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We awarded three scholarships this year. The Barnesville $1,000 scholarship was awared to Hunter Albert, who plans to attend North Dakota State College of Science for an Agriculture major with a concentration in Farm Management & Precision Ag. Sam Dainelson was awarded the Rothsay $1,000 Scholarship. He is also planning on attending North Dakota State College of Science for an Agriculture major with a concentration in Farm & Ranch Management. The last scholarship given out was a partnership with Central Cass Dollars for Scholars. Will Ellison received a $4,000 scholarship through this partnership. He is planning to attend North Dakota State University for an Agricultural Economics degree.
MRGA wishes the three of them the best and we are excited to see where the futures takes them. Congratulations to all 2022 graduates!
“Cha-cha-cha-cha Changes, Turn and Face the Strange” couldn’t be more accurate for the planting season and growing season we have experienced so far. Things that we would consider strange to the way we normally go about things are the new Normal. Starting at planting and working through delayed planting and the challenge of finding early maturity products and getting them moved around the countryside were not the norm. We applaud all of you and the effort and perseverance you showed trying to get a crop in the ground. Herbicide and Insecticide acquisition has been another STRANGE for the year, we made a effort early with our partners to acquire and then some of the products ordered in preparation for the season, again CHANGES. Most products filled some didn’t, but it seems there’s not a lot of extra in the channels. With acres switching and limited quantities of our preferred options we are asking for flexibility, substitutions are an everyday conversation between the MRGA team and distribution. CHANGES will be made but we are keeping substitute products in stock
to do the job. Please be flexible as we work through all the CHANGES. The loss of Chlorpyrifos is another CHANGE we are adapting to also, the normal was this bug or that is in my crop, oh take Lorsban that will kill them, and it was fast acting and great results. The myriad of products we have today are slower acting and have more specificity to crops and environmental conditions than what we have had in the past and we are learning that is the new norm. Positive CHANGES are currently on the horizon, Urea prices have softened, and we have a buying opportunity for fall. The crop that has been planted with favorable weather conditions are finding their feet and really beginning to take off hopefully towards a bountiful harvest to take advantage of good commodity prices. Keep communicating with your agronomist about CHANGES and be open and flexible with our warehouse for products as we face all the strange situations and new norms in our industry and environment.
about to start a Team Point Challenge here at MRGA, and we are excited! There are going to be teams of four competing against each other trying to get the most points. We are all competitive, so we will see which team comes out on top! We are working on a few projects to get you involved, too, so keep a lookout for an announcement coming soon!
- Your Agronomy Team
Karl Berg | Agronomy Sales Manager
If you’re like us, you’re probably wondering where the time has gone, as you reflect and see that half of 2022 is in the rearview mirror and isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The road we’ve traveled so far hasn’t been the smoothest but there’s something to be said about the lessons learned on the journey. Still, we tend to feel like we haven’t been the ones driving the vehicle on this path. Moreso we’ve been running behind it trying to catch up, eating the dust thrown at us by the wheels of global events and uncertainties, what seems like daily increases in costs, and market curveballs tossed by speculators. This year we’ve been reminded just why they’re called Bull and Bear markets. The bull, fresh out of the trailer stands resilient overlooking the green pasture, gazing over the opportunity that lies in front of him with no end in sight. Hiding just over the hill is the bear, eyes red with rage looking to regain its territory and willing to drag down anything that stands in its way. Much like the market so far where the bulls took charge and took us to higher highs than we’ve seen ever before, with what seemed like no end in sight- until recently when the bears took over with a major correction forcing commodity prices down in a quick hurry.
With the volatility of the markets, the MRGA Grain Team has had to adjust the way we operate in certain ways. Most of you noticed there were days we said we couldn’t buy grain after market closed and offered instead to enter a Good-Til-Cancelled or Day Order at the price level you were
Priewe | Grain Originator & Credit Manager
seeking. This was done because the open of the overnight trade was so unpredictable that it created too much risk for us to carry priced grain that had yet to be hedged into trade that evening.
We’ve also made a change from writing all our ND contracts as delivered to Casselton and the applicable freight spread deducted at time of payment to entering them specific to the location of your choice. We have written the MN contracts this way since the merger and noticed it benefits everyone in many ways. Accounting-wise it makes settlements much more straightforward. We’ll also be able to more accurately account for spatial needs at each location to ensure more efficient service. We hope that moving forward these changes will make for a better experience for all.
As we look ahead to the rest of the growing season, we know there are many factors that will be weighing on the market. The Ukrainian crisis is still happening with growing uncertainty of if they’ll be able to harvest and export the grain they managed to get in the ground. South America and their crops play a major role in our export volumes and will be watched closely. On US soil, we have wheat harvest happening in the south, and weekly crop progress and condition reports that showcase the state of our crops and the advances they have made. Also, being released by the USDA on June 30th is the Stocks and Acreage report totaling all the acres that got seeded. Traders will be comparing the numbers to those in the Planting Intentions report that was released on March 30th. Until next quarter, when we can hopefully highlight a productive wheat harvest and maturing corn and soybean crop, we’d like to remind you that we are here to answer any questions you have and help with all your marketing needs.
- Your MRGA Grain Team
Kim Bender | Merchandiser Tanner McDaniel | Grain OriginatorWelcome to another quarter of our newsletter – the months are going quickly!
Let us know how we are doing! Fill out a quick form by clicking the image above. We want to know how your Plant 2022 season is going. Give us your feedback!
Last quarter Alex touched on the winter that never ended – we now feel like we just finished the spring that never ended. Mother Nature has most definitely challenged all of us this last year. Challenging times come and go; we just need to be prepared for them. MRGA has built a very strong balance sheet to help us endure hard times. Now that the crop is in we can move to the next phase of our forecasting; chemical season and harvest.
In January of 2020, we entered into a management and lease agreement with Valley Ag Partners. At that time, we planned for a five-year agreement with the option to purchase at any time. This venture has proven very successful for MRGA and we are excited to finalize that agreement on July 31 of this year. We have brought on a great group of employees and customers with this acquisition. From a patron standpoint you should not notice much change but from an MRGA standpoint it opens the doors to lots of possibilities. We thank all of our Minnesota customers for their loyalty and are excited to see what the future brings.
The Grower360 app is a resource for you! Make sure you have your app updated, so you can have the best version of the app for every use. If you are looking to become more comfortable with the app, make sure you check out these videos!
One question I get asked often is, “How does patronage work at MRGA”? The management team works diligently to budget and monitor our financials monthly. We have a “target” net income goal each year. We have had the good fortune of being profitable since early on when the LLC came together. At the end of the year, we have a full audit of the financials prior to our year-end board meeting. At that meeting the MRGA board of directors determine what percentage of our profit will be passed on to our cooperative owners. Once that decision is made MRGA wipes the slate clean and starts another year. The money goes to Maple River Coop (MRC) and that board of directors makes the determination on current year patronage, estate payout requests, and paying out prior year dividends. The current year patronage is fully taxable the year you receive it. Prior year dividends are tax free because they were paid in the year earned. This is the reason a patron might receive two checks from MRC each year. Our Minnesota patrons might only see one check for a few years if they just started doing business with us in 2020. If you ever have any questions about patronage you can contact Todd Richter.
Send an email to marketing@mrga.com if you have anything that should be added to the upcoming newsletter.
Wrapping up I would like to wish all of you a great 4th of July holiday and safe harvest this fall. We appreciate each and every patron and work hard to earn your business.
Kim Nehring | CFO