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MANAGER’S DESK
Jerald Kemmerer-CEO/GM Pride Ag Resources
I hope that you and your family are enjoying 2015 so far and had a great time during the holidays. Our fall harvest was better than we have experienced in the last several years. Corn harvest seems to be back to normal with good yields just lower production acres that could be due to water restrictions from previous drought years. Milo was above our five year average. Part of the larger production was due to dry land acres yield increases. China seems to be buying milo. We are seeing historical basis levels and grain spreads with milo versus other grains. This has never been seen before in the grain markets especially for this time of the year. The grain department and locations did a great job of being able to take in one of the largest
SECOND QUARTER 2015
milo harvest in several years but kept from having to put any on the ground. Milo is going to the export market and having it on the ground does not allow your cooperative to capture certain markets. Avoiding ground piles helps to make quality a non-issue. The additional storage capacity that we have built over the last few years has aided in keeping it off the ground. Strategic planning has already begun to have an adequate amount of room available for this year’s wheat harvest. If we are lucky enough to keep receiving moisture, we can always make an additional adjustment which is a good problem to have. We had a good fall anhydrous run while the weather allowed and now we have switched over to a good dry fertilizer application run. Getting a jump on the dry fertilizer run will help us better serve you when it comes time to top dress fertilizer this spring. Check with one of the agronomists if you have some winter applications that need
to be handled early. Our agronomy sales staff has also been busy providing you with your chemical needs for this year’s production. Your new chemical shed has allowed us to source product that makes us even more competitive than we have been in the past for your chemical needs. Again talk to any agronomy personnel or branch locations to get help you get your chemical needs covered. The team of employees has been busy this winter doing maintenance projects and getting facilities ready. One of our new construction projects is a new badly needed shed at Beeler to help with Feed and Chemical distribution for our northern territory. Currently all product was done by physical hand labor, but the shed will allow forklift use with pallets of feed and shuttles of chemicals. The building is in place, and we are finishing up the final touchups as of the production of this newsletter. Our fiscal year will close on February 28th, and at that time, we
Inside This Issue 2 Safety – Ace Hardware 3 Ace Hardware - Grain 4 Feed 5 Feed 6 Agronomy - AV Energy 7 IT Director - Board of Directors
will take inventory and go through the audit procedures to bring you the final numbers. Go ahead and mark your calendars for the 100th annual meeting. It will be May 8th, 2015. We will have save the date cards coming out soon as a reminder. We have had to make some changes in our speaker due to a scheduling conflict, but Mitch Holthus the “Voice of the Kansas City Chiefs” will be our annual meeting speaker. Look for additional Annual Meeting information as we get closer to the date. The teams of employees take pride in helping you with all your production agriculture needs. I hope you have a great spring, and we do appreciate your business! ------------
Safety Division
Skyler Hayes Safety Director
RESPIRATORY PROTECTION ON THE FARM One of the most commonly used pieces of personal protective equipment that is called for when performing various jobs on the farm is a respirator. A respirator is a piece of equipment that keeps any substance that could harm a worker by inhalation out of that worker’s lungs. Examples of those potentially harmful substances include herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers, fumigants, grain dust, dusts from grinding and cutting,
mold and silica dust and dust from sand blasting. Equipment to keep these harmful substances out of one’s lungs can take the form of something as simple as a disposable mask used to remove non-toxic dust up to and including respirators with specialized filters that remove certain poisonous gases. The first step is to determine whether or not a respirator is required and what type of respirator is needed for the job. Labels and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) of chemicals and pesticides will inform the user of the type of respiratory protection required. Some forms of commonly used pesticides such as Atrazine, Yuma and Gramoxone call for respiratory protection when handled, and the labels of these products will inform you of what type of respiratory protection is needed. The labels and MSDS of other substances such as sand blasting sand, paint, fertilizers, and fumigants will give you the same type of information. The label is required by law to be affixed to the container of these substances. MSDS are often more difficult to obtain, but the seller is required by law to supply a MSDS to the buyer, if the buyer requests one. MSDS are also available on internet. Some other substances on the farm that one should avoid inhaling do not have specimen labels or MSDS. These substances include soil dusts and dusts from any crop that may become moldy such as straw, silage or grain. Inhaling mold from these crops can lead to a condition known as Farmer’s Lung. As the name suggests, Farmer’s Lung is caused by inhaling certain allergy-causing dust found in some agricultural operations. Farmer’s Lung causes shortness of breath and a feeling of general illness, either in a sudden attack or as a slow, progressive disease. When people with Farmer’s Lung can avoid breathing in dust from moldy crops or feed, they seldom have further problems. On the other hand, lengthy exposure can cause permanent lung damage, physical disability, or even death.
Two gases that one should avoid breathing are anhydrous ammonia and phosphine. Certainly one will get a whiff once in a while when applying anhydrous ammonia in a field, but this is not in concentrations strong enough to harm a person’s lungs. However, when working closely with anhydrous ammonia and the concentration is higher than 250 ppm, a full face canister type respirator is required. When working in an atmosphere with a concentration of the fumigant phosphine (often referred to as Phostoxin) of more than .3 ppm, a canister type respirator is required. Mine Safety Appliances (MSA) is a one of many companies that manufacture respiratory equipment and sells a full face respirator with a combination ammonia and phosphine canister. Many have found that it is simpler and more convenient to have masks and canisters with the capability to filter both of the two most common gases we are likely to encounter than to have one mask for phosphine and another for ammonia. It is important to know that it is impossible to know exactly what the concentration of a gas such as ammonia or phosphine is without the use of expensive monitors. If any of you have questions about the use of respiratory protection, I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.
ACE HARDWARE
Jack Lane Ace Hardware’s New things are happening at your line of Ace stores. Pride Ag Ace at the Maize 2
location has added a full line of Stihl products and accessories. Visit the company web site to check out the pictures of the new set. If anyone needs parts or wants to purchase a Stihl product they can contact Maize or any of the Pride Ag Ace locations and we can get it for you via our route truck. Maize has also added a few items to their rental business. It won’t be long until spring is upon us once again. The Dodge location will have a full line of Toro and Craftsman mowers both riding and walk behind including zero turn and tractor style riders. The Dodge location will also offer a power rake and an over seeder for rent along with an aerator. All the Pride Ag Ace locations in Dodge, Meade, Maize and Great Bend will carry a selection of live plants and seeds for your vegetable or flower gardens. All the Ace locations also offer in store pick up where you can order on the internet and pick it up at that location. There will be plenty of sales going on this spring including a pottery sale at all the locations. Watch the web site or local advertising for everything that will be going on at your Pride Ag Ace stores.
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GRAIN DIVISION
Gaylene Friesen Grain Specialist Well, here goes; I’m going to make my first attempt at writing the grain article for the newsletter! The first thing you’re going to ask is
what are the markets going to do and when will we see higher prices again? Those are two questions that nobody really knows the answers to but two questions that we can pin down the facts we know so that we can make a more educated decision in our grain marketing decisions. Here are the facts that we do know: • There is more than enough wheat worldwide in inventory to satisfy world supply and demand • Although we need more moisture, the wheat crop had a very good start. There may still be lots of obstacles to overcome, but wheat is a hardy crop. At this point, we have the opportunity to have a good wheat crop. • Because of the cost of ocean, truck, and rail freight, it’s much cheaper for those countries in the Black Sea region to buy wheat from Russia, Ukraine, etc. • There is still ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. With that being said, there are opportunities for the futures to go up. • The basis is stagnant because the US has more supply than demand. At the present time, flour mills do not need to buy wheat, and therefore, are not offering a very good basis. • We had a good fall harvest this year in the US. Even though some yields weren’t as good as expected in SW Kansas, we still had good yields compared to the last few years. But it is imperative that we remember that a great corn and soybean harvest isn’t measured by SW Kansas; it is measured by the corn and soybean belt which is further east
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and north where they get more rain naturally. Weather in South America remains beneficial for favorable crop development for both corn and soybeans. Last year the corn/soybean belt had a good harvest and this year they had a good harvest. With that being said, we have more corn and beans in US inventory to satisfy US demand. During the worst of the drought, feed yards reduced their cattle inventory. Therefore, there is not as much of a demand as there normally is. The US does export a lot of corn and beans with the exception of the issue of GMO corn with China. We have heard recently that there are fewer wheat acres planted this year. This will have an effect on the fall crops. Will corn or beans end up winning the acres war? We had a record milo harvest. One good thing that came out of the GMO issue with China is that China started buying milo instead of corn. The basis exploded. For the first time ever that I can remember, milo was higher than corn. But remember, this is like a game of musical chairs; when the music stops; you want to be one of the ones sitting in a chair. So don’t get complacent and think this basis will last forever; it won’t. Lastly, the value of the US dollar is at its highest level since November 2003. Generally, when the dollar is up, commodities are down.
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Even though grain prices are down, so are input prices. We haven’t seen fuel prices this low in years. Take advantage and lock in your fuel prices for the year. Although fertilizer and chemical prices are not falling as fast as fuel, watch the prices and lock in those inputs when you feel they are at a reasonable level. Not even the pros hit a home run every time they are up at bat. You will not always hit the high or the low in pricing your grain. With that being said, watch the markets. When there is a good up day, don’t be afraid to price some of your grain. If you’ve locked in your input prices, you’ll have a better idea at what the price level of the market needs to be in order to make a profit. At this point, the likelihood of higher grain prices are slim to none. But we never know what worldwide or national current event will change the scenario. If that happens and prices do go up, be prepared to forward price some grain for the coming year. You never want to price your entire crop, but you could forward price 25 – 50% of your expected yield. Above all, don’t let your emotions rule your decision making process. I’ve seen too many times when farmers don’t want to sell because they are sure it’s going higher. Remember, what goes up must come down. The same with your inputs; you could wait so long for the low that you miss the
opportunity of a “lower than last year’s” price. None of us knows what the markets are going to do. But by keeping yourself educated on current events, keeping an eye on input prices and grain prices, and not letting emotion rule, you can have a successful marketing year.
Hedging. Richard, a Series 3 licensed market analyst joined CHS Hedging after 19 years trading cash grain with Bartlett and five years working for Prudential Financial at the Kansas City Board of Trade, He served on the Kansas City Board of Trade of Directors from2006-2008. Richard holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri – Columbia. For more information contact your local location manager.
Winter Grain Marketing Meetings
FEED DIVISION
Wed., February 18, 2015 Montezuma Office @ 9:00am Coffee & Fresh Homemade Cinnamon Rolls will be served Dodge City Office Basement @ 12:30pm Lunch will be served Featured speaker will be Jim Warren, CHS Hedging. Jim is a Series 3 licensed market analyst with more than 27 years of experience in futures markets, trading and marketing planning for grain, dairy. livestock and energy customers. He began is agricultural career as a full-time producer in a family owned farrow –to-finish hog enterprise. He still grows corn and beans on his farm, just north of St Joseph. Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and agriculture from Northwest Missouri State University. -------------------
Tues., March 3, 2015 Hanston @ 9:00am Elk Plaza Theater Room Coffee & Fresh Homemade Cinnamon Rolls will be served Beeler @ 12:30pm Lunch will be served The feature speaker will be Richard Plackemeirer, CHS
Calvin Carey Feed Sales Specialist
Beef Cattle Production Winter through spring is a difficult time for cows and cattle producers alike. For cows, there are nutritional demands and environmental stress during calving. For beef producers, there are production, performance and labor concerns. Forages provided the majority of essential nutrients to cattle. Vitamins and minerals account for a small proportion of the daily dry matter requirements that can be over looked in beef production. Some of the nutrients that are required for beef production are: Water – is required for the regulation of body temperature, as well as for growth, reproduction, lactation, digestion, excretion, transportation of nutrients, joint lubrication, poor performance and many more functions. The need for water in cattle results from an 4
increase in the electrolyte concentration in body fluids, which activates the thirst mechanism. An 800 pound heifer at 40 degrees will consume 6.3 gallon of water per day while at 70 degrees that heifer will consume 9.20 gallon of water per day. Energy – is often referred to as digestible energy. There are two types of energy in beef production. Energy for maintenance (NEm) that is energy needed to maintain respiration, circulation, digestion, etc. The energy required for growth and reproduction is called net energy for gain (NEg). The NEg is the amount of energy needed to deposit muscle and /or fat in animals gaining weight. When energy is limited, intake and performance will suffer. Signs of energy deficiency include lower appetite, weight loss, poor growth and depressed reproduction performance. Protein – a lack of protein in the diet adversely affects the microbial production in the rumen, which in turns reduces the utilization of lowprotein feeds. Thus, much of the potential nutritive value of roughages may be will be lost if protein levels are too low. Urea and other sources of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) are used commonly in protein supplements to supply one third or more of the total nitrogen requirements. Sodium and Chlorine –are important for maintaining osmotic pressure, controlling water balance, regulating acid-base balance, contracting muscles, transmitting nerve impulses, and carrying glucose and amino acids. Heart action and nerve impulse transmission depend on sodium and potassium. Chlorine is needed for hydrochloric acid production in the abomasum (true stomach) and activation of amylase, an enzyme critical for normal starch digestion. Chloride also aids in respiratory gas exchange. Cattle crave salt and will consume more than required when salt is supplied free choice.
Calcium – is the most abundant mineral in the body. Some body functions of calcium are bone formation and maintenance, development and maintenance of teeth, blood clotting, membrane permeability, muscle contraction, nerve impulse transmission, heart regulation, milk secretion, hormone secretion and enzyme activation and function. Cows have zero “nutritional wisdom” so they should have access to a well-balanced free choice mineral. Phosphorus – is required for skeletal development and maintenance, normal milk secretion, muscle tissue building, cell growth and differentiation, energy use and transfer, efficient food use, membrane formation, function of many enzyme systems, osmotic and acid-base balance maintenance and rumen microorganism growth and
metabolism.
Phosphorus
deficiencies are reduced growth and feed efficiency, decreases dry matter intake, lowers reproduction performance, depresses milk production and causes weak and fragile bones. Skeletal phosphorus supplies must be replenished to avoid a phosphorus deficiency. Phosphorus levels in free choice mineral should be around 8%. Magnesium – is important for enzyme activation, glucose breakdown, genetic code transmission, membrane transport, nerve impulse transmission, and skeletal development. A deficiency of magnesium can be the lack of muscle control. A deficiency in calves can be anorexia, hyperemia, excitability, convulsions, frothing at the mouth, and salivation. Most magnesium deficiencies are seen in the spring in mature and rapidly growing grass. Signs of grass tetany are nervousness, reduced feed intake, twitching about the face and ears. Animals are uncoordinated and walk with a stiff gait.
balance, osmotic pressure regulation, water balance, muscle contractions, nerve impulse transmission, oxygen and carbon dioxide transportation in the blood and enzyme reactions. Potassium also improves feed intake and rate of gain while helping to prevent grass tetany, convulsions and unsteady gait. Sulfur – is a building block in several amino acids (methionine, cysteine, and cystine) and Vitamin B (thiamin and biotin) along with other organic compounds. Sulfur functions in the body detoxification reactions and is required by ruminal microoganisms for growth and normal cell function. Sulfur toxicity is characterized by restlessness, diarrhea, muscle twitching and labor breathing. Low sulfur intake can reduce feed intake, depress growth and decrease copper levels in the body. Vitamin A – is the vitamin most likely to be deficient in beef diets. Vitamin A is essential for normal vision, growth, reproduction, skin tissue, body cavity lining, and cell maintenance and bone development. Vitamin A and beta carotene play a role in disease protection and immune system functions. Vitamin A deficiencies can be reduced feed intake, rough hair coat, night blindness, slow growth, low conception rates, abortions, still births, low quality semen and infections. Vitamin D – is needed for calcium and phosphorus absorption, normal bone mineralization and calcium mobilization from bone. Vitamin D should help in immune responses. Vitamin E – serves as an antioxidant in the body and is important in membrane formation, muscle structure and muscle function. Disease resistance is also tied to Vitamin E levels. When comparing Trace Mineral and Iodized Salt blocks to Pro Phos 8 mineral there are major differences.
Potassium – is in intracellular fluid and is involved in acid-base 5
ProPhos 8 Trace Minneral/Iodized Mineral
Copper1, 300 ppm vs.260-380 ppm Zinc 4,375 ppm vs. 320 ppm Iodine 130 ppm vs 70 pp This comparison does not include Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium and Vitamins A, D and E that Pro Phos 8 complete mineral has that Trace Mineral /Iodized mineral does not. These are just a few nutrients that are important in beef production. With all these requirements Pride AG has put together a mineral program that will work for you. We are recommending Pro Phos 8 C 3500 - 30 to 60 days before calving till you remove the bull and are done breeding. In the summer to help control flies we are recommending Pro Phos 8 with Altosid and the balance of the year we will be recommending Pro Phos 8. For wheat pasture we have Wheat Pasture Pro mineral and for grass tetany concerns we have Pro Phos 6 Mag. We also have other protein and mineral programs using 250 pounds tubs to reduce your time and labor vs hauling bag mineral around in your truck. Give us a call to talk about your mineral needs for your cows and calves this year.
Date
Wheat Corn Milo Soybean
10/6/14
5.36
3.41 3.03 8.52
11/4/14
5.50
3.73 3.40 9.20
11/19/14
5.46
3.71 3.38 9.15
12/1914
6.26
4.23 4.16
AGRONOMY
Shanon Schwartz Central Dispatch/Agronomy The winter wheat crop is looking relatively good with all the weather variances we have received this winter. We received some much needed moisture, helping the wheat and setting a moisture profile for the spring crops. The top dressing season is upon us. Call to book any acres or fertilizer needs you might have for your operations. We have a good selection of chemicals for your top dressing or for your pre-plant and burn down needs. Please give your Pride Ag Resources agronomist or agronomy locations managers a call to book your chemicals.
AV Energy
9.46
Last Year –Feb., 2014 AVG.
6.54
4.56 4.27 12.72
Chris Klein AV Energy, LLC O. (800)752-1580 O. (620)225-4994 I hope everyone had a great holiday season and your New Year has started off right.
Since early November we have seen both gas and diesel fall well over a dollar a gallon. Now over the last couple weeks we are seeing some stability in the markets, which tells me we could be near the lows. AV Energy is able to take advantage of the market lows and offer customers the opportunity to lock in their fuel at prices substantially lower than what we have seen the last couple of years. We have more than doubled our contracting from last year, with more customers contracting daily. Our most popular contract has been our March-October contract which allows our customers to contract for the farming season. Most of the contracts we have written have saved our customers over a dollar a gallon from the contracts they had last year. If you have not taken advantage of the lower fuel prices please give us a call, we would be more than happy to discuss your fuel needs with you. If you have an email address and are a customer of Pride Ag/AV Energy we would be more than happy to set you up on our email list. We have several customers that receive our emails and most of them have taken advantage of this service, locking in their fuel for this coming farming season. The email gives the customer the ability to follow the market daily without having to call the office to ask for the prices. If you do not wish to have the prices emailed, you are more than welcome to call our office or one of the branch offices as they also receive the contracting prices daily. The first of December Mike Reinert was hired on as our new salesman. Mike lives in Ness City with his wife Cindy and has been in the coop system for several years. Mike, has a vast knowledge of the energy sector and can help you with any fuel, propane or oil questions you might have. Mike, covers our whole territory and can be reached at 785-798-7221. I look forward to working with Mike, and after seeing Mike work the last couple of months I’m very excited in what Mike has to offer AV Energy and our customers. 6
AV Energy has (3) 1000 gallon fuel trailers available for rent.
If you are in need of some extra fuel storage during harvest or any time during the year give us a call. The trailers are first come first serve and we already have one rented for the upcoming wheat harvest. These trailers are also available for sale, if you would like to look into purchasing a trailer give Mike or myself a call. As always if there is anything we can do for you give us a call at 620225-4994, or stop by our office at 304 11th Ave in Dodge City. Thanks for your business, and we look forward to working with you this coming year!
IT Department
Richard Broz rbroz@prideag.com Pride Ag Resources IT Manager
Pride Ag Resources would like to invite you to browse our website www.prideag.com. This site is updated daily with local and national news. We try to inform you what is happening at our local branch locations.
The website will provide you information on our departments, coop news, and employment opportunities. Use it to look at your local Grain and Overnight cash bids. (These prices reflect a 10 minute delay). Our feature this month will be Patron Access. Features: • Access your accounts 24/7, with the ability to view multiple accounts. • Summary and detail information and the ability to print copies of A/R tickets. • Grain tickets available when YOU have time (after daily Updates are complete). Sign up to receive daily cash bids by emails and text messages. Welcome to Patron Access! As patrons of Pride Ag Resources, you will now be able to access your accounts receivable balances as well as individual invoices, grain receiving accounts, grain contracts, prepaid and booking balances, And equity balances. You will also be able to pull volume statements for the year. Patron Access is located in the navigation bar on the left side of our Web site (www.prideag.com). If you are new to Patron Access, please choose “New Account Request.” When the information is completed and sent, an e-mail will be forwarded to the main office. We will set up the accounts you requested and advise via e-mail when this is complete. After that, you simply sign on using your own username and password that you created. Only you have access to your accounts. Make sure you check out our Pride Ag Resources Facebook
page along with Pride Ag Ace Hardware Facebook page.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Scott Mac Nair ........................ Chairman Tony Bleumer... .............. Vice-Chairman Clint Hamilton ......... Secretary-Treasurer Jeremy Derstein ........................ Director Butch Irski ................................. Director Jeff Reinert ................................ Director Bruce Giessel ............................ Director Toby Whipple….........Associate Director Jeff Breuer…..……….Associate Director Jerald Kemmerer………………CEO/GM Debby Kennedy….......Newsletter Editor
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Pride Ag Resources 2nd Quarter 2015 Published quarterly by the
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
Pride Ag Resources
PAID
710 West Trail, Dodge City, KS 67801
DODGE CITY, KS PERMIT #399
(620) 225-4193
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