MKC Connections | Fall 2019

CONNECTIONS FALL 2019

COVERING THEIR BASES PG. 8

EMPOWERING PARTNERSHIP PG. 10

FUEL EFFICIENCY

PG. 12

MAXIMIZE YOUR SEED DOLLARS WITH MKC AND CFA! YOUR BEST OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE

Maximize your savings by taking advantage of MKC’s early prepay discounts and 0% financing from CFA by March 31, 2020. Prepay discount rates decrease each date change.

Volume discounts start at $15,000.

2020 CROP INPUT FINANCE PROGRAM DETAILS PRE-PAY SEED & CHEMICALS CROP INPUTS

0.0%* fixed until 3/31/2020 on seed pre-pay (row crop and alfalfa) and chemical from MKC 3.0%* variable until 12/31/2020 on fertilizer, chemical, application, services, seed (wheat and cover crops) purchased from MKC

* As of July 1, 2020, variable interest rates are based on the CFA Advantage Rate. CFA interest rate indices are published at www.cfafs.com/financials

Contents IN EVERY ISSUE

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President’s Column Straight from President and CEO Dave Christiansen’s desk.

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News Briefs The latest from MKC and its employees.

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FEATURES

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Mid Kansas Cooperative @midkscoop

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TMA Column A word from our grain partners.

Mid Kansas Cooperative @midkscoop MKC - Mid Kansas Coop

MKC Mission To create customer, employee and partner success to provide a safe and sustainable food supply.

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Prepping Tomorrow’s Consumers MKC employees educate elementary students on Kansas agriculture through ‘Ag in Our Everyday Lives’ presentation.

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Covering Their Bases Justin and Royce Regehr utilize MKC’s Optimal Cover Program to optimize their field’s potential.

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Empowering Partnership Duncan Farms finds success in partnering with MKC for feed and agronomy expertise.

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Fuel Efficiency MKC’s automated fuel delivery system becomes more efficient through a new partnership with Cargas Energy.

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Renewing our Infrastructure An update on MKC’s infrastructure investments to keep pace in meeting the needs of the producer.

Editorial Staff Nichole Gouldie - Communications and Brand Manager Kelli Schrag - Communications Specialist Brityne Rucker - Communications Intern

Board of Directors Allan Wegner - Chairman Jason Gaeddert - Vice Chairman David Mills - Secretary Keith Becker C.J. Blew Duane Johnson Sara Hasty Hal Mayer Ben Schrag J. Daniel Eakes John Borth

MKC Vision Partner with customers to successfully navigate the complexity of modern agriculture and industry.

Management Dave Christiansen - President and CEO Danny Posch - Executive Vice President and CFO Dave Spears - Executive Vice President and CMO Erik Lange - Executive Vice President and COO Anne Warren - Executive Vice President and CHRO

MKC Values The success of our business will be determined by our ability to focus on safety, courtesy, image and innovation.

Connections is distributed free to MKC member-owners. When reporting an address change, please contact (620) 345-6328 or contactus@mkcoop.com.

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SUSTAINABLE MATTER PRESIDENT’S COLUMN BY DAVE CHRISTIANSEN, MKC PRESIDENT AND CEO

“

Sustainability is a topic gaining momentum all around us. You hear more chatter in our rural communities.

You see companies who buy our agricultural products being pushed toward sustainable sourcing by their customers. You open up your social media and you see claims about sustainability from family and friends.

The truth is, sustainability means different things to different people.

When many of us hear the word “sustainability,” we often assume the conversation is only about environmental issues and regulation.

MKC approaches sustainability from three dimensions. As a cooperative, it is important for us to share all of the buckets of sustainability including environmental conservation and preservation, economic performance and community engagement.

We have an abundance of unique stories to tell of sustainable agriculture and food production.

It is important to understand sustainability from the cooperative level and at the farm level. Our farmerowned cooperative business model is an inherently sustainable one in itself, and farmers themselves have been working over generations to

Sustainability is in the soul of every good farmer and at the heart of co-op success, and it always will be.

.”

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ensure their own family businesses are sustainable. We will do everything we can to tell the story that many of our customers simply live every day. We will tell the story of what the cooperative does for farmland preservation, soil health, animal welfare and cooperative involvement.

The one thing we all have in common is modesty. We can’t let modesty stop us from telling our story about our daily sustainable practices. There are a lot of people out there who are influencers in the world, who don’t know our story, and we need to do a much better job of communicating what we do. I believe we all want the same thing: clean water, a safe food supply, and to treat the environment and livestock well.

These are all the things our customers are doing daily. Every day, regardless of whether they are raising crops or livestock, these farmers and ranchers are practicing and living sustainable farming.

A team of our employees are establishing a common baseline to understand how our cooperative and members are practicing sustainability.

This initiative will help us to join the conversation that is building around us.

It will increase our ability to develop sustainability programs for our core business areas, our members and the cooperative as a whole.

It’s time for agriculture to take back the concept of sustainability.

Sustainability is in the soul of every good farmer and at the heart of co-op success, and it always will be.

PREPPING TOMORROW’S CONSUMERS

BY NICHOLE GOULDIE, MKC COMMUNICATIONS AND BRAND MANAGER

Groups of small, wooden desks were perfectly aligned, and the alphabet stretched above the interactive whiteboard. Students were giggly with excitement for the guests that were joining their classroom. Their guests were MKC employees Jon Schmidt and Tracy Cook. This isn’t the typical place of work for Schmidt and Cook, as they normally spend their day at the cooperative helping customers with their agronomy needs. But in a fourth-grade classroom in Newton, Schmidt and Cook’s passion and knowledge for agriculture could be seen first-hand.

“Cooperatives were founded on the principles of education and training,” Schmidt says. “What better way to demonstrate our commitment to the cooperative system and our member-owners than by educating youth about what farmers and ranchers do.”

Presentation Purpose Farm and ranch families comprise just 2% of the U.S. population, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. With the lack of direct connection to rural America, coupled with marketing information coming from grocery stores and restaurants, it’s no wonder there is public confusion about production agriculture.

It is for some of those reasons that MKC started their employee

program to offer classroom presentations to students at elementary schools across the state in 2014. Targeted primarily to first-through-fifth-grade students, the MKC ‘Ag in our Everyday Lives’ presentation discusses what grains are, the crops grown in Kansas and the many uses for these crops. The presentation also informs students how MKC helps farmers and ranchers grow food. The students put together a pretend pizza, discussing how each ingredient comes from some form of agriculture. After the presentation, MKC provides pizza for the students to enjoy.

Growing Interest More than 70 fourth-grade students at South Breeze Elementary School in Newton, Kansas, learned more about agriculture from Schmidt and Cook. Their teacher, Mrs. Allison Grow, was overwhelmed with excitement when she heard MKC employees would come talk to the students about agriculture and how it would tie into their current studies in the classroom about the different regions in the United States.

“We are currently learning about the Midwest region of the United States and the products and natural resources in those states,” Grow says. “We have discussed the importance of land, water and

climate, and the students have really become fascinated about the natural resources and products of the region. Agriculture tied in perfectly to those lessons.”

Grow ultimately wants students to have a better understanding of where they live.

“Having the employees at MKC come in and talk about the topic of agriculture as experts, the students listen. Giving my students the opportunity to touch the grain and learn from Tracy and Jon was so powerful,” Grow says.

Since March 2019, MKC employees have presented to more than 30 classes of students.

“We live and work in rural communities, but it is amazing how many children aren’t confident in what they see around them,” Schmidt says. “Now, more than ever, farmers need advocates to help tell their story and it is rewarding to be a part of that.”

Note from the editor: If you know of a classroom or civic group who would benefit from having an MKC representative be a guest speaker about agriculture, please contact MKC Communications and Brand Manager Nichole Gouldie at ngouldie@mkcoop.com or 620-345-6328.

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MKC GIVES BACK TO COMMUNITY THROUGH DONATIONS A large portion of MKC’s donations go toward programs that promote ag education and leadership development; alleviate hunger in its communities; and improve or enhance community safety. As such, MKC donated over $70,000 to Kansas county 4-H programs, food banks, and the Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom as part of its annual stewardship efforts.

Food Banks Recognizing that hunger exists in every community, MKC presented $17,000 to 11 food banks located throughout its footprint in 2019.

“This is an opportunity for us to assist the local food banks that provide meals and essential healthcare products to many people within our trade territory,” says Dave Christiansen, MKC president and CEO. “We are committed to addressing food insecurity in the communities we operate in and proud to support our local hunger relief agencies.”

According to statistics from Feed America, one in eight Kansans struggle with hunger and will turn to a food bank for meals in the next year. In terms of MKC’s member-owners, that would equate to 1,250 of the nearly 10,000 relying on a food bank for their next meal.

Since its first annual food drive nearly 10 years ago, MKC has donated over 40,000 pounds of nonperishable food items and $179,000 to local food banks. These monetary donations are supported through a matching funds program with the Land O’ Lakes Foundation.

Organizations benefiting from this year’s cash donations are: Northern Rice County Food Bank, The Salvation Army (Reno County), Salina Emergency Aid

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Food Bank, Abilene Area Food and Clothing Center, The Salvation Army (Harvey County), Marion County Food Bank, The Salvation Army (Butler County), Flint Hills Breadbasket (Manhattan), Love in the Name of Christ (Ottawa County), McPherson County Food Bank, and Wellington Community Food Bank.

Kansas 4-H Programs MKC contributed $51,500 to Kansas 4-H programs to support leadership development events for young 4-H members in 19 counties. This year marks the 14th consecutive year for donations made to 4-H programs within the MKC footprint.

“This is a great opportunity for us to assist local 4-H organizations that play such a positive role in the lives of so many young people within our trade territory,” says Christiansen. “It is exciting to think those same youth will be the future leaders of our communities.”

Funds totaling more than $175,000 have been donated to 4-H since 2006 with matched contributions from the Land O’ Lakes, Inc. Foundation.

In 2019, MKC made donations to Butler, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Kingman, Marion, McPherson, Meade, Morris, Pottawatomie, Reno, Rice, Riley, Saline, Seward, Sumner and Wabaunsee counties.

Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom For the first time in U.S. history, more families are living in cities than in rural areas. Consequently, children are disconnected from the natural world and agriculture. Kansas Foundation for Ag in the Classroom (KFAC) is a statewide educational program with a mission to connect classrooms to Kansas agriculture. The non-profit organization was founded

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in 1982 and is committed to providing resources, training and support to schools, educators and volunteers so they can meaningfully connect children to agriculture. Through the years, KFAC has been able to offer opportunities for teachers and students, including agricultural experiences, credible resources and standards-based, hands-on lesson plans. KFAC also provides educator training workshops, newsletters, magazines, teacher awards, and volunteer projects and initiatives.

“Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom is pleased to partner once again with MKC,” says Dianne Paukstelis, KFAC executive director. “Funding will be used for the recruitment and training of a new volunteer team to maximize ag education outreach. Partners like MKC make it possible for us to connect with over 45,000 people across the state of Kansas every year.”

For more information about the Kansas Foundation for Ag in the Classroom, visit www.ksagclassroom.org.

LAND O’LAKES COOPERATIVE MEMBER HEALTH PLAN AVAILABLE TO MKC FARMER MEMBERS In response to the growing demand for more affordable and extensive healthcare options, through a partnership with Land O’Lakes, Inc., MKC is proud to offer the Land O’Lakes Cooperative Farmer Member Health Plan to its producer members in Kansas.

The Land O’Lakes Cooperative Farmer Member Health Plan, administered by Gravie Administrative Services LLC, a Minneapolisbased benefits marketplace, allows producers to choose from several ACA compliant plans — all of which cover each of the ten Essential Health Benefits (EHB’s). It also gives them access to a broad, national provider network and year-round guidance from licensed advisors.

“We recognize that access to quality, affordable health care is a major concern for our member-owners,” says Dave Christiansen, MKC president and CEO. “Connecting farmers to this health care option for them and their family allows us to deliver more value to their operation in the form of an affordable and improved health care coverage.”

Land O’Lakes first launched the Land O’Lakes Cooperative Farmer Member Health Plan in Minnesota in 2018. Kansas is now approved for the 2020 plan year, and Land O’Lakes intends to grow this solution for its member producers and farmers within its cooperative system.

The requirements for participation in the Land O’Lakes Cooperative Farmer Member Health Plan include residing in Kansas and being an active producer member of MKC. For coverage starting January 1, 2020, the Open Enrollment period is from October 28, 2019 through December 20, 2019 at 5PM CT. Producers can call Gravie at (844) 538-4690 or visit gravie.com/coop to learn more.

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BY: KELLI SCHRAG, MKC COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

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It was different than anything we’ve done before. We were planting into green stuff this tall,” Justin Regehr says, raising his hand level to his brow as he sat upright in his chair. His father, Royce, noticed neighbors would slowly drive by and study the field, wondering what they were doing. It didn’t take long before the Regehr’s field became coffee shop talk in the small community of Inman.

Roots of the Family Farm Located two miles south of town, the Regehr’s operation has expanded significantly since its inception as more land became involved with every generational transition. Royce’s grandfather, J.T. Regehr, was one of the first farmers of the land and only grew wheat and oats to use as feed for his cattle. J.T.’s son and Royce’s father, Eldo R. Regehr, later took over and added milo, soybeans, and alfalfa.

Royce partnered with his father in the 1980s and continued to improve the operation as new technology and machinery became available. When Justin joined in 2013, the farm added irrigation systems and implemented more no-till.

Choosing to Cover Justin recognized the farm had areas that needed improvement, the largest being erosion control.

The bare soil fell suspect to Kansas winds and driving rains and had the potential to cause issues during growing seasons. He recalled reading about a possible solution in a No-Till Farmer magazine. That solution was cover crops.

Cover crops are grown between regular grain crop production periods in order to protect and improve the soil. They offer numerous benefits to the soil

structure and quality, and aid in weed suppression, erosion control and capturing moisture.

“I was interested in trying cover crops because they hold more moisture, reduce costs and help with erosion control,” Justin says. He first looked to his greatuncle, Dr. David Regehr, a weed science professor at Kansas State University, for expertise.

He then partnered with Chris Thompson, MKC strategic account manager, to develop a plan for his fields.

“We talked about the advantages and disadvantages to see how it fit into their operation and what they were wanting to do,” Thompson says.

The Regehrs set aside 30 acres of land to conduct an experiment with cover crops led by Thompson and MKC summer intern, Connor Chesky. The study compared standard no-till soybeans to soybeans grown with cover crops that were terminated with different methods and timing. They planted triticale side-by-side in six-acre blocks after corn harvest, at the same time they were planting wheat.

“It was a busy time to try it, and I talked to Chris almost every day, or sometimes twice a day during the experiment,” Justin says.

Prior to planting, Royce and Justin both expressed doubts and fears about trying cover crops in their fields.

“I was really skeptical if it would work, but it did,” Royce says. “The soil won’t blow this winter, that’s for sure.”

They purposely planted their experiment in a secluded section of the field in an attempt to avoid the public eye.

“I tried the cover crop down on Arrowhead Road because there is very little traffic,” Justin says.

Despite the remote location, neighbors became curious about the experiment and would pull over to ask questions.

The Regehrs discovered their operation could save costs and improve the soil by planting cover crops between growing seasons.

“We had a standard, and I was seeing what I could cut out from growing cover crops,” Justin says.

“I cut out a couple of herbicide passes, but had the added cost of triticale seed, drilling, and 30 pounds of nitrogen for increased biomass. I came out with all the benefits of the cover crops, and even a little better profit-wise, which is ultimately what I wanted to see.”

The Regehrs saved about $9 per acre on soybeans planted into standing triticale, compared to notill soybeans without cover.

In addition to saving costs, the cover crop provided solutions to other issues the Regehrs faced.

“We could see a visual difference between the no-till and cover crops with erosion this spring,” Thompson says. “Dirt had washed up to the corn stalk, but we didn’t see that in the cover.”

Justin says they will continue to move forward with cover crops on a bigger scale in the future and credits his strategic account manager, Thompson, for pushing him to a more efficient farming practice.

“Production agriculture is about seeing how you can do things more efficiently,” Thompson says. “If it fits into your operation, cover crops allow you to do something beneficial to your fields, where otherwise it would be wasted time of the year.”

www.mkcoop.com

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EMPOWERING PARTNERSHIP For almost four decades,

the Duncan farming and ranching operation has been passed down from generation to generation.

Through droughts, floods, and highs and lows of the agricultural economy, the Duncan operation strives to remain in front of the changing times.

Nestled in the Flint Hills near Westmoreland, Kansas, Kenny Duncan and his father, Tom, have continuously diversified and expanded their farm and ranch since they partnered in the 1980s.

They currently manage a 225head black Angus and Simmental Cross cow-calf herd, along with a haying and agronomy operation. In 1993, Kenny and Tom hired Steve Havenstein to help manage the cow-calf herd. With the addition of Steve’s help, the Duncan operation put an emphasis on improving the profitability of their herd. They sought expertise from a number of sources to improve their feed ration, including various feed companies and experts. Still, they were unable to create a ration that worked until working with MKC. “In the past, we were never happy with the condition of our cattle heading into winter and we knew we had to fix that,” Kenny says. “One day we decided to reach out to the feed department at MKC and discuss the possibility of creating a ration with them.”

Through MKC, Duncan Farms was introduced to the Purina protein program. Kenny and Steve worked with MKC feed specialist, Gary Schmidt, to formulate a ration specific to his herd’s requirements and were amazed by the results

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from feeding the new recommendation.

“When we started using the Purina protein program through MKC, the ration put 100 more pounds per head on in the first year,” Havenstein says. “Since starting with Purina and MKC, we’ve calved out 72% of our cows to be on the ground in the first 30 days, just by having our cows in prime body condition when heading into the breeding season.

We have to take our hats off to MKC and the Purina team for creating the phenomenal feed ration that has made our operation more profitable by shortening our calving windows.”

More than a Bag of Feed The Duncans have been pivotal in the success of MKC’s Animal Nutrition Field Day. For the past three years, Kenny and his family have hosted the event and welcomed producers from across

the state to their operation to learn about a variety of Purina products and their impact.

“We couldn’t ask for a better person to host this event,” Schmidt says. “Kenny is extremely knowledgeable in the industry and is always happy to answer questions. Kenny is the straightest shooter I know and will always be honest with the products being displayed.”

Kenny is a true testament to utilizing the Purina brand to the fullest potential. Along with the Purina protein program, he uses supplemental nutrition such as Purina Rain and Wind Mineral to wean calves, and fly control products.

“Kenny is one of the few that follows the Purina programs by the book, and you can truly see the results by doing so,” Schmidt says.

“His cows and calves are always in prime body condition by keeping them on this regimen.”

Duncan Farms finds success in partnering with MKC for feed and agronomy expertise.

BY: BRITYNE RUCKER, MKC COMMUNICATIONS INTERN Agronomy Advancements The Duncan’s success with MKC extends to more than just feed.

Kenny is a firm believer on implementing new technology in his agronomy operation and has turned to the experts at MKC for assistance.

“Everyone can say ‘this is how Grandpa always did it’, but that just doesn’t work anymore,” Kenny says. “There are so many better ways, and MKC makes it easier to make decisions by having a person readily available.”

The Duncan operation has been a loyal cooperative member in the Manhattan area for 25 years and has worked with MKC since the merger of Farmers Cooperative Association in June 2014. Since then, the Duncans have implemented as much technology, including variable rate anhydrous and yield monitoring systems, as they can economically justify.

“It has been a guessing game for so long and it’s incredibly

nice to have data specific to your operation in your hands,” Kenny says. “You always knew you had that one bad spot in that field, you just didn’t know where. Now you have the data to tell you exactly where it is. We’ve been taking baby steps towards technology, but we’re finally to the point where we can evaluate our data. It’s starting to make sense and the technology is starting to truly pay itself off.”

Kenny says the first year they used row shutoff technology, they had numerous bags of seed left over after they finished planting fields.

“It was truly astounding how precision technology can impact your bottom line,” Kenny says. “At the end of the year, the difference that technology made was eye opening. Instead of having to go back to the co-op and buy a few more bags of seed, that was the first year in our farm’s history we sent bags back. That is all thanks to the precision technology team. I

thought to myself, wow, we should have been doing this years ago,” Kenny says.

Even with the difference precision technology and the feed department has made to the Duncan operation, that is not the main reason Kenny keeps coming back.

“MKC’s customer service is unmatchable,” Kenny says.

“Customer service is just as important to MKC as it is to the farmers and ranchers, no matter if you farm two acres or 2,000 acres.”

Kenny believes MKC keeps on top of customer experience interactions by hiring progressive, service-minded and knowledgeable professionals.

“MKC preaches they hire the best of the best and I believe they truly do,” Kenny says. “As a producer, they challenge our thought process and push us out of the rut we have been in for decades.”

www.mkcoop.com

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FUEL EFFICIENCY BY: KELLI SCHRAG, MKC COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

The MKC energy department just became a lot more efficient with its fuel, but not in the typical terms of MPG or environmental emissions. As an initiative to better serve its customers, the department partnered with Cargas Energy, a Windows-based, total dispatching system that can map tanks, route trucks, keep order history and automatically order refills.

“As we continue to expand our footprint, keeping control of the details gets increasingly harder,” says Rick Limon, MKC energy sales manager. “A 1986 handwritten note about where a certain tank is doesn’t work very well anymore. It was imperative that we made this upgrade.”

The Cargas system is tankbased, meaning each tank is mapped out and the size, order limit, product, and last delivery date is specific to the tank.

MKC Energy Intern, Jake Tiernen, had the honor of inputting every tank MKC services into the system.

“I used plat books to find the intersecting coordinates of each

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tank, then found the address and whose tank it is,” Tiernen says. “I plugged that information into the Cargas system, with a Google map picture of the tank.”

Utilizing the system has helped Limon and his team be more accurate and efficient in their work.

“It increases our ease of operation,” Limon says. “By using Cargas, we’re able to take more off the plate of our customers. They know product is going to be there during the season they need it.”

Producer Point of View McPherson area farmer Dennis Friesen relies on MKC fuel and oil for his tractors, semis and pickup trucks. Friesen manages a corn, wheat, soybean, alfalfa and brome operation and values MKC’s automated delivery system.

“They haven’t failed me yet,” Friesen says. “They always fill the tanks. I’ve never run out and I don’t have to call.”

For Keith Bauer of Sun Valley Inc., MKC’s automated delivery is comparable to the water in his house.

“I honestly don’t know how it works,” Bauer says. “At home, I turn on the faucet and the water is there. At Sun Valley, we have a 10,000 gallon tank and MKC works to refill it. It doesn’t take any of our employees to manage it.”

Located in Hutchinson, Sun Valley Inc. operates 72 trucks that haul mostly agricultural products and feed ingredients across the region. Bauer says partnering with MKC helps their drivers be more efficient in their time and mileage as they are able to fuel up on-site.

Moreover, Bauer is a firm believer in the Ruby Red fuel additive package.

“We had bought four brand new trucks at the time we tested it,” Bauer says. “Two traveled more throughout the region while two stayed local and got 100% of their fuel from MKC. We didn’t have to change the fuel filters in the local trucks for 18 months. On the other two, we changed them at six and nine months. It was obvious we were getting better fuel with MKC. There’s no better proof in the pudding than that.”

RENEWING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE BY: NICHOLE GOULDIE, MKC COMMUNICATIONS AND BRAND MANAGER

Recognizing the importance of speed and space allows MKC to keep pace with the growing needs of the producer. MKC has made significant asset investments in the past decade to better serve customers bringing their crops to MKC elevators.

“We’ve shown and continue to show that we are committed to reinvesting in our infrastructure,” said Erik Lange, MKC executive vice president and COO. “We’ve added a lot of speed and space strategically in certain areas and we are going to continue to do that to meet the demands of the farmer-owners.”

MKC continues to look for and evaluate the next round of projects in addition to evaluating existing facility upgrades and potential green field sites for all grain, feed, agronomy and energy needs.

Moundridge Construction of three new concrete bins began in Moundridge in June 2019, providing a total of 1.2 million bushels of additional storage. Located just north of the administrative offices, this location previously included an outdated dry shed, maintenance shop and service station. The expansion includes a 1,200-bushel dump pit and a 20,000 bushels per hour leg and receiving equipment. A bi-directional drag will be installed to take grain to and from the existing elevator and a new 5,000-bushel overhead load-out bin will be added. All new and existing grain facilities at Moundridge will have a hazard monitoring system device installed to enhance grain elevator safety by providing real-time feedback from a network of sensors installed on a range of machinery such as belt conveyors, bucket elevators, drag conveyors, fans, blowers and more.

The concrete from the previous infrastructure was crushed and hauled back to the site for fill and road base. The project is expected to be completed by June 1, 2020.

The construction in Moundridge also includes a new training center for safety and maintenance. The new center will provide a site to train employees and farmers and will include simulated items for handson training along with classroom learning.

Plains Ahead of fall harvest, the bunker assets at Plains were rebuilt to consist of three bunkers that were re-elevated and lifted out of water to eliminate risks. This storage consists of two round bunkers with 150,000 bushels of storage space each, in addition to a long 1.1-million-bushel bunker. Following the merger with Plains Equity and Exchange in June 2019, a complete safety sweep was conducted to bring the facility within OSHA compliance.

Hobart A 25,000 bushel per hour Lemar conveyor was purchased and delivered to Hobart during fall harvest to fill the new bunker following the merger of Plains Equity Exchange and Cooperative Union to MKC. Kismet At the Kismet bunker site, new roads were constructed and a new scale and portable office were put in place. The area was picked up to improve the image and areas of the elevator were improved to meet safety compliance.

Wildhorse Through the merger of Plains Equity Exchange, the Wildhorse facility was added to MKC. This bunker site contains four bunkers holding 3.3 million bushels. Prior to fall harvest, MKC added an additional raised pad for milo storage and reassembled salvaged conveyors to be a main source of harvest receipts for producers. The site was also picked up to improve the image of the grain storage location.

Alta Vista Prior to the merger with MKC in 2014, Farmers Cooperative Association of Manhattan constructed a bunker at the Alta Vista location. In the summer of 2019, MKC added cement stabilization to the pad and stabilized the underlying soils to improve the longevity of the bunker site.

Rice County In August 2019, a 1.8-million-bushel bunker was completed. A new global conveyor was purchased to unload at 30,000 bushels per hour, in addition to a second bunker consisting of 800,000 bushels was constructed to hold milo. This new construction brings the total bushel storage to 4.8 million bushels at Rice County.

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THE WHY BEHIND THE BUNKERS COLUMN BY TED SCHULTZ, TMA CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER The other day I was asked why grain companies all over the country have so many grain piles. Most people in the industry know these grain piles as bunkers.

These bunkers hold wheat, corn, milo or soybeans, depending on the part of the country.

Many might wonder why these piles continue to be built when there is so much storage already constructed. Today, the simple answer is producers have raised more grain than we have demand for. This makes for markets that incent the industry to hold grain to sell at a later date. Bunkers are also more portable than a bin and can be moved as conditions change.

An elevator’s ability to hold grain keeps prices stronger than having all of the grain hit the market at one time. The grain in the elevator can draw income from two sources. First, producers who do not want to sell at the time of delivery pay storage from the time the grain is dumped until they decide to sell. Once a producer sells the grain, an elevator can earn income by holding grain from carry in the market. Carry is determined by values that can be locked in by selling grain for delivery in future months. Carry is not the same for every grain, so merchandisers, like our team at TMA, determine what to hold based on the grain with the most carry going forward and the room available.

Income made by the elevators that are a part of the TMA system is distributed back to the TMA

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partner. The cooperative members of TMA will use the earnings to pay expenses to run the elevators, pay patronage back to their members, retain capital and rebuild infrastructure.

The cooperative by nature has no end date in its business model. It is for this reason that building infrastructure is extremely important to serve the producer of today and tomorrow. Bunkers are a way to help producers have a place to dump their grain when crops are vast, and storage is tight. Bunker storage also keeps grain from being forced into a saturated market and driving prices even lower. The long-term income from the bunkers can be used to build more permanent storage when needed.

The income distributions are beneficial for the local rural community when you deliver your grain to a local company. Local companies pay local taxes.

Local companies pay all local employees. Earnings are passed back to the owners who use the local business.

Local money is distributed into the local economy.

Asset upgrades of both storage and speed of dumping are good for our local producers. Examples of the benefits of local delivery are all over our territory and are rewarding when it all comes full circle.

APPLY TODAY FOR THE

MKC Scholarship Program YOUR NAME COULD BE HERE!

WHO CAN APPLY?

• High school seniors and college students • Must be a child or grandchild of a MKC member-owner or MKC/TMA employee • Enrolled at a post-secondary institution immediately following high school graduation or entering second, third or fourth year of college in fall 2020

DEADLINE: March 1, 2020

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MKC ENTERS INTO LETTER OF INTENT TO ACQUIRE MID-WEST FERTILIZER Mid-West Fertilizer, Inc. and MKC entered into a letter of intent on October 15, 2019, for MKC to acquire MidWest Fertilizer, a full-service agricultural retailer headquartered in Paola, Kansas.

Mid-West Fertilizer President and CEO Rod Silver said, “As our company enters into 40 years of existence, this is the right transition for our customers, employees and company. When we looked to the future, it was important to partner with an organization that would bring value to producers, provide our employees with career development opportunities and allows our organization the opportunity to continue to be successful. MKC is the right partner to make that happen.”

The acquisition will include grain, wholesale and retail agronomy, energy, feed and trucking. It is expected to be completed in early 2020. MKC and Mid-West Fertilizer have worked beside one another for three years through their relationship with Team Marketing Alliance, LLC, a majority-owned subsidiary of MKC. Dave Christiansen, MKC president and CEO, said Mid-West Fertilizer is a successful organization with talented employees who MKC looks forward to working with to continue to make producers more successful.

“Together, we have identified benefits and opportunities we can gain by combining the organizations, which will allow our companies to continue to achieve more success,” Christiansen said.

Mid-West Fertilizer and MKC are currently completing the required legal documents and due diligence necessary to finalize an acquisition. Silver will continue to lead Mid-West Fertilizer after the acquisition.

Mid-West Fertilizer, Inc. was started in 1980 as a regional fertilizer distributor selling and delivering fertilizer to local fertilizer dealers throughout the region stretching between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. Along with the wholesale fertilizer business, Mid-West Fertilizer now services farmers with grain handling, custom application, crop nutrients, crop protection products, seed, feed, fuels, lubricants, propane, trucking and tire sales through 155 employees and 25 locations in Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. To learn more, visit www.midwestfertilizerinc.com.