Topflight Grain Newsletter October 2017

High

Flyer

Bob Morgan brought in the first corn for the new bin in Bement OCTOBER 2017

888-762-2163 topflightgrain.com

SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY

by Scott Docherty, General Manager

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e have opportunities presented to us every day, whether it is spending precious time with our kids or grandkids, reaching out to someone at church or a civic organization lending a helping hand, or donating time or money to a hurricane fund!

In our business we have risk and opportunities presented every day and our challenge is to recognize and evaluate each one as they develop and take action. Remember, ideas are cheap and results are priceless!

Harvest has started and we are still guessing on what the final yield will be. It has been a growing season with extremes for temperature and moistures, hurricanes, and wild fires in the Western states. The corn/soybean ratio versus

nearby contract months continues to favor beans at 2.75 to 1. The market is showing us carries in the market on corn and soybeans, which is another opportunity. For example, December corn versus July is at 27.5 cent carry and November beans versus July beans at 33.5 cent carry. The market is telling us to carry the cash crop and market in the deferred months.

We have finished our 3 bin building projects just in time for harvest. We added a new 37 ring, 105 ft diameter tank in Monticello with a capacity of 785,000 bushels. Hopefully we will not have to put corn on the concrete south of town. Topflight also added a new 35 ring, 105 ft diameter tank in Bement with a capacity of 750,000 bushels. In Atlanta, we added a new 37 ring, 90 ft diameter

Denise, Chandler, Annie & Scott in Scagway

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tank with a capacity of 570,000 bushels. The addition of 2.0 million bushels of storage will definitely help our fall logistics with less temporary/emergency storage needed.

Our industry is getting squeezed by lower margins just as all of the ag economy. We all have to become more efficient in our operations as we compete with not only in the U.S., but as well with ag operations around the world. The farm bill expires in September of 2018, so it will be interesting as we move forward. All ag groups will be coming to the table supporting each of their own objectives. Will we get some regulatory and tax relief allowing us to grow our business keeping us competitive? Time will tell, but we are again faced with a huge opportunity!!

Our family added a new daughter in-law this June. Dillon and Traci Docherty were married on June 3, in Allerton Park and reside in Champaign IL. Traci is a nurse for one of the hospitals in Champaign, IL, and Dillon is working in customer service/sales for a private company in Champaign, IL. Serge is running crews for a lawn service business in Bloomington, IL, and Lindsey is working at a hospital in Bloomington in medical case management. Our grandson Blaine turned 5 in April and has started kindergarten. Annie worked in Skagway, Alaska, this summer and will be spending some time at home in October. We visited Annie in Alaska with her friend Chandler Zindars. It was so beautiful. Pictures cannot do it justice. We had the opportunity to travel a lot this spring and summer, so we are looking forward to spending time with family through harvest and the holidays.

I wish everyone a safe harvest and remember to embrace all of your opportunities!!

Traci & Dillon Docherty

Lindsey, Blane & Serge OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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SOMEBODY IS WATCHING YOU

by Eric Clements, Operations Manager

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remember when I started at Bement Grain in 1986 that Dick Thomas was always saying to do a good job because someone is always watching you. So, if you are doing a good job or a bad job, it will be reflecting on you. I was young and of course always questioning anything anyone told me and I was thinking “who the hell is watching me clean this pit full of rotten beans.”

I am not sure if I got my answer to that question, but I would like to think that I now understand what Dick was trying to say all those years ago. People are always watching and if you work hard and be dependable, good things should happen to you. I am not sure if I met all of Dick’s expectations, but I am pretty sure that he didn’t see me in that pit full of rotten beans that day.

A big part of my job is helping to fix problems at the elevators. This might mean figuring out

which maintenance supervisor to call or figuring out where to get the right part. Most days I enjoy helping others solve their problems. During harvest, when problems are coming at me from all directions, it can be a little challenging, but then I remind myself that harvest doesn’t last forever and it will be over soon.

Legendary former football coach Lou Holtz was quoted saying “Don’t tell your problems to people!

Eighty percent don’t care and the other 20 percent are glad you have them.” Well obviously I need others to tell me their problems so I can help them fix them. But I don’t need to go around complaining to others about my problems. This quote from Lou helps to remind me not to complain too much about all of life’s troubles.

I hope your harvest is as problem-free as possible. If not, maybe remember what ole Lou Holtz said about problems.

AND TIME GOES ON!

by Todd Steinberg, Western Region Division Manager

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t’s hard to imagine, but we have all 3 grandkids in either Preschool or Pre-Kindergarten. Wow how time flies! We could not be any prouder of our grandkids!!

Another summer has come and gone way too quick, and harvest is about to happen. So let’s recap what has been happening at the Logan County facilities. We have added a 90 foot, 37 ring

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bin, which will hold 572,000 bushel of grain. Along with the bin comes new fill and unload equipment.

We also added some upgrades on the electrical service which included a new concrete electric room with the new controls in it. This was all be ready to use by the end of September.

For those that have not heard, Jacob Quaid left Topflight back in early August. We wish him well

in his future. With that, we will be handling all the pricing and settlements at the Kruger office. If you have any questions or concerns please let us know.

The crop tour meeting in August had a good turnout and meal. Those that attended, thank you and hope you enjoyed the presentation and the information.

Thanks to you as our customer for patronizing Topflight Grain!

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. “Og Mandino”

READY OR NOT

by Dana Shull, Maroa Grain Originator

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eady or not—Harvest time is here. We all know it takes a great team to get through a harvest, and we have one! Here at the Maroa location, our outside operations staff is Gary Liggett / Elevator Superintendent, Bryon Akers / Operator, and John Leach / Trucking. We cannot forget our temporary harvest workers & laborers who we greatly appreciate. Denny Hill and I have the office stocked and prepared. One big change will be new scale office help since Roger retired last year. To help ease with this transition— we ask that you have your farm codes posted. You can either hold up a card while you are being weighed, or post it somewhere on your truck. Some even attach wipe boards on the right center side of their semi-trailer—which is real handy. If you need a list of your farm codes, please feel free to let us know.

It looks like we could have a good crop this year. Weed control was the main topic at the farmer table over the summer.

Speaking of summer, it sure went by fast! My granddaughter Lucy will be 3 soon. She loves to be outside all day long. My youngest daughter, Paige, was in the Decatur Park program B.O.S.S again. She landed the role of Kathy Selden in “Singing in The Rain Jr.” musical performance. The entire cast did an outstanding job. I always enjoy

seeing these young actors perform. Now, I am really looking forward to the Maroa-Forsyth Middle School presenting Disney’s Camp Rock, The Musical, on Friday, November 10, and Saturday, November 11, at 7:00 pm in the MaroaForsyth High School Cafetorium. It is based on the Disney Channel movies. Camp Rock tells the story of a music camp on the brinks of shutting down due to a rival camp competing for campers.

High energy, memorable songs, and a cast of 95 make this a show you don’t want to miss! I highly recommend coming out and supporting these talented kids. All seats are reserved. Tickets are $7.00 and will be available for purchase in the Middle School office on Monday, October 30, or at the door before each performance. As always— my family wishes you a safe & bountiful harvest!

Today a man knocked on my door and asked for a small donation towards the local swimming pool, so I gave him a glass of water.

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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NEW BINS & NEW CHALLENGES

by Larry Ackerman, Regional Operations - North

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s we head towards another harvest, there has been a lot of exciting news out of my region. Firstly, Cisco has been added to my region and I could not be happier for the opportunity to work with Rick Stone and to have Cory Thurber back in my region. This will be Cory’s first harvest at Cisco and I’m sure he will do an excellent job for Rick. Cory has worked several harvests for Topflight, mainly in the Monticello and Seymour elevators.

Secondly, Topflight has hired Troy Daily and Anthony White for elevator operations support out of Monticello. Both have been excellent help and are very hard workers. Troy has previous grain

Camden & Larry watching 4th of July fireworks

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experience with Frito Lay in Champaign and will be running Lodge for me this fall. Anthony was working for a farm and drainage company and will be drying corn at Monticello.

Thirdly, Bement and Monticello have both received new 105’ diameter GSI bins. This should relieve some of the rail loading pressure off of these elevators in the busy harvest season and allow greater flexibility for the elevator superintendents. Hopefully, in Monticello, this will also cut down on the possibility of having to put out a ground pile at Cable. With new people and new equipment come new challenges, but also

Camden, in her princess dress

great opportunity. I have confidence that all of my guys will do great in their new roles, and I have some of the best elevator superintendents in the company to help give them guidance.

On the family side of things, Camden and Wendy just got back from a vacation to Florida with Wendy’s mother. Camden had a blast chasing sea gulls and catching crabs on the beach. Camden has also started taking horse riding lessons and is continuing to take tumbling lessons. She has definitely got too much energy for me! Wendy and I also put up a pool for Camden this summer and she had a blast swimming. Unfortunately for me, she doesn’t care if the water is too cold.

Well that is it for me. I hope everyone has a safe and productive harvest!

Camden & some BIG fish!

MYGROWER TO REPLACE IVIEW

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by Jeremy Welch, Controller

yGrower is the next generation of account access that we will roll out late 2017 or early 2018. MyGrower will offer our members reliable and convenient 24 hour a day access to their account information.

Producers will have access to grain balances, tickets, contracts, settlements, and proof of yield reports. Future developments will incorporate additional documents and reports such as 1099’s, Year End Summaries, and Patron Statement for stock/equity balances. MyGrower can be accessed from your personal computer through the internet or a mobile app for use with your smartphone and/or tablet. Convenience, accessibility, and

ease of use combine to make this a very powerful tool for our customers to make timely and well informed decisions for their business. Watch for future announcements through text or email when MyGrower will be available.

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THE ENDING OF AN ERA

by Jon Carr, Milmine Branch Manager

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opflight Grain built a new office building and scale at the Milmine location over the summer. The building was ready to begin moving into on August 31st, 2017. On September 12th,the first load of grain came across the new scale. While having a new office is very exciting, leaving the old office behind has been bittersweet.

The old office was originally built in 1940 and served as a school for 1st through 4th graders until 1960. According to John Hendrix, who was a student at the school, Mrs. Doran taught 1st & 2nd grade in one room, while Mr. Arndt taught 3rd & 4th grade in the other room. The basement consisted of a stage that was used for various programs and a lunchroom for the students.

Outside, the playground consisted of a large swing set and ball field to play on.

In 1962, the Milmine Grain Company purchased the empty Milmine school building and converted it to a grain office. After purchase, the company allowed a branch library and polling place to function in it and groups to utilize the basement dining room and kitchen. The company also permitted the former school playground to be used by the townspeople. In later years, one side of the building was leased to the United States Postal Service and served as the Milmine Post Office. Through 55 years, and three different grain cooperatives, the building served the community as a meeting place for both the townspeople and area farmers. The building will live on in the

The new office at Milmine

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memories of those whose lives it impacted, and those memories will serve as a reminder of simpler times.

I was lucky enough to serve as the office manager for the last seven years of the building. During that time, I have heard countless stories from former students of the Milmine School and business patrons of the elevator. The main thing that I have taken away from all of those stories is that the people in the Milmine area have a great respect for the history of the building and the surrounding area. I wish I would have written down some of those stories, and taken a few pictures with the folks telling them. As I write this, it’s occurred to me that maybe that old schoolhouse has taught one last lesson.

Weighing in at the Milmine office, after 1962

The old school house/Milmine office OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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HAIL TO THE ZONE DEFENSE

by Andrew Hanes, Cisco Grain Originator

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n my first job out of college, I had a boss that had been married for a few years and had adopted his wife’s child that she had from a previous relationship. They also had one child together. Not too long after we began working together, they found out they were expecting another child. As he was telling me about his family and what they were doing, he could tell that my unmarried and childless life at the time was shining through, and I had no concept of what it was like for him. He finally explained it to me in this way: “Andrew, my wife and I are about to go from a Man-to-Man defense to a Zone defense.” That is when I completely understood what he was saying.

Now that my wife and I have two boys involved in sports and school, one boy in Pre-school, and one 2-year old that thinks she rules the house, my wife and I are fully in the Zone Defense mode.

There are definitely some days that we are able to

effectively run that defense, and even get to some offense through cleaning the house and having some semblance of order. Other days show that the defense has kinks in the armor, and we need to hang on until the Bell of Bed-time is rung.

Now that I have been through a few harvests with Topflight, and have seen harvest through the eyes of a Farmer’s child, it is easy to see that the elevators and farmers deal with their portion of agriculture in much of the same ways as a zone Defense. We may be working on a specific thing at one particular time, but are always trying to juggle other pieces of the puzzle to make sure things get accomplished in a timely manner. We all may be wearing different hats to perform the jobs at hand, but will have to change hats from time to time to make sure all jobs get done.

Everyone stay safe and enjoy your piece of the Zone Defense.

HARVEST AT EMERY

by Taylor Kelsheimer, Administrative Assistant

Harvest is upon us once again! I am the scale operator and administrative assistant at Emery.

I have also covered many of Topflight’s other locations, and I fill in at the Cisco office twice a week. This will be my third harvest with Topflight.

I started in 2015 and was spoiled with a fast and dry harvest; it did not prepare me for 2016! Emery

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broke some of its own records for corn and beans during harvest of 2016. On September 19th , we took in 268,754 bu of corn, and on October 11th we took in 84,940 bu of beans! Overall we took in 3.6 million bu of corn and 822,000 bu of beans. It was a very good year for us here at Emery!

This year we have a new part-time employee at the scale for harvest, Lisa Norton. Sharon

Brown retired last harvest and will be greatly missed by the Emery crew! Lisa is replacing her and has picked up on everything like it was second nature. I am looking forward to working with her throughout harvest, she will do great!

As for me, I am 23 years old and a mom to three ornery dogs! I have a 15 year old border collie mix (Harley), a two year old husky/lab mix (Karma), and a full bred German shepherd puppy (Dom)

who is 10 months old and already bigger than the others! I recently moved from Macon to Decatur with my long term boyfriend, Michael. We live in his childhood home and couldn’t be happier!

The house was built in 1890 and we are slowly renovating it while retaining its original character!

I cannot wait to see what this harvest brings and I wish everyone a fast and safe harvest!

NEW IN ATWOOD

by April Morgan, Atwood Grain Originator/Branch Manager

H

i, my name is April Morgan and I am the Grain Originator/Branch Manager for the Atwood location. I joined Topflight Grain in November of last year and have been trying to learn everything I can before this year’s harvest! I came from a retail background and have a lot to learn about the grain industry, but I am so excited to have started on this new journey and hope to continue for many years to come! I am married and have two children, Destanee who is 11 years old and Tatum, who is 7 years old. I live in Longview with my family which includes our dog Browning and cat Tigger. My daughter just started sixth grade this year and is so excited to be in Jr High, and all I can say is time goes by way too fast!

My son is a social butterfly and says his favorite parts of second grade are friends, lunch, recess, and going home (typical of course)! When we are not working or at school, we love spending time with family and going on adventures over the weekends. This summer, we enjoyed Wisconsin, Indiana, and Chicago, just to name a few.

As for the business side of things, we are clearing out and getting ready for all the grain that will be coming in this harvest. Bill and Steve

have been working hard to clean out the bins and flats so that we can take in everything. We just finished shipping out beans and corn. I am looking forward to my first harvest and what is to come. Luckily, I have had a little bit of time to get to know our customers here in the Atwood area and hope that it makes that journey a little smoother. I hope to learn a whole bunch as we move into harvest and continue to have a great year! I was able to drive the Topflight plane in this year’s Apple Dumpling Parade in August here in Atwood and saw a lot of familiar faces. It was so much fun for me and my kids! I am so glad to be a part of the Topflight team and hope to have many great years to come! Have a great harvest season!

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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GO WEST YOUNG MAN!

by Jack Warren, Regional Operations Manager - West

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t has been a busy summer for me with the usual emptying of plants that were filled to the “rim” from last harvest, and also because of some changes made in the structure of my region and with that, the changes made in roles and responsibilities. In the region that I previously supervised, it used to have the plants, Cisco, Emery, Maroa, and Waller. Cisco is now under the able supervision of Larry Ackerman and is now part of the Northern Region. I have been given the responsibility of supervising Beason, Johnston Siding, Kruger, Lawndale, and Atlanta, along with Maroa, Emery, and Waller.

I am very excited about my future with this promotion and being involved with this new part of the region with the potential for growth in volume of grain and customers. Being on the edge of Topflight’s territory, the former “East Lincoln” chain of plants has the unique position of being located close to halfway between the processors in Decatur and river terminals in Pekin.

This gives your coop a distinct opportunity of being able to take advantage of a larger market and direction to which to ship grain, a useful tool in merchandising. Also, with the way Topflight has grown since I have been in the company, it seems to be the sky is the limit where we are going. So being stationed in the west, on “the edge of the frontier”, the potential for growth in customers and expanding our territory is very exciting. And one that I am confident that, with the personnel in place, is a likely probability.

So with that, I would like to introduce the operation crew that I have had the pleasure of working with this summer. Some of the personnel in this crew have also seen a change in their own roles and responsibilities as well. Some are new

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and some are old faces but all are working toward a common goal to make Topflight the leading coop in this state.

Dan Greer has been working for Topflight since 2008, starting at Seymour/Monticello with his main duties being Superintendent at Seymour.

He then took the position as Superintendent at Maroa in 2010, transferring to Superintendent of Emery in 2015. Emery now has the distinction of being the largest “truck house” in the company, boasting inbound receipts in the excess of 4 million bushels!! Raised around the Atwood and Charleston area, he now resides in Decatur, is married, and has 3 step children and 3 step grandchildren. Dan likes to garden, read, play rummy with his father-in-law and spend time with his family.

Travis Roberts has been working for Topflight full time since 2015, starting the first couple of seasons as seasonal help. Travis has come a long way in his career in the grain industry with the able guidance of his Superintendent Dan (almost sounds like Lieutenant Dan!!). Travis now has the responsibility of operations at our seasonal site Waller, along with operations at Emery. Travis lives in Pana and is married, no children (as of yet), but says they have three dogs and two cats! His favorite past time is fishing and working on his mud truck.

Brad Foth is an operator at Emery also. He hails from Vinton, Iowa, and now lives in Mt. Zion with his girlfriend. Brad first signed on with the company in 2016 at Cisco and spent his first harvest there running dryers at night. He has since been transferred to Emery to assist in operations there with Dan and Travis. Brad enjoys watching Green Bay and Iowa Hawkeyes football, and

spending time with his girlfriend.

At Maroa, we have Gary Liggett, who for years was an operator, but now has been the lead man (Superintendent) the past year and a half. He runs a tight ship. Gary was born in Monmouth, IL, and now lives in Maroa. Between Maroa Coop and Topflight, Gary has worked for almost 18 years in the industry. Watching NASCAR and spending time with his girlfriend is what he enjoys most.

Helping Gary in operations is Bryon Akers, born at the Rantoul Chanute Air Force Base. Bryon was basically raised all over the country as his father was a military man, first in the Marines serving a tour of duty in Vietnam, then rejoining the military in the Air Force. Bryon lives in Maroa with his wife Tabatha and two children. His favorite past time is fishing when he has time, but you can see him at just about any Maroa/Forsyth school sporting event rooting for his children.

At our Johnston Siding plant, Jeff Tibbs is the Superintendent. Jeff brings 21 years of experience to the plate. He grew up on a farm near New Holland, IL, and enjoyed the life of a country boy, hunting, fishing and trapping. Starting his senior year in high school, Jeff worked for 20 years at the local feed mill at New Holland. After that, he started working at Johnston Siding and has been there for 21 years now. Jeff has been married for 31 years to his wife, Andrea, and has a son Jay who is 28 years old. Jeff and his wife live in rural Greenview. Jeff considers himself a firearm enthusiast and a St Louis Cardinals fan.

Brandi Long is an operator that I have had the good fortune of working with this past summer.

She started with the company in the harvest of 2016 and was hired on full time that December.

Brandi has become invaluable to the region and company with her quick learning ability and willingness to do what it takes to get the job done. She is basically what we call a “floater” for now, but I can see a potential in her to be placed permanently in a plant and eventually in a lead role. She was born in Bloomington, IL, but was raised in Middletown,Virginia, a town in the Shenandoah Valley. She said that growing up, she learned how to catch, clean and cook bass at an

early age. She is married, lives in Beason, and has two daughters, Rylee 10, and Olivia 8.

Zach Bradburn was born and raised in Lincoln, IL. He started working for the East Lincoln Coop in 2014, just a few months before the merger with Topflight, and like most people breaking into the industry, was a floater. He is now the Superintendent at the Kruger plant and has been in that position going on two years. Zach lives in Lincoln with his wife Hailey, who hails from the Atwood area, with their three children. Zach is a pretty good mechanic and I have relied on his skills with a wrench a number of times. He used to build stock cars, so it goes without saying that his favorite past times are working on cars /engines, but also spending time with his family at the river.

At Atlanta, Jeremy Flener is the Superintendent.

He started with the East Lincoln coop in 2010, working at the operator level at a number of the locations until landing at Atlanta in 2014. Jeremy was born in Normal, IL, but most of his family is in Kentucky where he was raised. After graduating from high school, he moved back to IL. Jeremy previously worked at Remington Seed at the Lincoln facility for 14 years. He lives in Lincoln with his wife Maribel and three children, Haylie 18, Samuel 10, and Cynthia 8. In his spare time Jeremy likes to fish with his family and kick the soccer ball around with his children. He also likes to “tinker” around repairing and building computers for friends and family.

At Beason, we have Jim Sherwood as the Superintendent. Jim was born and raised in Hartsburg and never seemed to have gotten very far from there, as he still lives there with his wife Erica. Jim, like Jeremy, started as a floater for East Lincoln coop (both under the tutelage of Jeff Tibbs) before becoming the “Super” at Beason.

He has been in the business for a total of 15 years with 7 of them being at Beason. Jim brings to bear a steady and calm attitude towards his responsibilities, and with an extensive amount of job skills, keeps the plant there running as efficiently as possible. Jim says he likes to hunt and fish when he gets a chance.

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John Johnson (JJ), is one of the most easy “to get along with” persons I have ever worked with.

He reminds me of some of the “good old boys” I was raised around up north. JJ comes from the Minooka area in Northern IL and I can still hear that northern accent when he talks. Strange though, I was raised not far from there myself, but still sound like I’m a hillbilly! JJ has been with the company for 3 years now and is currently at the Lawndale site, but is another person that I see great potential in and excited to see how far he goes in this company. JJ and his wife Kim live in Lawndale and have 2 grown stepchildren and 2 grandchildren. He says he also has 2 very spoiled dogs, a grumpy old donkey, and a flock of free range chickens (meaning they run loose all over his part of town!). JJ says he likes to spend time boating and camping with his family, and I can tell you also he is an amazing cook, especially on the smoker!

As for myself, I was born in South East Mo. I moved to Northern IL at an early age where I was raised a 1/8 of a mile from a wooden house elevator that my dad worked at. So I grew up around the industry, and as I reached adulthood, naturally took it as my career. Many times after school I worked at the bin site there, dumping wagons late in the evening and on the weekends, hanging out in the office listening to farmers brag about yields or complain about the weather. I was driving a tandem truck at 12, helping haul from

the flats and cleaning bins for “pocket money” in the summer. I moved to this area in the late 70’s where I met my wife Dana, and after a few construction jobs, was working at Monticello Grain Co. by the year of ‘81. There I worked for 14 years, first as an operator, then a Superintendent, then a Branch Manager at one of the smaller plants. After leaving the business for another 8 years working as a mason, I came back into the industry and have been with Topflight for almost 14 years. I started as a floater out of Bement, then a Superintendent at Monticello (home again!), then a Superintendent at Cisco, then a Regional Supervisor. I have been a regional supervisor for going on 6 years now, and I have had the good fortune of having some great people around me for support. My wife and I live in Monticello where she was raised; we have two boys and 7 grandchildren. I consider myself a musician and have played in a number of bands and still play in two. I once, as a teenager, lived on a tour bus and toured the east coast for a year and a half. My other passions are hunting, especially over hounds (hillbilly!) and have three beagle hounds that I try to get into the woods as often as I can. Sadly, these places are getting far and few between. My other passion is my Masonic fraternity, Lodge #58.

Well there you have it! This is “the crew” of the Western Region, one that I am proud to be a part of and looking forward to the future together with Topflight Coop.

I’m great at multi-tasking -- I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at once.

Doesn’t expecting the unexpcted mean that the unexpected is actually expected?

If you can smile when things go awry, you have someone in mind to blame.

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A FAIR SUMMER...

by Laura Tomlinson, Kruger Grain Originator

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s I sat in the livestock barns during the fair this summer, memories of fair days long ago were running through my mind. So many things have changed for me; but yet, for the current generation, they are making their own memories they will be able to look back on and reflect on days gone by.

When I was a child, the fair was the culmination of our summer. Only certain things happened during the fair season, and only certain things were used during the fair. Our county fair was our “vacation”. No, we didn‘t show livestock, as we were townies, but most days at the fair included a visit to the livestock tents to see the animals, mainly I think so Dad could visit with his farm friends.

Back then, showing livestock was a family affair with most of the kids sleeping on cots in the barn. It was a strange concept to us town kids, but still very intriguing as it was another world down there.

County fair time at our Grandson Henry, showing at the Pig Show at the Illinois State Fair

house was one of anticipation all day. The kitchen radio was tuned into the local radio station that did their broadcasting live from the fair. All day long we would be listening to the goings on out there and paid special attention to the afternoon broadcast of the horse racing. We knew when the races were over - Dad would be home from work and we would be loading up the car to head out.

Mom would be busy all afternoon preparing our evening meal for our “tailgating” adventure. This usually included food that could be served cold, potato salad, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, fried chicken or meatloaf, and of course, cookies for dessert. This was before the age of Tupperware or Ziploc baggies so the food was carried in their normal serving dishes and wrapped carefully in newspaper to hold them at the correct temperature. The back of our station wagon was cleaned out of its normal clutter and replaced with items only used during the fair, a small table for serving the food, quilts and blankets for picnicking on, an old plaid metal cooler (now a valuable antique), and there were specific baskets used to transport the food. Our poor little hearts would be beating so fast in anticipation!!

The tailgating portion of the fair was a total family affair. Dad always took off work early so he could get home and cleaned up. We had to be at the fairgrounds early if we wanted to get a certain place to park in the infield close to the track, which was where the evening shows would take place in front of the grandstand. My aunts and uncles and grandparents all did the same, and we were usually lucky enough to park next to each other, all the cars lined up facing the track. This was for easy viewing later in the evening for the entertainment in front of the grandstand. Ours OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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Some nights they also had someone famous! We wasn’t the only family that tailgated in the infield, saw Bobby and Cissy from the Lawrence Welk and I don’t think I ever saw those folks outside show, and Festus from Gunsmoke, and I am sure the fair. Our tailgating routine never varied. We there were others, but I can’t remember. If I could gobbled our food as quick as possible and started only find my Autograph Book I could tell you wandering around to the other cars encouraging because I am sure we had them all. During the our cousins to eat as quickly as possible, too. I evening entertainment, we dug out the quilts and am sure this really irritated our parents now as I blankets and lined the hoods of our cars for easy look back on it. We would hang out and wait not viewing. I shudder now thinking of my kids sitting so patiently while our folks finished eating and (or jumping) on the hood of my car! As far as packed the food back away. cousins went, there were 12 of us and we usually Mission accomplished, and we would be off grouped ourselves together by age. Us older ones across the track to the heart and soul of the fair generally sat on one hood taking bets on who – the buildings housing all the culinary treats, would win the horse shows while the younger textiles, and fine arts. We collected enough pens, ones wanted to sit with us, but were relegated to pencils, and rulers in the merchants’ buildings to sit anywhere we weren’t. Invariably before the start our own office supply store. Then we were evening was over, someone would have to make a on down the road that connected the main area trip across the track to either change into warmer of the fair to the agricultural area. The road was clothes or visit the bathroom. It was a rite of lined with tents holding local merchants wares. passage when you were finally able to make that These were some of our favorite places to stop. trip without adult supervision!

All that colored sawdust on the ground was a This same routine of our family fair tailgating wonderful place to play and annoy our parents continued the next week as we all traveled to the while they stood around visiting. You could buy State Fair on Veterans Sunday. We were infield mostly anything at the fair in the merchants’ parkers there, too, and always arrived just as the tents. They sold cars, trucks, farm implements, bags of seed corn, household appliances and televisions. We actually bought our first color television one year at the fair! A strange concept to children now, but they didn’t have helium balloons. Instead, the balloons were blown up and tied to a stick to carry around.

These also served as great swords or “pokers” later when we were tired of standing around while the folks yakked. If we had time before the grandstand show started, we would walk all the way down to the barns. If not, we would start on that end of the fair the next night. Of course, there was that one magical night when we all got to go through the midway and ride the rides before the grandstand show started.

Some of my best fair memories are riding with my cousins and sisters and trying to be brave on the Tilt-a-Whirl or the Scrambler and riding on the Ferris Wheel with my aunt.

Grandstand entertainment usually consisted of a Society Horseshow each night.

Grandsons Henry, Boston and Cash getting ready for the Chicken Scramble at the Logan Co Fair

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

gates were opening. It still amazes me how our family all left from separate locations and still managed to park next to each other or a close proximity. The only difference in our State Fair routine was we tailgated breakfast and lunch.

This required our poor mother to cook all night Saturday night to prepare our Sunday meal. Do you remember those little boxes of cereal that came in the Variety pack? The only time mom would splurge for those was State Fair time. We could pour our milk right into the wax paper lined box then toss the whole thing hence not having a spoiled milk bowl in the hot car. Our lunch routine included heading back to the car, eating, and having to lie down and “rest”. Looking back I can see the real purpose of this was so my parents could close their eyes and shut out 4 noisy girls for a few minutes. Our routine was always the same at the State Fair. After breakfast was the long walk from the infield and through the tunnel. First stop was the goat barn before heading to the Jr barn to find the Logan County animals. Then a stroll through the dairy barns and horse barns on the way to the Coliseum to catch a Society horse show or two. Usually by then, it was back to the infield and lunch at the car. After naps, we headed back out to the Illinois and merchants’ buildings with a treat of honey ice cream. After a quick ride on the Tilta-whirl, and maybe a pony ride, we were off to the Conservation Building and then start the trek back to the car and head home.

In the back of the car, we would all compare Britt, Champion Jr. Showmanship

our “loot” we had picked up along the way.

Again, pencils, pens, fans, yardsticks, rain bonnets, stickers, brochures for who knows what. It was as good as counting your Halloween loot!

Agriculture was still King at those fairs of years gone by. It was Brodee, with Cash, showing his grand a chance champion doe to see and visit with your neighbors before the electronic age and social media. The fair was the place you got your local information, weather trends for the upcoming harvest, the price of feed or commodities. Today, most fair attendees don’t venture very far to that section of the fair anymore. There are fewer and fewer families with close ties to farming and therefore have no interest in seeing the newest implement, or corn genetics, or how the livestock is looking this year. I can guarantee those folks should be more than just a little curious. After all, how could they survive without Agriculture?

2017 fair season is all wrapped up for me, the local county fair and the State Fair. I am proud to say all 5 of my grandsons were involved in 4-H this year. I had chicken scramblers, goat show-ers, a pig show-er, and visual art participants. I am also a 4-H volunteer as Assistant Superintendent in the General Department and will be a Cloverbud leader in the fall. There is a lot of satisfaction for me to be at the 4-H shows and see the excitement, especially in the younger kids, as they have the opportunity to show off their hard work and visit with the judges about their projects.

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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TIME FLIES

by Derrick Bruhn, Merchandiser

A

s I’m writing this article, harvest has just begun and it appears with little moisture during the growing season, our yields are still going to be decent. I know we have some of the best soils in the US, but I think we’ve underestimated the ability of some hybrids and research that has been put into production agriculture. Time will tell, but if we can raise this type of a crop on the amount of moisture we’ve had through the growing season, then it will be a tough sell to ever convince the market of a lack of production due to moisture deficiency. The cooler night temps we had this year were a benefit to the crop.

We’ve already started to see more risk management positions being used to limit losses for producers this year, and I think this will continue as we progress through harvest.

Storage, DP and on-farm storage are great, but you still have to manage the risk in the market.

Cash needs will dictate some marketing this fall, but doesn’t have to eliminate upside potential in the market. The corn market in particular has traded in a range and has been very flat. A flat market reduces the opportunities to market grain.

Talk with your local originator, or call me at the Monticello office if you have questions about marketing.

Wow, this will be my 20th harvest in the grain industry. How time flies when you’re having fun!

I’ve been blessed with some very wise mentors in the industry. Some of these guys are no longer with us and some are still examples to me each and every day. When you look at the people in the grain industry, most started in the industry and have never left. That is why there is so much knowledge to be gathered from this group of

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

individuals. It doesn’t matter if it’s operations or management. Now, guys my age are the ones the new generation is listening to. That’s scary!!

Every year has been different with challenges and struggles, but that makes it fun. That is what makes your network of industry friends an important part of what you do each and every day. Farming isn’t much different. Most guys stick with farming once they get started and don’t stop for many years. They have a trusted group of friends they rely upon, and those trusted advisors help them through the challenges.

Mylin, Mabry, Derricki & Lynn with FredBird

The days of my girls coming to visit and sitting on the counter as I probe trucks are gone. They’re busy with school and sports year round. Mabry is running cross country again this year and having a great season. It’s great to see her set a goal and continue to improve. State competition should be fun this year! Mylin finished up softball and has started winter swim. Both girls are swimming out of Champaign this year and are excited to start competition. Mabry will join practicing more once she’s finished running. I love watching them do what they love and enjoying life and friends.

Lynne is back in the classroom and loving her new group of kinder friends. We had a great summer and are looking forward to fall.

Have a happy and safe harvest!

Mylin & Mabry, enjoying the summer

DIRECT DEPOSIT IS QUICK, SECURE & CONVENIENT

by Susan Kalita, Accountant

D

o you still receive and deposit paper checks when selling your grain? There is a much easier and more convenient way to get your money! With Direct Deposit, grain settlement checks can be automatically deposited to your checking account.

Direct Deposit is a safe, secure transfer of funds. In 2016, businesses and the government transacted over 6.1 billion Direct Deposits. Some of the many advantages of Direct Deposit include no worries about delayed, lost or stolen checks and immediate access to your funds without running to the bank to deposit the check. There is also no need to make special arrangements for

that settlement check if you are on vacation or headed south for the winter. Settlement funds are sent out daily by Topflight Grain so your money is available on the next business day following the settlement (and settlement sheets are still mailed or e-mailed to you for your records).

Direct Deposit is easy to set up at Topflight Grain! Call your local TFG office and request a Direct Deposit Form. Return the completed form with a copy of a voided check. You could receive your next grain settlement by Direct Deposit!

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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SAYING GOOD-BYE TO CABLE

by Jim Rear, Monticello Branch Manager

N

ow, I’m sure I am going to regret my title, seeing how we estimated that we wouldn’t need our emergency ground pile site south of town after our last 105’ bin construction, but record yields the last couple years has proven us wrong. With trend line yields on advances in hybrid technology, the necessity to build storage in order to put harvest away continues to be a priority. One of our latest additions has been to our Monticello facility with an addition of another 105’ bin.

The construction project started this spring, excavating for our new foundation, which is an

Monticello Bin

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

adventure in itself, “discovering” hidden treasures from years before. We found that some over digging was necessary and ended up using 10,150 tons of CA-6 rock to fill the foundation before pouring fittings and finally the cap. We had to also dig a reclaim tunnel under our truck lane that would be sturdy enough to handle harvest truck traffic. In the whole project we ended up using 940 cubic yards of concrete.

Construction continued from there with LoweCon assembling and raising the bin before Koehl brothers came to do final assembly. The final height of the bin is 150 feet tall made up of 37 bin rings. The bushel capacity is rated at 790,000 bushels, almost 40,000 more bushels than our last 105’ construction. That brings our total capacity of our facility to around 2,745,000 bushels. Filling that bin is a 36” enclosed belt conveyor rated at 25,000 bushels per hour. Storing that much grain, we want to make sure quality is as good as it was when we dumped it, so keeping temperatures under a close eye is very important. We have 24 cables hanging throughout the bin recording temperatures to alert us if we begin to develop any kind of hot spot. Cooling that grain coming out of the field, we are using four 75 HP 3 phase centrifugal fans at the base with fifteen 24” 2 HP roof exhausters up top. Of course, all of these have silencers so that we cut down on noise as much as possible.

We are very excited about the new construction, and as we sit now at the very beginning of harvest, we project not having to ship any outbound grain. By the time you are reading this article, I am sure many things have changed, but hope to all a safe harvest and better than estimated yields!

OREANA ELEVATOR MEMORY

by Rodd Runyen, Accountant

A

s I have mentioned before in many of my newsletter articles, I grew up in Oreana. Growing up there in the 1970’s was very different from today. Unlike today, Oreana had many businesses - the Oreana Motel, Oreana Cafe, Cloyd’s Grocery Store, International Harvester, Premio Frozen Foods, Country Gift & Flower Shop, Del’s Sunoco, Arco fuel station, Hayes’ Marathon station, and several other businesses. We also had the Oreana Beauty Shop and the Top Notch Barber Shop.

The barber shop was run by Shelby Lewis and Larry Cochran. They cut your hair and you could catch up on the town gossip as you waited for your turn to get in the chair. It was great having

The picture of the Oreana elevator that caught Rodd’s attention

a barber right there in town and not having to go to Decatur. I can still remember that barber shop today - all because they had a picture on the wall that always fascinated me.

What was the picture that caught my attention?

It was a picture of the old south grain elevator being torn down in Oreana on March 27, 1970. The elevator was an old wooden one that was built before 1900. The thing that was fascinating about the picture was that the whole elevator was leaning over. It just looked like you could walk up to it and push it over. I just thought it was an awesome picture, but it also made me sad because it captured a piece of Oreana’s history that was now gone forever. I was 2 months shy of my 5th birthday when it was torn down. I don’t really remember seeing it as a kid, but the picture told me that it had been there.

Then, on January 18, 1973, tragedy struck. There was an explosion and fire at the Oreana Beauty Shop and the Top Notch Barber Shop. The building burnt and had over $20,000 in damages. The interior of the barber shop was burned. The barbers ended up opening a shop in Decatur, and the picture didn’t make the trip, if it even survived at all. Fortunately, the picture was in the Oreana Centennial Book that was published in September 1973. I hadn’t seen this picture in almost 40+ years when I was reading the book before I wrote this article, but when I saw it, the memories of the picture and the barber shop came flooding back. So I wanted to share the picture and the story that keeps the memory of that old grain elevator alive. I’m sure it will bring back some memories of hauling into the Oreana elevator to a few patrons out there.

An update to my last newsletter article: We had our family reunion at Siloam Springs State Park in OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

21

September. We drove through Meredosia and I stopped the truck and had Autumn drive across the steel truss bridge! So all of my kids can say in the future that they drove across the old bridge before it got torn down!

As for our family, our grandson Daniel turned 1 at the end of August. It’s hard to believe how fast his first year of life has flown by! He has such a cute personality and keeps us entertained with his actions and expressions. Grandchildren are a true blessing! Sara definitely has her hands full now that he is walking! Bailey is back at Eureka College for his Junior year, and Autumn is in her second year at Richland.

Daniel, in is TFG t-shirt, on his trike

Daniel, Sara & Derrick Daniel, with Uncle Bailey

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Aunt Autumn & Daniel Daniel’s 1-year picture

A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

by Evan Brewbaker, Seymour Branch Manager

H

ave you ever seen the commercials asking how does rice production in India affect businesses in South America? How do international markets and industries work together and influence each other? I was able to gain some firsthand experience and insight to these types of questions last fall on a trip to South Africa I went on with my father.

My question to you is, how does crop production in central Illinois affect the conservation and anti-poaching efforts worldwide? In my case, being employed by Topflight Grain allowed me to be able to go on a safari to South Africa where portions of the fees and tags go to their department of conservation and anti-poaching agencies. This is pretty interesting to me that depending on the

individual, every business can affect all types of industries worldwide with the decisions made by that person. Not only was this an unforgettable

Johannesburg industrial zone OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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trip to go on, it was very beneficial to the local economy and natives of that region.

We were blessed with excellent weather for the duration of our trip, with hardly a cloud in the sky. We traveled to various regions of South Africa from Johannesburg, clear to the outskirts of the Kalahari Desert. It was very interesting to see their

agricultural operations from corn and sunflowers, to their platinum mines. From grain facilities owned mainly by the government that spanned a half of a mile of concrete bins on rail siding, to the different styles of implements and truck/trailer combinations, it made me feel grateful to be a part of the agricultural industry here in America.

Here on the local level in Seymour, harvest is just getting fired up. Yields are looking decent so far, along with good grades on grain that has come in. This hot and dry weather should speed up our harvest and it should go nice and smooth here with our equipment.

By the time this is published harvest will be mostly completed, if not, completely finished. I wish everyone a safe and productive season.

Lunch on the plains west of the Kalahari Desert

A small herd of giraffes at the watering hole

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Our sympathies to the families of ....

Carol Ashcraft Charlie Baker John Beery Mary Margaret Boland Doris Bowers Jane Bradley Paul Branch Aubrey Lee Browning Marilyn Cannon Bonnie Chestnut Sam Clark

Mickey Fleener Vicky Foran Lyle Gallagher Don Gepford Joan Mae Harshbarger Gillmore Margaret Gough Robert Greenwood Timothy Hannon

Herb Lust Jr Herb Lust Sr Darlene Macklin Jack McLaughlin Lewis Mershon Charlotte Moessner Juanita Mutch Eric Max Olson Tina Purcell

George Hiser Charlotte Rainey Virginia Clark Norma Pearl Comerford Cecil Damery Kent Dawson

Gerald Hiser Mary Helen Holt Don Hodge Pat Hodge Mark Hopkins Bonnie Jones Nancy Hertz Just Tom Kaigley Jr Wilfred Kapper Marc Kleiss Elaine Kostenski Mary Ann Landgrebe

Barbara Reedy Bill Ritchie Joe Rittenhouse Betty Rodgers Allen Sawyer Dick Seitz Evan Shaw

Bob Day Paul Doane Larry Edwards Michael Eikenberry Alan Elliott Luke Feeney

Lowell Redman

Jim Laroe OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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Our sympathies to the families of ....

William Sinkosky Dorothy Sprague

Harold (Roy) White

Charles Sievers Freeman Wildman Harold Stoerger

Larry Simonton

Marilyn Timmerman Bertha Tucker Corrine Turner Gordon Turner Roger Uphoff Martha Veech Jeannetta Vogelzang Scott Wagner Elaine White

....And to all others who have recently lost loved ones.

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Our Congratulations to...

Sam & Kim Brandenburg, proud parents of a new son, born in March; proud grandparents are Sam & Rosie Brandenburg; Sherri Griffith, honored for her 30 years of service with the Piatt County Farm Service Agency; Lauren Gross, Bement Student of the Month, in February; Allen & Maria Perry, proud parents of a new son, born in March. Proud grandparents are Fred & Janet Perry; Jill Lawson and Linda Taylor, retiring from the Bement School; Janet Sawlaw, Benjamin F Edwards & Company, January 2017 Teacher Spotlight award winner; John & Shirley Larson, married 45 years in March;

Zach Wright and Aubrey Glennon, chosen as Illinois State Scholars, from Bement; Dwight & Mary Blythe, married 70 years in February; Zach Hillard, named CIO at Busey Wealth Management; Rob Personett, named in the Piatt County JournalRepublican, “50 years ago�, recognized most valuable player at the annual Atwood-Hammond High School banquet. He also received the rebound trophy and set a school record of 24 in one game and 224 for the season; Chuck Walsh, Gregg Farms, and Chuck Hendrix winners in the Piatt County 2016 HiSOY High Yield Contest;

Larry & Loretta Bartram, married 60 years in March; Piatt County Farm Bureau scholarship winners Brittany Miller, Baley Milton, Ryan Bidner, Mark Plunk, Michael Clark, and Jack Lourash; Josh & Jeanine Reynold, proud parents of a new daughter, Avery Nicole; proud parents are Willard & Terry Carney;

Andi & Dave Polanski, proud parents of a daughter, Baylee Brooklyn; Proud grandparents are Sid & Debi James and Dan & Maria Polanski; Sam Brandenburg pictured in a FarmWeek feature about cover crops; Terry & Connie Hendrix, who celebrated 50 years of marriage, in June; OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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Our Congratulations to...

Lauren Gross and Zach Wright, Valedictorian and Salutatorian of Bement’s Class of 2017;

Amy Brammer, accepted into Purdue’s Master of Science in Communication program;

Howard & Norma Rigg, married 69 years in June; Howard Rigg, celebrating his 90th birthday in June;

Willard & Jean Kauffman, married 50 years in June; Doug & Coley Adloff, parents of a new son, born in May; proud grandparents are Terry & Cindy Hoffman; Betty Bolsen, celebrating her 90 birthday in March; th

Paige Shull, selected for the lead role as Kathy, in “Singing in the Rain”, for the Decatur Park DISC’s BOSS program; Laura’s grandson, Brodee, State Cow Reigning horse champion and State Cutting horse Reserve Champion;

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Andy Parsons and Carissa Benner, proud parents of a daughter, Tenley Drew. Proud grandparents are Terry & Jodi Parsons, and Jimmy & Cindi Bentley; proud greatparents are Sue Radmaker and Katie Bentley; Tenley Parsons, winner of the Cutest Baby Contest for 0-12 months at the Bement Old Glory Festival; Jake Lieb and Jennifer Irle, married this summer;

Andrea Dehart, 2nd runner-up in the 2017 Illinois Festival Pageant

Our Congratulations to...

Bill Gallagher, speaking at the Piatt County Historical & Genealogical Society, about his participation in the re-enactment of the Battle of Little Bighorn; Susan Cribb, by having a museum gallery named in her honor, The Susan K Cribb Gallery, at the Lake Villa Historical Society;

Norman & Mary Ross, married 50 years last April; Cory & Emily Zelhart, proud parents of a daughter, Ellie Ann; proud grandparents are John & Jill Zelhart and Lenny & Rita Bakken; proud greatgrandmother is Imogene Zelhart; Jennifer & Jonathan Bobell, parents of a new son, Collin James Bobell; proud grandparents are Dan & Barb Caroll and Bo & Mary Bobell;

JC Wilkin, elected chairman of the Federalist party for mock government, at American Legion Boys State; Casandra Adams & Callie Schable speaking at the Atwood American Legion Auxiliary meeting about their experiences at Girls State; Sierra Day, chosen as alternate to represent Illinois at the National Junior Angus Showmanship Contest; Michelle & William Fombelle, proud parents of a new daughter; proud grandparents are Reed & Joann Fombelle and Bernard & Kathy Kertke;

Faythe Read, chosen as Homecoming Queen at Cerro Gordo High School;

I changed my password to “incorrect” so whenever I forget it the computer will say, “Your password is incorrect.”

Everytime someone comes up with a foolproof solution, along comes a more-talented fool.

There may be no excuse for laziness, but I’m still looking.

Ever stop to think and forget to start again?

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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Friends & Family The “30-year club” Ray Ahlrich, 95 years old, surrounded by his greatgranddaughter, Elsie who is 5 years old, Ray’s granddaughter Katie, who is 35 years old, and Rays’ daughter, Bonnie Ahlrich Wachter, who is 65 years old. (our thanks to Bonnie for the great picture!)

Sharlie Berry, chaperoning the 2nd grade field trip

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Mike Ferguson, in the Bement 4th of July parade

Friends & Family

Brayden & Matt Haseley, checking their planting

Darcy, Tom & Donna Riley’s little puppy

Esther, Henry and Kyle Farmer at the Elkhart Rt 66 show OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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Friends & Family

Karen & Johnny Stinson, at the Farm Progress Show Vanessa’s grandsons, Dugan and Brogan

Denise & Scott Docherty, with Sonny Perdue, US Secretary of Agriculture

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Friends & Family

Dan Lecrone Vehicles of all types weighed in at LaPlace, for the Cerro Gordo Fair

Wyatt Lawhead and greatgrandpa Paul Lilly.

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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THE RISK OF AGRICULTURE

by Andrew Hanes, Safety Manager

A

griculture ranks among the most hazardous industries. Farmers are at very high risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries; and farming is one of the few industries in which family members (who often share the work and live on the premises) are also at risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries.

Who’s at Risk?

• Approximately 2,088,000 full-time workers were employed in production agriculture in the US in 2015.

• Approximately 1.4 to 2.1 million hired crop workers are employed annually on crop farms in the US. • An estimated 893,000 youth under 20 years of age resided on farms in 2014, with about 454,000 youth performing farm work. In addition to the youth who live on farms, an estimated 266,000 youth were hired to work on US farms in 2014.

Fatalities • In 2015, 401 farmers and farm workers died from a work-related injury, resulting in a fatality rate of 19.2 deaths per 100,000 workers. Transportation incidents, which include tractor overturns were the leading cause of death for these farmers and farm workers.

• The most effective way to prevent tractor overturn deaths is the use of a Roll-Over Protective Structure (ROPS). In 2012, 59% of tractors used on farms in the US were equipped with ROPS. If ROPS were placed on all tractors used on US farms manufactured since the mid-1960’s, the prevalence of ROPS-equipped tractors could be increased to over 80%.

• On average, 113 youth less than 20 years of age die annually from farm-related injuries (1995 -2002), with most of these deaths

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

occurring to youth 16-19 years of age (34%).

• Of the leading sources of fatal injuries to youth, 23% percent involved machinery (including tractors), 19% involved motor vehicles (including ATVs), and 16% were due to drowning.

Injuries • Every day, about 100 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury.

• From 2008-2010, 50% of all hired crop worker injuries were classified as a sprain or strain.

• In 2014, an estimated 12,000 youth were injured on farms; 4,000 of these injuries were due to farm work.

These statistics are putting numbers to things that you may or may not already know. We all play our own part in the food chain of America and are responsible for our own safety. If you are in a position of leadership, the extra responsibility of other people’s safety is also on your shoulders.

As we take on more responsibility in our own roles of agriculture, we must continue to evaluate the risks of our jobs and how we can effectively mitigate those risks. There are some risks that we can remove, and some that we can minimize.

However, there are also some risks that we have to work through and are unable to remove or minimize.

As you continue to work through your role, looking at who you are responsible for and how you are going to manage risk, keep asking the following questions: • Am I having them do something I would not do myself if able? Why? • Is there a way we can reduce or remove a potential hazard in the job I am doing or having someone else do?

• Am I doing my part to make sure I – or my co-workers – do not become a statistic?

Everyone stay safe!

2017 CROP TOUR August is always crop tour time! Our local crews walked the fields, collecting samples to be used in the final tally of the 2017 crop yield estimates. These numbers are used by the management staff to plan space requirements, truck sales & rail sales for the harvest season. The findings, and pictures from the aerial crop tour, were presented at a lunch meeting in Lincoln and an evening meeting in Bement. Darin Newsom of DTN Progressive Farmer provided the market outlook.

2017 CROP TOUR

A

ugust is always crop tour time! Our local crews walked the fields, collecting samples to be used in the final tally of the 2017 crop yield estimates.

These numbers are used by the management staff to plan space requirements, truck sales & rail sales for the harvest season. The findings, and pictures from the aerial crop tour, were presented at a lunch meeting in Lincoln and an evening meeting in Bement. Darin Newsom of DTN Progressive Farmer provided the market outlook.

Crop Tour Yields – August 23, 2017 Corn Location

Yield 85,000 kernels/bu

Yield 87,500 kernels/bu

Yield 90,000 kernels/bu

Harvestable Ear Count

2016 Yield at 90,000 kernels/bu

Atlanta

200.12

194.4

189

31

203

Atwood

184.77

179.49

174.5

33.9

207

Beason

177.88

172.8

168

31

221

Bement

194.72

189.16

183.91

32.7

203

Cisco

191.38

185.91

180.75

30.7

214

Emery

198

192.34

187

31

209

Johnston

200.12

194.4

189

34

N/A

Kruger

175.76

170.74

166

31

221

LaPlace

196.66

191.04

185.73

31.6

206

Lawndale

195.89

190.29

185

33

221

Maroa

199.38

193.68

188.3

30.4

215

Milmine

190.34

184.9

179.76

32.7

191

Monticello 200.59

194.86

189.45

32.3

227

Pierson

191.65

186.17

181

35.1

222

Location

Yield 85,000 kernels/bu

Yield 87,500 kernels/bu

Yield 90,000 kernels/bu

Harvestable Ear Count

2016 Yield at 90,000 kernels/bu

Seymour

204.35

198.51

193

33.3

206

Average

Yield 85,000 kernels/bu

Yield 87,500 kernels/bu

Yield 90,000 kernels/bu

Harvestable Ear Count

2016 Yield at 90,000 kernels/bu

193.44

187.91

182.69 (14%)

32.25

211.86

Crop Tour Yields – August 23, 2017 Soybeans Location

2017 Avg Bean Pod Count

2016 Avg Bean Pod Count

Atlanta

48

55

Atwood

46.3

39

Beason

42

Bement

55.7

Cisco

N/A

Emery

53

Johnston

48

N/A

Kruger

42

60

LaPlace

71

65

Lawndale

48

66

Maroa

47

Milmine

OCTOBER 44.3

Monticello

55

53

Pierson

53.6

51

66

Jim Rear, Bill Blickhan and Bruce 54 Stoddard check the results of their crop N/A yield sample. 52

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2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER 53

35

Location

Yield 85,000 kernels/bu

Yield 87,500 kernels/bu

Yield 90,000 kernels/bu

Harvestable Ear Count

2016 Yield at 90,000 kernels/bu

Seymour

204.35

198.51

193

33.3

206

Average

Yield 85,000 kernels/bu

Yield 87,500 kernels/bu

Yield 90,000 kernels/bu

Harvestable Ear Count

2016 Yield at 90,000 kernels/bu

193.44

187.91

182.69 (14%)

32.25

211.86

2017 CROP TOUR

Crop Tour Yields – August 23, 2017 Soybeans Location

2017 Avg Bean Pod Count

2016 Avg Bean Pod Count

Atlanta

48

55

Atwood

46.3

39

Beason

42

66

Bement

55.7

54

Cisco

N/A

N/A

Emery

53

52

Johnston

48

N/A

Kruger

42

60

LaPlace

71

65

Lawndale

48

66

Maroa

47

47

Milmine

44.3

53

Monticello

55

53

Pierson

53.6

51

Seymour

45.8

42

Average

2017 Avg Bean Pod Count

2016 Avg Bean Pod Count

49.98 (-7.60%)

54.08

Northeast of Beason, as seen on the aerial crop tour

094 Pic – crop tour field Jim Rear, Bill Blickhan and Bruce Stoddard check the results of their crop yield sample.

095 Pic – scott Richard andy Scott Albin, Richard Larimore, and Andy Lawhead surveyed the Bement crop.

096 Pic – Lincoln crop tour The attendees at the Lincoln crop tour meeting awaited the final results.

Andy and Kelly surveyed the crops from the air, with pilot Kyle Johnson, on They found an assortment of good-looking fields, fields with holes in them from the water and areas of different shades of green, that may have indicated replanted acreage.

097 Pic – beason Northeast of Beason, as seen on the aerial crop tour 098 Pic – windfarms The windfarms around Maroa

The windfarms around Maroa

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Andy and Kelly surveyed the crops from the air, with pilot Kyle Johnson, on They found an assortment of good-looking fields, fields with holes in them from the water and areas of different shades of green, that may have indicated replanted acreage.

2017 CROP TOUR

Scott Albin, Richard Larimore, and Andy Lawhead surveyed the Bement crop.

The attendees at the Lincoln crop tour meeting awaited the final results.

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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Remember With Us....

Cary Hinton Dillon Docherty, in his propeller hat, and Mickey, in his Bement Grain cap

John Robert Hendrix Margie & Cotton Wright

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Jack Nolan

Nick Shanks

Jack Gallivan

Claire and Mae Flavin Ray Walsh OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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Jared and Jeff Gregg

George Stanley and Babe Foran

Ellen Allen & Larry Belton

Ethan and Tim Morton

A check to Roy Brandenburg in 1933, for corn shelling. The elevator deducted the fees (1 cent per bushel) from the customer and then paid the corn sheller.

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

The elevator fire at Maroa, in summer of 1967.

Thanks to Lynette White for sharing her picture.

Yvonne & Raymond Howland

Jeffrey Read sent us this picture of an old whetstone from Maroa Farmers Cooperative

The old office at Emery, damaged by excessive winds, in the early ‘90s.

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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ANNUAL MEETING

S

tockholders, guests and employees gathered together on August 17 at the Cisco Center for the Topflight Grain annual meeting.

Chairman Josh Ponder welcomed the guests, and introduced President Kyle Johnson to conduct the business meeting. Cary Hinton read the minutes from the 2016 meeting. Jeremy Welch presented the financial statements, showing income and expenses for the last fiscal year.

Manager Scott Docherty recognized Jim Sherwood for his 15 years of employment with East Lincoln Farmers Coop and Topflight Grain, and Stason Kopps, for his 20 years with Topflight Grain. The manager’s report was then presented.

Byron Brown presented the slate of nominees for the 2017-18 year. Your 2017-18 Board of Directors are Dave Zelhart, Josh Ponder, Kyle Johnson, Greg Briggs, Allen Sasse, Jim Brown, Cary Hinton, Richard Larimore, Dan Larson and Tim Schable.

The business meeting was adjourned.

Chairman Ponder announced the winners of the drawing chosen from the signed and returned proxies.

Ron Meece, Pete Heath, Warren Odekirk, Richard Kaufman and Byron Brown reviewed the financial statements.

TAKIN’ THAT L!!

by Jessee Quick & Don Quick

O

n June 7th at 5:00 pm, Landon Beurrier and Eric Clements took on Don & Jessee Quick in a 2-on-2 basketball game. Eric and Landon were given a 2 point lead each game, and received the ball first. They scored 6 total points.

Meanwhile, Jessee and Don outplayed them everywhere, including rebounds, assists, points and attitude. Eric was CRUSHED, 2 years in a row! That proves that the Deerhunters (Landon & Eric) cannot beat the Quick Bros (Don & Jessee).

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Eric and Landon, after their defeat to Jim and Jessee.

TOPFLIGHT GRAIN GOLF OUTING

by Denny Hill

T

he Topflight Grain biennial golf outing was held on July 20that the Hickory Point golf course in Forsyth this year. As has been the case in the past, we were blessed with a decent day to play golf, with cloudy skies reducing what was forecasted to be a scorching day in the middle nineties.

The outing attracted 104 golfers who teed off in a scramble format consisting of 4 people per team mixed between employees, patrons and vendors. The team with the best round this year consisted of Sam Brandenburg, Brandon Rost, Kyle Meece and Ryan Meece. They shot a round of 61 to edge the second place team of Andy Lawhead, George Nord and Drew Moore by one shot.

After everyone completed their round, we all enjoyed a nice lunch in the banquet room at Hickory Point and prizes were awarded to the winners of the proximities we had on a few of the holes. Winners were: Longest putt made on #18 – Terry Lienhart, Longest putt made on #9 – Aaron Hill, Longest drive on #12 – Evan Brewbaker, closest to the pin on #16 – Toby Short and closest to the pin on #4 - Ralph Myers.

Thanks to our vendors and special guests we had several prizes to give away in our drawing

along with 4 box seat tickets to the St. Louis Cardinal ballgame donated by ADM. Rhody Miller was the lucky winner this year. A special thanks to Mike Strader and Decatur Aeration who gave every player a sleeve of Titleist Pro V1 golf balls before teeing off.

The help of other Topflight employees during the outing is much needed and appreciated.

Vanessa Stinson and my daughter Jessica handled the registration table while several employees helped our guests with their golf bags and getting them on their carts.

We look forward to the next outing in 2019!

Brandon Rost, Sam Brandenburg, Ryan Meece, Kyle Meece

Dustin Curran, Andy Hendrix, Seth Myers, Tyler Morganthaler

Jeremy Crouch, Cameron Frichs, Justin Goesel, Ryan Aupperle

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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GRAIN PAGE Contract signatures ith harvest here, and grain applied to DP contracts, we will be monitoring those contracts for customer signatures.

The State of Illinois requires a signature on all DP contracts. The contracts must be signed within 30 days of the last date of delivery, or on the same date that the contract was written, depending on how the contract is dated when it is written.

If it seems like we nag you for those contracts to be signed and returned, it is because of the legal requirement of the State Ag Department.

Grain purchase and offer contracts must also signed and returned to us. We monitor those signatures, too, and will be sending you a “2nd notice� if we don’t have one in the files within 30 days.

W

Grain purchases As of September 1, Topflight Grain customers had sold 97.2% of their 2016 corn crop at an average price of $3.43. 98% of the 2016 beans were sold at an average price of $9.70. This compares to 99% of the corn and 98% of the beans purchased on September 1 last year.

For the 2017 crop, 13.2% of the corn (based on a 5-year average of production) was sold at an average price of $3.69. 23.9% of beans had been sold (based on the 5-year average) at an average price of $9.87. This compares to 21% of the corn and 37% of the beans purchased on September 1 last year.

Average Price Program

By Jim Rear First I want to say thank you for all producers who committed bushels to our Average Price Program this year. We saw two very different stories between corn and beans looking back through our pricing starting the beginning of

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

January. Corn seemed like it could not get out of its tight range through the growing season despite a wet spring and very dry weather following. Our prices ranged from $3.53 to $3.72, giving us a whopping 19 cent range. Beans, on the other hand, were quite the opposite. Early in the program we were able to catch a very strong market, but unfortunately, the remaining pricings resembled a roller coaster. We had pricings range from $8.88 to $10.00, which gave us a range of $1.12 through the growing season! We ended the program with a final cash price for corn at $3.62 and for beans $9.49.

To participate in the 2018 program, you need to determine how many bushels of corn and soybeans you want to enroll in the program, choose the pay dates you need to fit your cash flow needs, and read thoroughly the average price agreement, and sign-up.

If you believe this is something you might be interested in, please give me a call in the Monticello office at 217-762-2163.

Topflight Marketing Pool

By Denny Hill Once again Topflight Grain will be offering to their patrons this coming year the opportunity to enroll in a Marketing Pool concept for the 2018 crop. The sign-up period runs from 12/1/17 thru 12/31/17 and includes both corn and soybeans.

The producer commits a percentage of his corn or soybean production to Topflight Grain, and we use our marketing knowledge in making use of option strategies and CBOT future positions to market your grain. Topflight merchandisers work with other grain brokers to accomplish pricing of the grain using conservative risk management strategies.

To participate in this program, you need to determine how many bushels of corn and

soybeans you want to enroll in the program, choose the pay dates you need to fit your cash flow needs, and read thoroughly the marketing pool agreement and sign-up.

If you believe this is something you might be interested in, please give Denny Hill a call @ 1-800-955-2180 and I will be glad to answer your questions.

2017 FARM SAFETY WEEK

F

arm safety was promoted this fall, during the week of September 17. It encouraged everyone to be safe in their farm and other agricultural operations. In recognition of the promotion, Topflight Grain randomly chose one farmer from each of the locations to receive a first aid kit to keep in their trucks, tractors

or combines. Winners this fall included Alex Hoblit, Rob Corman, Clarence Vogelzang, Vernon Klockenga, Tom Riley, Dan Lecrone, Cory Hassebrock, Shawn Reeves, Dean Creviston, Larry Hamblen, Richard Mumm, Gary Appleby, Mardee Vanhoorn, Gary Norfleet, and Tom Ferrill.

Dean Creviston, winner at LaPlace

Tom Riley was the lucky winner at Maroa

DANISH AMBASSADOR Our ambassador in Denmark, sported his new Topflight Grain cap at Tonder Festival. His wife was among several journalists from Denmark, who visited Topflight Grain several years ago.

She stayed with Raymond & Yvonne Howland. Raymond sent a TFG cap home with her, for her husband. He wore out the first one, after several years. We sent a new one to him that he began wearing immediately.

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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O

FUN IN 2ND GRADE

ur year was full of fun, with the 2016-17 Bement 2nd grade class.

We were off to Decatur on March 29 for a field trip. The first stop was the Children’s Museum. Upon arrival, the students donned aprons and glasses for the “Slime Lab” activity, mixing cornstarch, water and food coloring to make the ooey-gooey slime. After that, they had time to explore the exhibits and activities in the Museum. Following lunch, the National Guard hosted a tour at their facility at the Decatur Airport. After a movie about the Guard, the students were able to see and sit in some of the helicopters.

In April, Vanessa, Evan and Andy rode the bus with the class to Old Orchard Lanes in Savoy for an afternoon of bowling. It was a lot of fun, ending with pizza for everyone.

Our last event was Play Day, on May 17. It began with a quiz about the events sponsored by Topflight Grain during the past year. A few games were played in the empty classroom next door, and then more relay contests were held outside in Coles Pasture. They enjoyed potato sack races, wheelbarrow races, tug-of-war and many other games.

It was a fun year.

Mixing the slime was fun

Andy gave instructions for the next relay game on Play Day

The 2nd grade class, on tour at the National Guard

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

The 2017-18 2nd grade class visited Topflight Grain on September 7. After handing out hard hats for the group, we toured the elevator where they saw dump pits, the “north room”, and the corn dryer. Inside, we played “grain elevator” Bingo, using corn as markers, and words associated with farming & the grain business. We bid them farewell, till our next outing, with a sack full of corn & a sack full of beans for the students to share.

Playing Bingo, with our corn markers

Photo by Mrs Kinsella

Jim, telling the class he wasn’t sure where the corn disappeared after it was dumped in the pit Photo by Mrs. Kinsella

Our adopted class, for the 2017-18 year (Photo by Mrs. Kinsella) OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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150 YEARS!!!

W

e had a great visit with Tom Peifer on a perfect late-May morning. Tom’s family farm, near Lincoln, earned its Sesquicentennial recognition from the Illinois Department of Agriculture this year. Tom welcomed us onto the farm, and shared some of the family history.

Tom’s great-grandfather Nicholas, his sister and brother-in-law left Germany, for the US, in 1847.

They landed in Boston and came to Chicago in a horse-drawn wagon. They settled on a farm near the city, where the CBOT/CME sits today. Later, Nicholas left the Chicago area, for Beardstown, where he worked in a hemp factory and a slaughter house. In 1850, he married Katherine Roach, in Springfield. In 1867, he purchased the farm near Lincoln for $30/acre. Nicholas and Katherine built a house and the outbuildings necessary for a farm 150 years ago. They raised their family on that farm. Their son, Frank, (Tom’s grandfather) raised his family on that farm. Frank’s son, Vincent, (Tom’s dad) raised his family there.

It has a long family history, and they plan for the history to continue through future generations.

Tom’s childhood on that farm was strong rooted. He was a typical “farm kid”, milking cows, gathering eggs, baling hay & straw, and of course, learning to drive at an early age. He left the farm, to serve his country in the Air Force, working at the Pentagon. While there he met his future wife, Patty. They returned to the farm to help his dad. In 1989, Tom & his brother took over the family farm.

Tom & Patty raised 3 daughters on the farm. One of them is a nurse, one is a dental hygienist, and one is a teacher. Now, 5 grandkids enjoy the visits to the farm.

Nicholas’s family has a community history through the years. The church bell at Holy Family church has Nicholas’s name on it, as one of the donors to the church bell. Frank was a school officer at Straight Row School, in the early 1900’s.

Straight Row school was about a half mile down the road from the family farm. Tom’s great-uncle, Patrick, owned Peifer’s Grocery Store in Lincoln.

All of this history came together on June 17, at Tom & Patty’s farm. Over 130 friends, neighbors, and government officials, joined the 70 Peifer family members for a very special day. Lunch was

A huge tent was full of Tom & Patty’s friends, celebrating the farm’s history

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

served and lots of pictures and videos were taken.

Tom dedicated the farm during his speech that afternoon.

Tom did a lot of research to gain recognition of the farm as a Sesquicentennial farm from the State of Illinois, and to receive the Illinois Prairie Pioneer

Certificate, through the Illinois State Genealogical Society.

There is much to be proud of among the Peifer family, and they plan to maintain their roots here on the family farm for many more years.

On the back of the boulder is a plaque listing the names of all who were born & raised on the farm

The boulder at Tom’s farm shows the old barn, and lists the names of each generation who lived there

NEW BINS

N

ew bins were constructed at Monticello, Bement, and Atlanta this year. These bins will create more storage capacity at each of their locations, and facilitate better logistics for the fall season.

The construction process was quite interesting.

The crews came in and worked at least 12 hours a day, for 2 straight weeks. They would take the next weekend off, and then resume their schedule. The maximum wind speed that they could safely work with is 20 mph. A few rounds of steel were built, and then the bin roof was attached. (It looked like a mighty short bin!) Then, the remainder of the sheets were added. Each round of bin was raised by a driveshaft, with the jacks operating all at one time. Each jack can support 2000 pounds. In the Bement bin, 46 jacks were used. There are approximately 2 million bolts in the 105’ diameter bins, some are 3/8” and

It took a lot of manpower and electrical wires to move the electricity in Bement

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

49

others are 7/16”. The Bement bin used 13 double sheets of steel and 22 single sheets, for a total of 1680 sheets in the new bin. The crew could put together 4-5 rings per day.

All of the bins use temperature cables of various lengths so that the elevator superintendents can monitor the corn temperature. The sweep augers are “zero-entry”, so that no person is in the bin when the sweep is running. The auger runs on a track around the bin, with broom bristles behind it, so that all grain is handled by the sweep auger. Fans are located on the top of the bins, and on the bottom, all with silencers to reduce the fan noise.

In each of the three locations, new electrical structures were poured. Most of the electrical wires and cables were re-routed to be housed in these buildings, to be more efficient and safe.

Inside the “Master Control Center”, the new electrical building

Monticello bin floor Looking down from the top, at the bin floor in Monticello The bin roof, with the fans and silencers

FACTS ABOUT EACH BIN

Tons of rock Cubic yards of concrete Diameter Height # of rings Rated Capacity

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Atlanta 2,400 625 90’ 99’ 37 572,165 bu

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Monticello 10,150 940 105’ 150’ 37 790,000 bu

Bement 12,130 900 105’ 122’ 35 749,497 bu

The Bement & Monticello facilities hosted an open house, to share information about the new bins on September 6 & 7. Snacks were served, door prizes were awarded and guided tours around the bins showed the various components of the bin and answered questions.

Andy explained the construction process and equipment used in the Bement bin

Advice from An Old Farmer

By Unknown Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled.

Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.

Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life… Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.

Don‘t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every mornin’.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.

If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.

Most times, it just gets down to common sense.

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FARM SAFETY HITS HOME The following was copied from a blog that Cheryl Day posts, during Farm Safety Week. Even though Farm Safety Week has passed, this article is a heartfelt reminder that farm safety should be practiced year-round.

S

oon the crisp air will greet us. A time of year when combines roll, families — related by blood or not — join together to bring in the harvest. I have always had an emotional attachment to harvest season.

For me, it is time to celebrate the hard work of farmers. In fact, despite the date on the calendar, the harvesting of grain or animals is a sense of accomplishment, knowing as a team you struggled through the challenges and completed the task on hand to provide so much for mankind.

The third week of September not only marks the official start to fall but also is designated as National Farm Safety and Health Week. While the busy harvest season is a good time to bring recognition of being safe on the farm, it should not be the only time of year the farm family thinks about it or practices it. Every morning, farmers and ranchers wake up early, grab a cup of coffee and go forth to tackle the work of the day. Each day, when farm families start their day and look themselves in the mirror, they never think today is the day that changes our lives forever.

As time goes on and family members age, we all know the farm team will change. It is the circle of life. We welcome the next generations safely joining the crew as we prepare for the time that grandfathers, grandmothers, great uncles and great aunts no longer climb into the cab of a tractor or open the door to the barn.

However, nothing in this life prepares us for the time you get “the call.” As the words “your loved one has been in a farm accident” reaches your ears, your heart drops, and your adrenaline that actually gets your feet to move forward never

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

prepares you for the days ahead.

On July 20, our family received “the call,” and we found ourselves standing at a scene of an accident filled with flashing lights, sirens, first responders from nine districts, police officers, helicopter, nosey onlookers and T.V. crews. As you process the flood of information from one clergyman on duty, your mind is spiraling, and you begin praying for the small miracle that family member needs to survive, knowing it’s a big ask.

We are not the first to lose a family member unexpectedly, but I would openly admit we thought it would never happen to this family.

We are farm strong. We are invincible. We have survived drought, hail, floods, government hoop jumping, breakdowns, minor injuries, low prices, land grabbers attempts and years without profits.

But nothing prepared us for losing a member of the middle generation of three generations of family members farming together.

At age 41, he will not turn another ounce of soil, harvest another kernel of corn, grind another gear or teach his boy to drive a tractor. He planted his last field in the spring and never will reap its harvest.

As a family, we will never know why he didn’t see the train from the seat of the Hagie. We can say “be safe” or “slow down,” but even on a calm summer night, those words cannot replace the action. We all get in a hurry. We all get distracted.

And we are all guilty of performing unsafe practices.

So, do yourself a favor every day on the farm and not just during National Farm Safety Week, learn to practice the “pause.” Despite your contribution to the world, let us all take time to rethink our steps in life and teach the next generation to work smart and safe, or you will find yourself farming on without your only brother and farming partner. Even worse, harvesting your

last field or caring for your last pig before your children or grandchildren are grown.

So, go forth and farm on safely because the world needs farmers and ranchers. May God bless

you with many safe and bountiful farming years to come.

HONOR FLIGHT, APRIL 11, 2O17

by Russel Wright (retired)

T

he long awaited date had finally come.

After two years on the long waiting list, I was picked to be on the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight 45, scheduled to depart Abraham Lincoln Springfield, Illinois airport on April 11, 2017. Our son, Marcus Wright, was my guardian.

A guardian’s role is very important, as they accompany the veteran on the flight, as well as the tours. On this flight, fellow Vietnam veteran Bill Sparks from Cerro Gordo, along with his son, Chris Sparks, enjoyed the day along with 66 veterans, 78 guardians and 5 staff members of the Land Of Lincoln Honor Flight.

Let’s begin with the evening before the flight, as we were treated to a meal free of charge at the VFW post in Springfield. We also received our Honor Flight shirts and hats. There were different colors for the veterans, blue for the WW 2 veterans, yellow for the Korean War veterans, and red for the Vietnam veterans, of which I am. All the guardians wore green shirts and green ball caps.

Reveille came early: 0445 am was the time to report to the airport. There, we got our lanyards that had our name and what branch of the military service we were in. As we waited to board the aircraft, a couple of local television stations were interviewing veterans. Finally we boarded the aircraft, first the WW 2 veterans, then the Korean War veterans, then the Vietnam veterans, as well as their respective guardians. The flight to Washington DC only took an hour and twenty minutes. After arriving at Reagan International

Airport, we were welcomed by the many travelers that were there.

We boarded buses to take on the different tours we went on. First stop was the WW2 memorial, where we had our group picture taken. Of course, we could visit this memorial and just reflect on this impressive memorial to the “greatest generation”. After a time, we boarded the buses again for the short ride to the Korean War memorial. This was very, very impressive. Next was the Vietnam wall, where more than 58,300 names are etched in the black granite by date of casualty.

In the short time that we were there, I managed to find three of my comrades that were killed in action from the same platoon as myself. We also could climb the steps to the Lincoln memorial.

Some did, but some didn’t. After boarding the buses again, we had lunch on the bus, as the next stop was 40 minutes away at the Air and Space Museum.

There we could walk around and see the various aircraft on display. Most notable was the Enola Gay, the B 29 that dropped the first atomic bomb to start the end of World War 2 in the Pacific.

After this, we went to the Marine Corp memorial, the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. As we went around this memorial, the flag looked like it was being raised, most impressive. Back on the buses we went to the Air Force memorial, the only one inside Arlington Cemetery. The three spires looked like 3 jets heading skyward, and over OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

53

200 feet high. A side note, on September 11, 2001, the plane that crashed into the Pentagon actually clipped one of those spires, so in tribute to that day, it was never fixed. From that memorial we could see the Pentagon where that plane crashed, taking a lot of lives, both in the plane as well as inside the building.

The next and final stop for the day was the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is a solemn ceremony, as the only sound you can hear is the clicking of the heels of the guard as he walks the 21 steps, stops, turns around and goes another 21 steps. When the Office of the Guard inspects the next guard, he does the rifle inspection, uniform inspection and salutes him. This new guard takes over as the relieved guard exits. As he went by our group, he slid his heels in respect for the veterans in attendance. If you ever go to Washington DC, make sure you go to the changing of the guard.

You won’t be disappointed, as these soldiers do this 24 hrs a day, 365, no matter the weather.

As we closed the day out, waiting to board the flight back to Springfield, there were several people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds welcoming the veterans home. On the plane, the cabin lights came on and an announcement was made for mail call. Each veteran was given mail. That was another duty of the guardians to send out requests for mail from family, friends and from schools. I’m sure all of us veterans really appreciated the mail we received. I know I did.

When we landed at the Springfield airport, we were greeted by various state dignitaries. Usually the governor would be here, but apparently he was busy, so U.S. House Representative Rodney Davis was there to greet us home, and what a greeting. There must have been over 500 people welcoming us, many shaking our hands, and giving words of encouragement. All the veterans were given Girl Scout cookies, a book about Washington D C, and a book that had the list of veterans and their time in the service as well as the list of guardians on this flight.

There will be more Land of Lincoln Honor Flights in the coming months, May, June,

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

September and October. The cost to the veteran is absolutely FREE, the guardians cost is $450. It’s well worth the cost. As of June, the waiting list is 4 WW2, 48 Korean War ,and 703 Vietnam veterans.

If you are a veteran of any of these and you would like to get your name on the list, just Google Land of Lincoln Honor Flight, fill out the form, and send it in. You won’t be disappointed.

In closing, I want to thank the good people of the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight committee, and for those that unselfishly donated to this very important honor, it was most appreciated.

Russel & his son Marcus on the Honor Flight

AROUND TOPFLIGHT We welcome Chris Haskins. He joins the staff in Monticello, as Human Resource Generalist.

Congratulations to Jim Rear and Andy Lawhead for completing the 2017 Farm Bureau ALOT program

The new head pulley and reducer that had to be installed on the very top of the Bement elevator.

Gary, making a clean sweep at Maroa

Henry, in the end-loader, moving rock for the bin in Bement

Bryon, in the Maroa elevator

Roger, Cody & Henry, building reinforcement support for the remote ticket printed in Bement.

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Your staff, at the Maroa elevator

There were a few minutes of lost productivity in Monticello, as the eclipse worked its way through central Illinois.

Denise & Scott, with FredBird

Emily Snyder & Nicki Leach

New concrete, at the Pierson inbound scale

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Martin, welding at Maroa

The old cistern from Bement Water Works was dug up, to make way for the new bin.

The dust bin in Bement was repaired last spring.

Cody, Gary & John enjoyed the TFG golf outing

The top of the Seymour proudly saluted the 4th of July

Manager Scott Docherty congratulated Stason Kopps, for his 20 years with Topflight Grain.

Jim Sherwood was also recognized for his 15 years with East Lincoln Farmers Coop, and Topflight Grain.

OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL

Vanessa’s granddaughter, Chloe

Laura’s grandsons, Britt, Brodee & Cash

Vanessa’s granddaughter, Brynnan

Laura’s grandson, Henry Laura’s grandson, Boston

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OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

Derrick’s daughters, Mylin & Mabry

Vanessa’s grandson, Brogan

Chelsey’s son, Cooper

Todd’s son & grandson, Shane & Beau

Todd’s son & grandkids, Aaron, Bradley & Zoey Evan’s son, Gannon (first day of soccer practice)

Evan’s son, Jaydon OCTOBER 2017 / TOPFLIGHT NEWSLETTER

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Topflight Grain 420 W Marion Monticello IL 61856

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CHAMPAIGN, IL PERMIT NO 499

TOPFLIGHT GRAIN MISSION STATEMENT:

Our Topflight Grain Cooperative team is committed to the future of agriculture by improving the prosperity of our customers and employees through outstanding service, education, innovation, technology and dedication.

The US flag waves proudly over the school, for the Bement Old Glory Festival