Grain Contracts Featured Employees Fertilizer Review Agronomy Matters Credit Report MUCH ...

20 Pages·2015·1.7 MB·English

A publication from Maple River Grain & Agronomy, LLC
Spring 2015
Grain Contracts
Featured Employees
Fertilizer Review
Agronomy Matters
Credit Report
MUCH MORE...
BOTTOM LINE : SPRING 2015
In This Issue:
CASSELTON Maple River Grain & Agronomy, LLC
Board of Directors
3
Doug Brown, President
Staff Listing Jon Baumler, Vice President
Brent Rust, Secretary
Dollars for Scholars
Laurie Krone
Mike Nelson
LEONARD 4-5 Jim Ueland
Mark Belter
Grain Contracts Don Woodburn
Brian McDonald
Advertisements

Published quarterly by:
6-7
Maple River Grain and Agronomy, LLC.
1630 1st Ave S,
Wellness at MRGA
Casselton, ND 58012.
CHAFFEE Safety Article
This publication is provided free of
MyFarmRecords.com charge to all local crop and livestock
producers. If you are not receiving this
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8-9 to our mailing list please provide us with
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Maple River Communications
POSTMASTER: Send address changes
LYNCHBURG to:
Maple River Grain and Agronomy, LLC,
10-11
1630 1st Ave S,
Casselton, ND 58012.
Credit Report
Fertilizer Focus All rights reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A.
Layout & Design by:
12-13 Candace Brekke
PROSPER
Seed Update
Grain Manager’s Minute Casselton Location
[phone]
[phone]
14-15
Lynchburg Location
The Basis Approach [phone]
PRE Emergence Herbicides
Prosper Location
[phone]
PEAK
16-17
Leonard Location
[phone]
Agronomy Matters
Spring Planning Peak Location
[phone]
GRANDIN 18-19 Grandin Location
[phone]
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[phone]
www.maplerivergrain.com
2
BOTTOM LINE : SPRING 2015
spring 2
Maple River Grain & Agronomy, LLC
0
Full-Time Staff
1
5
CEO – Terry Johnson
Management Team Prosper Location
Kim Nehring Mike Koetz
In support of students who show effort and interests
Mike Flaten Ben Drogen
in a variety of educational paths, Maple River Grain
& Agronomy, LLC recently endowed a scholarship Alex Richard
through the Central Cass Dollars for Scholars Leonard Location
program. This program benefits local students
Casselton Office Jeff Boisjolie
with a variety of interests. In our case, we were
Jeremy Rolf Chad Johnson
interested in sponsoring a scholarship to students
Braeden Nelson
interested in the agricultural industry. Maple River
Grain & Agronomy, LLC contributed the $5,000.00 Jon Ellingson Lynchburg Location
Thomas Paulson Grant Phipps
FOCUS ON COMMUNITY Mike Weed Tim Rose
Nancy Hagen
Kim Koetz Casselton Warehouse
scholarship to Jon Watt, who accepted with much
gratitude and appreciation, on behalf of the Dollars Emily Neels Christian Owen
for Scholars program in December 2014. We believe Marilyn Prochnow Chris Wilke
that the promotion of education is crucial in the
Jamie Kiecker Adam Fyre
development process of students becoming future
Brian Nelson
leaders in the work force and their personal lives.
We appreciate the opportunity to help contribute to Casselton Trucking
such a great cause. Casselton Elevator Joe Eberhardt
Mark Stevens Andy Boyer
Jamie Mann Kevin Erickson
Travis Forderer
Central Cass Dollars for Scholars
Casselton Fertilizer Merle Myers
Mac Johnson Chet Garrison
Bob Breiland John Spiekermeier
Steven Horst
Peak Location
Tim Dean Maple River
Daniel Ryan Communications
Steven Schneider
Grandin Location Cindy Jensen
Cory Aasen Jon Rohlik
Jared Pokrzywinski Adam Freeman
Pictured- Left- Jon Watt, Right- Terry Johnson
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BOTTOM LINE : SPRING 2015
Grain Contracts
Kim Koetz - Grain Originator
Priced:
From time to time we get questions about what options are
A priced contract locks in a futures
available at Maple River Grain and Agronomy, LLC in forms of
price and the basis at the same
grain contracting. Currently, we offer four basic contracts: Priced,
time, establishing a flat price. The
amount of bushels and the delivery Hedge to Arrive, Basis Fixed, and Price Later.
period are also established at
the time the contract is made.
Ownership of the grain transfers at
Basis Fixed: Price Later:
the time of delivery and is subject A basis fixed contract locks the The price later contract allows the
to the grading scales that are in basis with a set underlying futures producer to deliver grain without
effect at that time. month. It allows the producer to take establishing a price. The grain must
advantage of market rallies, as the be sold on the cash market or can be
Hedge to Arrive: futures can be locked in prior to 10 rolled to a basis fixed contract. Fees
The hedge to arrive contract locks days before first notice day of the can apply to priced later contracts,
the futures price. The basis can underlying futures month. But, as which is generally the case at
be established at any time, but with hedge to arrive contracts, the harvest time. Priced Later contracts
must be set before delivery or ten contract must be priced 10 days allow the producer to haul when it is
days before first notice day of the before the first notice day of the convenient for them, or when there
underlying futures month.* Hedge underlying futures month. If the is limited storage available on the
to Arrive contracts are subject to producer has not found a favorable farm. However, the producer also
fees for deferred delivery periods. futures price, the contract can be holds the risk of changing market
Although the futures price is rolled to the next futures month, but is conditions, while incurring the priced
established, the producer is still subject to market spreads and fees. later fees, if applicable. The elevator
open to basis risk. The basis is Maple River Grain and Agronomy, assumes the ownership of the grain
automatically locked when the first LLC will allow advances on up to at the time it is delivered.
delivery is made. 70% of the value of the grain.
Regardless of which type of contracting is done, there are some policies in effect that I would like
to remind you of. Maple River Grain and Agronomy, LLC does not issue payments for grain if the
contract is not signed. North Dakota Public Service Commission requires all contracts be signed by
both the buyer and seller. North Dakota Public Service Commission also requires the elevator to
settle priced grain within 45 days of delivery. We can do this by writing a check or a deferred contract.
Any loads coming in without a contract in place prior to delivery will be sold the day of delivery at
the closing price for the day. We do our best to contact producers when we see loads come in without
a contract, but the responsibility does lie with the farmer when delivering the grain. Please give me
or Jeremy a call if you have any questions or would like to talk about establishing some contracts for
either grain you have on the farm or new crop bushels.
*First Notice Day is the last business day of the month preceding the delivery month. If a Hedge to Arrive contract is based on the May
futures, for example, the basis must be set 10 days prior to the last business day in April, or around April 20th.
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BOTTOM LINE : SPRING 2015
Grain Contracts
THERE’S A COMBINATION TO HELPING GROWERS
GET THE MOST FROM THEIR FIELDS.
BUT IT’S NOT 10-34-0.
It’s important to add a starter fertilizer when planting. But it’s even more
important to add the one that actually lives up to the hype. Redline® holds
a perfect balance of soluble macro and micronutrients. Plus, the chelate
within Redline is so strong and pure, it even makes other nutrients in the soil
soluble for uptake. Get Redline by contacting your account manager or visit
www.WestCentralinc.com to learn more.
® 2014 West Central. Redline is a trademark of West Central, Inc. WWW.ASGROW.COM
Asgrow and the A Design®, Asgrow®, Genuity Design®, Genuity Icons, Genuity®, and Roundup Ready 2 Yield® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Always read and follow grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and
pesticide label directions. ©2014 Monsanto Company. 39704 020315
Crop Protection - Herbicides
“Mess with the Bull…Get the Horns”
MATADOR™ is a new soybean pre-emerge chemistry that contains three diff erent active ingredients to help control grass and broadleaf weeds.
This unique formulation was designed to be a weed resistant management tool to combat glyphosate and ALS resistant weeds.
Hedge-to-Arrive Fees
PRODUCT FEATURES 22 Days After Treatment
• Unique formulation – 3 in 1
as of 2/11/2015 • Three diff erent active ingredients
Metolachlor
Metribuzin
Imazethapyr
• Burndown activity and long lasting residual
• Controls over 20 grasses and 50 broadleaves
Corn Soybean Wheat • No tank mixes needed for residual control
Dec ‘15 0.03 Nov ‘15 0.05 Sep ‘15 0.05
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:
Mar ‘16 0.04 Jan ‘16 0.05 Dec ‘15 0.05 Metolachlor + Metribuzin + Imazethapyr MATADOR 2/qts/A UNTREATEDRocky Mount, NC. 2010
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS FOR PRE-EMERGENCE RATES:
May ‘16 0.04 Mar ‘16 0.05 Mar ‘16 0.08
MATADOR Metolachlor (Dual® 8E) Metribuzin Imazethapyr (Pursuit® 2AS)
ADJUVANT RECOMMENDATION: 1 qt 1 pt 3 oz 2 oz
July ‘16 0.05 May ‘16 0.08 May ‘16 0.08 Mixed with glyphosate for a burndown application: 2 qts 2 pts 6 oz 4 oz
Dec ‘16 0.05 July ‘16 0.08 July ‘16 0.08 * oLfo vtheilsa npdro hdausc ta pfoprl itehde sfoer s EpPeAc iRfi ec guissetrsa.tion in 2010 which, if approved, will allow the use
If not mixed with a glyphosate:
Nov ‘16 0.10 Sep ‘16 0.10 or
Continued from page 4 www.loveGGGGGGlaeeeeeendtttttt pGGGrorrrdooooooucwwwwwwtsiiiiii.cnnnnnnogggggggggm 6698_J1110
© 2010 Loveland Products Inc. Always read and follow label directions.
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BOTTOM LINE : SPRING 2015
In 2015, Maple River Grain and Agronomy,
LLC adopted a new wellness program as a FOCUS ON WELLNESS
!
s
benefit to every employee. Seven employees
e
e were chosen to sit on a committee that
y represents all areas of the company (office,
o “I think it’s been good to see so
grain, agronomy, outside locations and
l many coworkers participate in the
p
safety). Members of the committee are: Kim
m challenge and come together as
Koetz, Bob Breiland, Nancy Hagen, Todd
e a team. It has been fun to get to
Affield, Cindy Jensen, Ben Drogen, and
s know some of the other employees
Braeden Nelson.
t better.”
i

t
u Immediate focus was placed on the top three
o health concerns specific to employees of
b
our company. Monthly “Lunch and Learn”
a
seminars are being offered over the lunch
s
e hour for employees. Professional speakers
r have come in to give different lessons on
a
c specific topics, like spine health and the
C benefits of a walking program. An added
L benefit for employees is the healthy lunch
L that is served during these seminars.

,
y
m Over half of the employees, and some spouses,
o have been participating in a six week step JoVal Wettlaufer (BCBS of ND) presented a
n challenge. We had enough participants to seminar on the benefits of a walking program.
o
form four teams. The individual with the
r
g most steps each week has won the weekly
A
prize, and the team with the most steps at

d the end of the six weeks will win the team
n prize. Weekly winners so far have been: Bob
a
Breiland, Emily Neels, Jeff Nehring, and

n
Todd Affield.
i
a
r
G Some comments that have been made about
the challenge are: “I think it’s been good to
r
e see so many coworkers participate in the
v
challenge and come together as a team. It
i
R
has been fun to get to know some of the other

e employees better.” “I think it’s been good for
l
p team building and the overall morale of the
a company.”
M
Looking forward to the busy spring season
ahead of us, the wellness team plans to
provide healthy snack alternatives that will
be convenient to take in the field. Here at
Maple River Grain and Agronomy, LLC we
are striving to help make the healthy choice,
Dr. Zimmerman (HealthSource Chiropractic)
the easy choice. presented a spine health seminar
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BOTTOM LINE : SPRING 2015
Safety. Don’t Chance It!
Jamie Kiecker - Safety Director
Another spring is on the horizon and at the time accident on the farm may only have a 1 in 100
of writing this, another record breaking lottery million chance of occurring, but chance does not
jackpot has us wondering “what if”? At times like remember what attempt you are on, and might
this, I think of retiring to my own private island decide that you are on your last chance.
somewhere warm and full of cold beverages! When
we get to daydreaming about chance, most of us We all know or have read about someone that
do not believe we will win; but we buy our tickets chance has caught up with. This person might
and take our chances anyway. There is roughly a 1 even have said to themselves, “that won’t happen
in 175 million chance to be the sole winner of that to me.” Yes, we safety folks are full of clichés and
jackpot. well, it’s because we have heard them all. Most
of these clichés are attitude driven, and we need
to consider our attitudes and realize that when it
REMEMBER TO ALWAYS WORK comes to accidents, it’s not really a question of if
but when.
SAFE, SMART, AND HARD
As producers, you take enough chances in many
different parts of your operation. Don’t take chances
With any situation, luck and chance can greatly when it comes to your health and safety, as I can
affect outcomes. In regards to safety, this couldn’t bet you wouldn’t want anyone else doing that for
be more true. Most statistics say that you have a 1 you. With the busy spring season ahead, take a few
in 1 million chance of a given accident happening extra minutes to think about what you are doing.
to you. What most people do not realize is that Watching out for others and planning ahead can go
statistics have an evil twin brother called chance, a long way. Safety- don’t chance it!
which does not rely on memory. A particular
MYFARMRECORDS.COM
Maple River Grain & Agronomy, LLC customers can stay up-to-date on their account information,
invoices, and grain information with a simple click of the mouse. If you are not signed up already,
contact our office today to get registered as a user on MyFarmRecords.net. This website tool offers
different functions and features that make it easy for our customers to utilize and have access to
live data. If you are interested, please contact Kim Koetz at 701-347-4465 to get registered for log
in information or to find out more information about this tool. Once you become registered, there
is a video tutorial on the different functions and features that can be helpful in learning the basic
navigation techniques for the website.
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BOTTOM LINE : SPRING 2015
Employee Focus
Introducing this issue’s featured staff members
Jeremy Rolf Jamie Kiecker
Grain Originator Safety Director
Jeremy Rolf was hired in January of 2015 as a Grain Maple River Grain & Agronomy, LLC would like to
Originator at our Casselton, ND office. He will be introduce one of our newest employees, Jamie Kiecker.
primarily responsible for buying grain. He is currently Jamie started with us in November 2014 and was
finishing his BS degree in Applied Economics at recently promoted to Safety Director. Jamie is currently
the University of Minnesota TC, with an expected located at our Casselton facility and will be overseeing
completion date this summer. He first started out all safety aspects for our locations. His main duties
as a grain division summer intern for Harvest Land will be overseeing the safety committee, establishing
Coop in southwest MN. He then went on to work safe procedures and practices for all locations, ordering
part-time as a Market Analyst/Merchandiser intern safety equipment/supplies, handling employee work-
for Columbia Grain at their Minneapolis branch. He related injuries/incidents, and OSHA compliance. We
applied for a full-time Merchandiser position at CHS, appreciate Jamie’s willingness to jump right in with
Inc. and worked out of their Edgeley, ND location for such an extensive and crucial role for our company. We
two and a half years. Jeremy started with Maple River know Jamie will be kept plenty busy and are pleased
Grain & Agronomy, LLC in January 2015. to have him on board.
Jeremy grew up in Cambridge, MN; which is about Jamie graduated from NDSU in 2011 with a degree
50 miles north of the Twin Cities. Most of his family in Natural Resource. He has previously worked for
lives around the Cambridge area. Jeremy and his wife Southwest Ag (Bowman, ND), North Central Farmers
are currently in the process of moving from Edgeley, Elevator (Ipswich, SD), Poet Bio-Refining (Groton,
ND to Fargo. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking with SD), Cargill Inc., and Stride Well Service in southwest
his family in Butte, MT and camping in the boundary ND.
waters in northern MN. His other interests and
hobbies include golf, watching football and baseball Jamie grew up in a military family and has resided
games, and spending time with family and friends. all over the northern U.S. He has called North Dakota
home several times and would claim Bowman, ND as
We welcome Jeremy to the Maple River Grain & his home town. He has also resided in northern and
Agronomy, LLC team. If you haven’t had the chance to southern coastal Oregon, both Michigan peninsulas,
meet Jeremy yet, stop into our Casselton office to say and southern Maine. He even attended three different
hello and introduce yourself. high schools in three different states! He comes
from a large family with two older sisters, an older
brother, and two younger brothers. Jamie and his
wife currently live in south Fargo. His wife is a Nurse
THANK YOU Practitioner and works at the Sanford Pain Clinic.
They have a 1 ½ year old daughter and another girl
Jeremy & Jamie! on the way, due mid-April. In his spare time, Jamie
enjoys bird hunting, spending time with family and
friends, kayaking, training his dogs, and golfing.
8
BOTTOM LINE : SPRING 2015
You’ve Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers.
Maple River Communications (MRC) works hard If you would like to know how you can pay your
to provide you with dependable internet service. If bill or get a copy of an invoice, use one of the below
you need help with your internet service, have a options.
billing question, or want to know how to pay your
invoice- there are several ways to contact us. • Pay online using the MRC portal at https://
mrcportal.com. If you don’t know your portal
If you are having internet problems, please use one username and password, please call our
of the following ways to contact us. office at [phone] or email us at info@
maplerivercom.com. Once you have logged into
• Call our office at [phone] and a ticket the MRC portal, you can pay your bill online,
will be opened and sent to the technician that is view current and previous invoices, and check
assigned to your account. If you call after hours data usage.
or on the weekend, our after-hour support team
• Call [phone] with billing questions, to get
can assist you with troubleshooting. If the
copies of current or a past invoices, or to make a
problem is not resolved, a ticket will be opened,
payment using a credit card or an e-check.
assigned to a technician, and will be addressed
the next business day.
• Auto Pay is available if you would like to have
your monthly payment automatically debited
• Send an email to [email protected].
to a credit card or bank account. Please call
You will receive an auto email reply confirming
[phone] or email info@maplerivercom.
that a ticket has been opened. Email updates
com and we will mail you a Recurring Payment
will be sent to you as we work on finding a
Authorization form to get you started.
solution to your problem.
• Mail a check to Maple River Communications,
• If you experience an internet outage, call
1630 1st Avenue South, Casselton, ND 58012.
MRC at [phone] or if you have internet
access through another source, email us at
[email protected]. A ticket will
be opened with a “No Connection” status and
sent to our technicians.
9
BOTTOM LINE : SPRING 2015
Credit Report
Braeden Nelson - Credit Manager
The streamlined application process works pretty
well for loans $250,000 and under. Larger loans
would require more traditional underwriting and
more financial information, but they are available.
Well, winter has finally decided to show up and For more information on this program or if you are
it only took until the second week in February interested in getting signed up, give me a call or
to see our first significant snowfall of the year. stop by my office and we can get the process going.
Spring planting is not too far away and that
means that most of you are probably busy with By now, our agronomy customers should have
tax appointments and getting your finances in received a letter regarding the implementation of a
order for 2015. With lower commodity prices and new credit policy at Maple River Grain & Agronomy,
stressed profitability in the Ag economy, credit will LLC. As we continue to grow into new territories
be tightening up within the Ag industry. Part of and take on new customers, this is a process that
my job as Credit Manager is to look for ways to be needs to be started to protect what has been built
a financial resource for your operations. at Maple River Grain & Agronomy, LLC. Many of
you have significant equity within our cooperative
I want to provide all of you with some detail on a and we want to make sure we are protecting your
new financing option that we will have available assets from credit risk as we continue to grow. If
for our customers in 2015. Maple River Grain & you have any questions regarding the credit policy,
Agronomy, LLC has partnered with ProPartners please give me a call or stop by the Casselton office
Financial to utilize their “Agrispan” program for and I would be happy to answer them for you.
crop input financing. I encourage anyone who will
be carrying a balance on their account or would The last item I would like to talk about is accounts
like the flexibility to pay for their inputs after receivable at Maple River Grain & Agronomy, LLC.
harvest to look into this program. This program I would like to thank all our customers for taking
allows a qualified borrower to request up to care of their accounts and making our collections
$250,000 in unsecured credit for the purchase of run smoothly this year. If you have not cleaned up
our products and services with a single one page your account from this summer, please arrange to
application. For those borrowers who do not qualify get these balances paid as quickly as you can. It
for unsecured credit or would like a little better is important to remember that Maple River Grain
interest rate, a secured option is available for very & Agronomy, LLC has an 18% finance charge on
little additional paperwork. This is a convenient all accounts with a past-due balance. If you find
financing option for our customers as it requires yourself short on capital and are paying this 18%,
minimal information and allows for greater please take a look at the financing option I talked
payback flexibility. All loans under this program about before. It will save you on interest expense
carry a February 10th maturity date, meaning significantly.
any inputs purchased this spring could be carried
until February 2016 with this program. Interest I would like to wish you all a safe spring planting
rates are based off of the prime index and will be season. We appreciate your continued support of
much more favorable than the 18% that you will Maple River Grain and Agronomy, LLC.
be paying if you carry a balance on your account.
10