your operation, give Eric, Cody, Chris or myself a call and we will help you size a tote towards your needs.

The end of June, we sent out annual propane contracts with a near record number of gallons being contracted by our customers for the second year in a row. As I write this, the guys are out making their rounds to get as much done as they can around the holidays. Thank you for choosing us to be your propane supplier.

Ag Valley’s fuel delivery guys saw a busier irrigation season then we have for some time. While we know the reason for this is not necessarily what any of us wanted to see, we took great pride in being there for our customers during this drought to assist them in bringing in the best crop possible given the conditions. We look forward to next year and being there for you then as well. This fall, our challenge was procuring # 1 fuel for winter. Supply is now starting to get a little better at the terminals but still not at the levels I’d like to see it at. We do have some tanks in stock if you are interested in increasing your storage.

The three service stations also kept very busy this year We appreciate each of you for choosing us to take care of your service and tire needs

In closing, thanks again for your patronage and choosing Ag Valley Co-op as your supplier and business partner From all of us here, have a Merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous New Year!

Operations Manager – Eric Merritt 308-362-4586

Energy Sales East – Cody Helms 303-842-9071

Energy Sales West – Chris Hough 308-737-0228

Director of Energy – David Dodson 308-367-7057

First off, Ag Valley Co-op’s Feed Department would like to thank all its producers for their continued support throughout 2022 We started off the year with a mild winter and had concerns about needing moisture for pastures and crops Then, the unthinkable happened Fires ripped through the center of our territory and brought numerous problems. Pastures were burned off along with crop land. Throughout the territory, farmers and businesses stepped up to help. Bales of hay, feed supplies, and fencing materials started showing up at our Cambridge location and surrounding communities to help the people that were impacted the hardest. I would like to thank everyone who went over and above in that time of need.

As we got into May, a few timely rains came through our territory, and pastures started to green up and crops started to grow. Cows and calves were hitting the pasture with Ag Valley Minerals in tow. Many of our producers were putting out creep feeders to get the maximum weight on calves and some relief for the pastures and momma cows. Jumping into July with county fairs starting throughout the territory, I was happy to see a lot of our producers' children doing very well in 4-H and FFA at all levels. Congratulations to everyone who took part, especially those who did exceptionally well by feeding Ag Valley Products.

As we moved into August and beyond, the reality of fewer chances of moisture became a reality Producers started using tubs to supplement cows in pastures to give them every benefit from the harder grasses that had set in and stayed along with our Ag Valley 16% HF creep feed, which was in high demand As we all know, the rains this year were few and far between This created another possible problem for our producers with their fall and winter grazing programs Nitrates, as harvest approached and yields across the territory fell short of expectations, the real concern began to emerge: high nitrates in corn, milo, and forage fields. The Ag Valley feed team took and summited more samples of forages than I can remember in the 35+ years of being in the feed industry for nitrates. This was a good thing, as some of the samples were extremely high and others were within reason and could be utilized in feeding programs. We finished off the year with a cold snap in some of our territory and a blizzard in other parts of our territory. We had set up Purina, Kent, and Hubbard protein tubs to be utilized in any situation. Once again, thank you from the Ag Valley Feed team, and we hope 2023 will bring much needed rain to our territory.

Grain Year in Review, from Brian Groskreutz Grain Department Manager

What a difference a year makes We started out a year ago with a decent harvested crop with numerous piles to pick up and plenty of bushels to market. As you are all aware, the drought this past summer left us ending the year with way less bushels to market and only one small pile to pick up. We saw a strong market develop over the summer that continued into harvest as we confirmed the effects the drought imposed. As a result, end users feared the worst and pressed to get needs covered. Producers have rewarded the market and as the pipeline filled up, basis levels retreated. The market is doing its job and finding a way to cover needs and that has happened so far this year. The deficit in Western Kansas and Colorado markets is being served with rail from Illinois and Minnesota greatly reducing the need for our bushels to satisfy the market. As one seasoned trader often told me, problems often perceived seldom occur.That may be the case this year or at least it has been the past month. Ethanol grind, exports, and feed usage are all expected to have a smaller need than anticipated going forward which will make for a larger carryout than current projections.We are only ten months away from harvest 2023, but markets appear to be comfortable for the moment Only time will tell how this plays out in the new year Wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season and a prosperous New Year!