Safety Ace Hardware

the end of the day the new storage allows for us to have a very marketable grain that the market prefer to buy. I believe that’s where your upright storage is better than having lots of bunkers. Bunkers are not as efficient in keeping grain in condition and make it difficult to get the grain in position for quick load out. Once you open a bunker you need to empty it quickly. This requires you have enough space at that given time to handle all the grain contained in the bunker.

We had a good fall fertilizer run. With the winter moisture we have received so far, we anticipate a good spring run also. The employees are gearing up for your chemical and seed needs for this spring. We have had a good anhydrous and dry fertilizer run so far this winter. The agronomy team has been working on getting doubles and other anhydrous tanks inspected and updated.

Our fiscal year will close out February 29th, and at that time we will take inventory while going through the audit procedures to bring you the final numbers. I hope you have a great spring and thank you for your business. It is always appreciated!

Jerald Kemmerer-CEO/GM Pride Ag Resources

Safety Division

Roger Maple Safety Director

Driving is absolutely the single most dangerous thing that many of us do each day. When you think about how much faith you put in the person in the vehicle coming towards you in the other lane; it really causes you to pause. This is one of the few times throughout the day that we are putting our complete faith in someone else for our immediate safety. There are two things that can drastically improve your operational safety in terms of driving I would like to discuss. One being practicing preventative maintenance and the other, active driver management.

Preventative maintenance is extremely simple, yet often disregarded. Part of the reason is that the individuals with the skills to maintain vehicles often have poor recordkeeping skills. While this is not always the case, it often poses a unique challenge. Recordkeeping for preventative maintenance is of the utmost importance because it can help you to identify subtle trends in your vehicles and how frequently maintenance is needing done on your various vehicles. This is only a requirement for commercial motor vehicles. I want to encourage you, if it isn’t an integral part of your operational program, to properly integrate a maintenance file for all your company and farm owned vehicles, whether they are considered off road or not. The difference in having things like good tires, brakes, brake lights, turn signals, horns that work, or even a good and clear windshield, and not, can each be the difference between life and death for you and/or the general motoring public.

The other key item to address to improve driving safety in your farming operation is to actively manage your drivers. There are regulations in place as a bare minimum for your driver’s that can assist with this. However, I recommend that each of you make a conscious effort to spend personal time with each person who drives one of your vehicles to help ensure that safe and practical driving habits are being practiced as they navigate the roads we all travel. Don’t assume that they have all seen the things you have seen as they experience different seasons of the year, perhaps for the first time. A little explanation of what they may see as they travel will go a long way. The toughest part of winter is now upon us and I hope you make it through without anything serious to report.

Please be safe!

ACE HARDWARE

Jack Lane, ACE Manager It’s hard to believe that spring is just around the corner but it will be here before you know it. It’s time to start thinking about the pride turf fertilizer applications for your yard, trees and shrubs. Your Ace stores have a full line of Pride Turf products available including the pre and post emergents. It always seems to sneak up on everyone but it is time to start getting ready for those products to be applied.

Your Ace stores carry a full line of Stihl products including power washers, chainsaws, blowers and trimmers just to name a few. Stihl also has a line of battery operated equipment that is pretty impressive.