President & CEO
Chief Operating Officer
Financial Controller
Max Smith Email: max@sfgiowa.com
Sharon Smith Email: sharon@sfgiowa.com
Ashley Basset Email: ashleyb@sfgiowa.com
Grain Merchandiser
Fuel, IT, & Feed Manager
Agronomy Manager
Mark White Email: markw@sfgiowa.com
Kyle Smith Email: kyle@sfgiowa.com
Charles Smith Email: charless@sfgiowa.com
Knoxville Main Office
Pleasantville Location
Centerville Location
Albia Location
1650 Quebec St Knoxville, IA 50138
702 E. Jasper Pleasantville, IA 50228
1605 S. 24th St Centerville, IA 52544
805 Hwy 5 North Albia, IA 52531
Office: 641-828-8500 Toll-Free: 800-828-5005
Office: 515-848-5000 Toll-Free: 800-586-5005
Office: 641-856-2828 Toll-Free: 866-856-5303
Office: 641-932-2100 Toll-Free: 877-932-5005
Knoxville City Location
Melcher-Dallas Location
Milo Location
Columbia Fuel Station
601 N. Sherman St Knoxville, IA 50138
126 2nd St SE Melcher-Dallas, IA 50163
101 1st St Milo, IA 50166
2441 Hwy 14 Columbia, IA 50057
Office: 641-842-5511
Office: 641-947-2000
Office: 641-942-6223
Cell: 641-218-4035
floaters so there is less stress for the applicators spraying the fields and completing the job. Our NH3 equipment is field ready. We are running 3 custom bars. Toolbars will be going out the door and will be in big demand this spring. We have a list of work needing done and would like the weather to allow us to get done in a timely fashion. It can’t be as bad as last season!
Charles Smith
SFG Agronomy Manager Looks like spring may finally be here. We have been in the fields a little each week, then it rains us out. Our equipment is ready to go. We have been through all the sprayers, calibrated the floaters and the JD sprayers. We run water through each machine to assure everything works properly before going to the field. This helps us find leaks in the plumbing, stiff valves, foamers not working, and other mechanical issues. All nozzles are checked for accuracy, which takes time. The applicators are involved in going through the machines also. We have new mapping monitors in the
Hope all is well. Have a safe season.
SFG Update
Page 2
Mark White SFG Grain Merchandiser
The agricultural community has had just about everything possible thrown at it in the past year. We have seen floods, delayed plantings, prevented plantings, a prolonged trade war, and unprofitable prices. Now just before we start another season we have been hit by a pandemic of coronavirus. If someone would have told us 2 months ago that the casinos and churches would be closed along with stores, restaurants, and bars, who would have believed them. Agriculture has been deemed an essential service which allows the free movement of commodities and input products during this time of lockdowns and the like. However, we have not been immune to a collapse in the value of the products we raise. In the United States we are still looking for the “top of the curve” in positive cases. Therefore, it’s hard to say when things will return to normal, or what that normal will look like when it comes. We will enter this planting season with more
Kyle Smith SFG Fuel, IT, and Feed Manager Columbia & Melcher Fuel Locations For those of you who haven’t heard, I’m excited to announce that we’ll be installing LED price signs at
questions than answers. We will continue to see large price swings as everyone tries to find a bright spot somewhere in all of this. Right now, most of the corn belt is facing wet conditions that may cause some delayed planting. In years past this could lead to higher new crop prices. Last year we proved we could raise a late planted crop that yielded so a cool wet April may not concern the trade. We need renewed demand for our commodities. The trade deals we made with China are exciting, but we need to start seeing orders. We all love cheap gas, but it is ruining the ethanol business. If you are raising beef or pork you must be depressed to compare what you are receiving for the live animal compared to what the stores are getting for the finished product. The list goes on and on. We will survive this pandemic and we will see better times. As producers we will have to sharpen our pencils and set some realistic price goals as we enter a new pricing year. We always deal with cycles in this business. We have been in a depressed cycle for several years. We are due for a change and maybe it will happen soon. One last thing. If my grandparents were still alive, they would be 103 years old. I have thought several times the last 3 weeks how much they would have laughed to see people hoard toilet paper of all things.
both locations during the month of April. We’ve yet to receive the install date but both locations will list our Gas and Hwy Diesel prices. Columbia’s will be located on the canopy whereas Melcher’s will be pole mounted along the highway. Fuel prices continue to drop as Saudi Arabia and Russia continue a no holds barred price war. With domestic consumption down due to COVID-19 Saudi Arabia plans to boost its oil exports to 10.6 million barrels per day. Until the two sides can agree on production cuts I expect prices to continue their downward trend. (Cont., Page 3)
Page 3
SFG Update
Nutrition Now that Spring is upon us we’ve been gearing up with our creep bookings. As in the past we will stock both Hubbard and Kent creep. Our floor stocked/bulk Kent creep will be 16% with 60 grams of Bovatec and Hubbard will be 16% with 40 grams of Rumensin.
Jason Jensen SFG Agronomy Sales Manager With spring just around the corner (hopefully sooner rather than later), we are about to go from idle in the fields to full bore. I understand that time is of the utmost importance when fields are in proper condition, however it is important to take a little time for safety, especially when applying NH3. We want each one of our customers to have a safe and prosperous year every year. Below are just a few safety reminders: Make sure when working around NH3 equipment and changing tanks to take the time to use appropriate PPE, at a minimum; gloves folded at the cuff, approved NH3 goggles, long pants, and solid shoes. When unhooking a tank from the toolbar; shut all tank and toolbar valves, open bleeder valves, and let bleed completely out, remove acme connector from tank, double check that tank is completely unhooked before pulling away. When hooking up a tank, tighten acme coupler hand tight, close bleeder valves, and slowly open all tank valves, and hang hose on hose holder if equipped. Do not forget to back up toolbar if extension on hitch was used for hooking up tanks.
Due to the COVID-19 concerns we’re doing our best to limit our sales staff from on-farm calls and will focus on making phone calls for both your safety and ours. We understand that occasionally meeting in person is still essential so we’re doing our best to setup our meetings in house with our sales reps/producers.
If you do have a small leak or problem with the tank or toolbar, do not walk up to faulty equipment and grab lines around the area with system charged. Call your local SFG agronomist or operations team member to come to your farm and analyse the situation if you feel there is a problem with the equipment. Use caution while pulling NH3 tanks on roadways; pull 35 mph or less, cross safety chains under hitch, and drive with care. Hopefully you don’t have to worry about it, but if you would have a major leak that is not safely shut off, head in a safe direction away from NH3 cloud and call for help if needed. Don’t forget to call your local SFG agronomist or operations team member if this should happen. These are just a few safety reminders when applying NH3. If you have any other questions about NH3 safety don’t hesitate to contact your local SFG agronomist and we will be happy to discuss them with you. Your safety is important to us! I know many of you are looking for agronomic advice in the blogs, but I felt it important to give everyone a little reminder about safety before the busy spring rush. Have a safe 2020 growing season!