May 2015 • Volume 9 • Issue 1
The Meaning
of
Buy Local
By Pattie Kelnhofer, Sales & Marketing, Omega Valley Farmers, 800-521-2021
You hear a lot about
“buy local.” How often do we think about
what is local, and
what does it take to
move a local product
into the hands of the
consumer?
As Heartland Cooperative members, you already buy local.
It might be feed for your animals or gas for
your car. Perhaps you purchase fertilizer and
custom application from our agronomy division or a sandwich at one of our nine Cenex®
convenience stores. The products and services
your cooperative provides are too numerous
to mention, but they are all provided locally
in 22 counties and delivered locally by nearly
300 employees.
In addition to the many products and services available at Heartland Cooperative Services, Omega Valley Farmers™ truly delivers
the “buy local” message.
The Omega Valley Farmers program starts
with local
farmers and
farms—all of
them Heartland
Cooperative
members. The
farms enrolled in our program follow a strict
feeding protocol that involves buying feed
locally. The implementation of this program
has led to healthy cows, producing milk with
naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acids.
The milk is shipped locally to a processor at
which time it is converted to omega-3 cheese.
The omega-3 cheese is taken to local retailers
and sold locally in our convenience stores.
In addition to the great variety of cheeses
available in our Omega Valley Farmers line,
we have developed pork and beef products
ready to hit the shelves in 2015. All of our
products will continue to be locally raised,
locally produced, and distributed to our local
retailers as our business expands, adding to
the economy of central Wisconsin. ■
Pay Attention to
Nitrogen . . . . Page 2
Improving Feed
Milling Efficiency
. . . . . . . . . . .Page 3
Cow Comfort Boosts
Milk . . . . . . . .Page 4
Spring Lubricant
Promotion . . . Page 5
Pay Close Attention
to
Nitrogen
By John Weiss, Agronomy Division Manager
To feed 80% of the people in the United States, our nation’s
farmers must produce an average corn yield of 250 bushels per
acre. So, how do we increase our average corn yields?
“The Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World” by Dr. Fred
Below, University of Illinois professor of plant pathology, offers some insights. In the table, Dr. Below lists the top seven
factors affecting corn yields in order of their importance. Number 1, contributing over 70 bushels (27%) to a total 250 bushels
per acre yield, is weather—which you and I cannot control.
A close second, contributing an average 70 bushels (26%), is
something we can control—nitrogen.
You can read Dr. Below’s entire presentation by searching
“The Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World” on Google. My
point is this: Let’s pay close attention to nitrogen and the other
factors affecting corn yields that we can control.
Heartland Cooperative Services recently purchased a new
TG7300 TerraGator® with a New Leader Twin Bin. This machine is capable of spreading two products at variable rates in
one pass across the field. Since nitrogen plays such a large role
in corn yields, it makes sense to place this nutrient where it is
most needed.
Ask your Heartland agronomy advisor to sample each field
on 2.5-acre grids once every four years. Based on sample
results, we’ll write a prescription and plug it into the computer
system of the Twin Bin spreader. In one pass, the operator will
apply up to two nutrients in the areas of the field where they
will do the most to boost yields.
NOTE: In addition to the 7300, which will be shared between
Heartland agronomy locations, we purchased two new John
Deere sprayers for our Sheldon plant and a new RoGator® for
our Athens plant.
Industry
insights
It might be helpful to know who is producing each nutrient you apply and where it is coming from. I’ll begin by
talking about the nutrient with the biggest effect on corn
yields.
Nitrogen: Did you know that more nitrogen plants are
being built in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world?
Many U.S.-based fertilizer companies are exiting the phosphate and potash markets and are concentrating strictly on
nitrogen. CF Industries is an example. They’ve basically
sold off their phosphate and potash interests and are making
nitrogen products exclusively: NH3, urea, and ammonium
nitrate.
In total, companies have broken ground for 10 nitrogenonly plants in the U.S. and another 8-10 plants have proposals to strictly manufacture nitrogen products. In recent years,
most of the nitrogen we used was manufactured overseas.
Now that manufacturing function is moving back to the U.S.
2
©2015 Heartland Cooperative Services. All Rights Reserved.
Phosphates: Formed from an old Cargill company, Mosaic
has become the leading DAP and MAP producer in the world.
This U.S.-based company is currently partnering with Saudi
Arabia to build two large phosphate plants. Five years ago,
all of the phosphates applied by U.S. farmers were produced
domestically, but environmentalists have limited the growth
of that industry. With China and Brazil emerging as the largest
consumers of phosphate fertilizer and because of the new plants
under construction, a majority of phosphates used domestically
will come from overseas. How this will affect the market is yet
to be determined.
Potash: The U.S. still controls the export market on potassium. We pull it out of Canada, which has very good reserves of
the nutrient. Canadians and Russians compete for that market,
but China and Brazil have been buying 85% of their potash
from Canada or the U.S. ■
SEVEN WONDERS OF THE CORN YIELD WORLD. DR. FRED BELOW.
Rank
Factor 1
Weather 2N itrogen
3Hybrid
4
P revious Crop
5
Plant Population
6T illage 7G rowth Regulators
V alue
bu / acre 70+
70
50
25
20
15
10
Total = 260
bu %
27
26
19
10
8
6
4
100%
John Weiss with new
TG7300 TerraGator and
New Leader Twin Box.
Published in partnership with VistaComm® (www.VistaComm.com).
Improving Feed Milling Efficiency
By Brian Streveler, Grain and Feed Division Manager
Heartland Cooperative Services operates six conventional
feed mills and processes organic feed at a seventh location. Just
as farmers make changes to their operations to be more efficient, farmer-owned companies must strive for efficiency. This
may mean closing the feed mill nearest your farm.
Your cooperative is engaged in shifting a portion of our feed
manufacturing to mills that can produce it faster and more
competitively. If we do close a mill, we will try to provide a
location where you can pick up bagged feed and supplies in
that community. Wherever possible, your feed will be delivered
by the same people who have always delivered your feed. The
mill may be further away, but you may expect the same level of
service at a distance.
Another reason for consolidating our feed mills is that federal
law will require Heartland Cooperative Services and other local
feed manufacturers to spend millions of dollars on worker and
feed/food safety. The fewer mills we have to make changes to,
the better for the co-op and its customers.
Finally, with the growth of the organic
feed market, it is crucial we move our
organic feed manufacturing from the current outdated facility
to one that can produce more tons and have more ingredient
choices.
No one wants their local feed mill to close. If you have a
concern about how this consolidation will affect you, feel free
to contact your nearest location manager.
Grain
marketing advice
It will be challenging to make money on grain, based on current prices. I recommend a defensive approach. If you can get
close to breakeven numbers, I would sell at least some of your
grain to cover your inputs.
On the feed side, I suggest not being overly aggressive. Though
we have adequate moisture locally, the Midwest is somewhat
dry, and continued dry conditions may strengthen the market.
Our Athens feed
manufacturing plant.
Nutritionists
join
Heartland
We’ve hired Sarah Fessenden, an animal science graduate of
Cornell University, to join us in June. She’ll work with livestock producers in the Dorchester-Athens market. Kaitlyn Erl,
who worked the counter at the Dorchester Mill, is also in training as a nutritionist.
Finally, Chris Meyers is moving to Arizona at the end of
April, and we wish him well. We’ve brought on Jeff Johnson
through Purina/LOL to work with our livestock producers in
the Sheldon market.
As you can see, we’re putting people in place to take care of
your needs. ■
Hydraulic Hoses Crafted
at
NAPA
By Bill Kallstrom, NAPA Division Manager
Thanks to everyone who participated
in our Spring Farm Filter Sale at the
NAPA stores in Abbotsford, Marathon,
and Owen. This annual sale, held in
March and April, features our best
prices of the year. If you didn’t buy your
filters at NAPA this spring, be sure you
check out this sale next year.
We have a new location manager at Abbotsford’s NAPA
store. Brian Steimetz retired, and Josh Vanderlest, who has
worked at the Abbotsford store for the past five years, took over
as manager mid-March.
I’m not sure we introduced Forest Pecher as the manager of
our Marathon NAPA
store when he took over
a year ago. Forest has
been associated with
NAPA stores at various
locations for 35 years.
What makes our Marathon store unique is that you can buy bulk kerosene and get
your LP grill tanks filled there.
As spring approaches, I want to remind customers of all three
locations that you can ask us to make custom hydraulic hoses.
Plus we have NAPA and Cenex® hydraulic fluids available at
Abbotsford, Marathon, and Owen. ■
3
Cow Comfort Boosts Milk
Tom Peissig had been milking 120 cows in a double-four flat
barn three miles west of Dorchester for 20 years when his son
Jake decided to come back and farm.
A 2003 graduate of UW-River Falls, Jake worked eight years
for Bob’s Dairy Supply before he and his Dad formed a partnership. At first, they considered expanding Tom’s barn, but soon
began looking at newer facilities. By accident, the Peissigs
stumbled onto a robotic milking operation.
Interested, the father and son visited several robotic milking facilities at Durand and Mondovi. They even toured some
Pennsylvania dairies before beginning construction on their
own 180 x 240-foot barn and robotic milking operation west
of Dorchester in the summer of 2011. They started milking in
January of 2012.
Tom and Jake Peissig in their free-stall barn.
Three
years later
“We have a 280-cow herd and milk about 240 each day with
four robots,” says Jake. “Each cow is milked 2.7 times a day
and they average 95 pounds, so each robot harvests around
5,800 pounds of milk per day.”
The Peissigs built a sand-bedded, cross-ventilated free-stall
barn with a guided flow system. “Cows go through a sort gate
prior to milking, and it determines which ones are eligible,”
explains Jake. Eligible cows are kept in a holding area until the
robot is available. Ineligible cows are diverted to a feed alley to
eat and return to their stalls. “We never have a cow in the robot
that doesn’t need to be milked,” Jake points out.
After three years, the Peissig’s cows are doing much better production-wise than expected. Tom attributes most of the
increase to cow comfort. “My cows thought they had died and
went to heaven when we moved here, compared to my old
facility,” he states.
The cull rate is down because the cows dictate their own
schedules, says Jake. “We’re not in there pushing them to a
holding area,” he explains. “They just don’t seem real stressed,
so they have fewer injuries and a longer life.”
Tom and Jake both appreciate the reduced labor of robotic
milking, compared to a conventional 240-cow dairy. “Basically, the two of us provide the labor for this dairy, except for a
handful of part-timers who fill in on weekends,” says Jake. The
Peissigs contract their herd breeding. On the agronomy side,
they do their own tillage but hire their planting and the harvest
of their haylage and corn silage.
This kind of dairy poses a few minor challenges, but Jake
says he probably wouldn’t do much differently. “I like my
barn,” he says. “A lot of people are copying this barn because it
seems to be working out better than previous ones built.”
We
buy everything from
Heartland
The Peissigs have had a long relationship with Heartland
Cooperative Services. Tom’s dad, Don, served on the board for
15 years and still picks up feed daily from the Dorchester Mill.
Tom also served on the board for 10 years, starting in the late
1990s. “Being a director and seeing what’s involved in running
the business helped me become a better manager of our own
operation,” he states.
According to Jake, JTP Farms buys everything, including
fuel, feed, and fertilizer from Heartland. “From a nutrition
standpoint, the co-op is very important,” says Tom, who notes
that Livestock Production Specialist Toby Hovde worked
closely with both DeLaval and Purina to craft just the right pellet to attract their cows into the robotic milkers. “Heartland has
done a real good job for us,” he concludes.
Editor’s Note: Tom and Peggy Peissig and Jake and Tolea
Peissig all graduated UW-River Falls. ■
JTP Farms
4
Our Spring Drum Lubricant Promotion
By Todd Plath, Senior Certified Energy Specialist
Many of you change oil before heading for the field. Have
I got a deal for you! Heartland Cooperative Services has not
raised prices on high-quality Cenex® oils for over two years, so
they are already competitive. Again this spring, we’ll sweeten
the deal if you order Cenex lubricants in drums.
Through May 31, 2015, we’ll give you a $25 Cenex gift card
with every 55-gallon drum of Cenex lubricant you purchase, or
we’ll give you a $10 Cenex gift card with every 30-gallon drum
of Cenex lubricant purchased.
This year, we’re adding an incentive to purchase your grease,
too. We’ll give you an additional $10 gift card when you purchase a 4-10 case pack (40 sleeves) of Cenex grease along with
your 30- or 55-gallon drum of Cenex lubricant.
For more details or to place an order, call me, Todd Plath, at
715-897-1751.
Commercial
propane contracts
If you look at a five-year average, there is usually a big spike
in the price of LP during the winter months. Consider locking in your price now and guarantee your supply at the same
time. Remember two years ago when LP prices spiked? Some
companies broke contracts with their commercial customers.
Heartland Co-op did not.
The LP contracting season begins in
May. Contracts run from Sept. 1, 2015,
to May 1, 2016. We charge no upfront
prepay charges or per-gallon deposits. Besides the LP tanks at
your business, farm, or factory, we’ll include any LP tanks you
have at home or other locations.
The price per gallon on your commercial contract is the price
you’ll pay. We lock in and secure every contracted gallon when
the contract is booked, so there will never be additional fuel
surcharges or delivery charges.
If you need propane tanks, line sets, or other equipment for
your business, we’ll provide this equipment at no charge. If you
own your LP equipment, we’ll run leak and pressure checks to
certify its safety and security.
Heartland’s propane drivers are fully certified and trained to
handle LP issues, tank problems, and LP questions. Many competitors do not provide this expertise.
When you choose a Heartland Cooperative commercial propane contract, you are automatically enrolled in our keep fill/
monitor program so you never need to check your tank(s).
Interested in contracting? Give me a call at 715-897-1751. ■
View Your Account Online
By Dwayne Maroszek, Chief Financial Officer
Now you can check your Heartland Co-op
invoices, statements, and other accounting
information online. Here is how it works.
Go to our website and click the
“Customer Access” tab to log in to our
eAgVantage system. Once in, you can
pull up current or past monthly statements, see the details on specific invoices, and find other account information.
5
Menu options permit you to view grain
transactions, year-end reporting options,
and patronage information as well.
Signing in for the first time? Have
your account number and federal tax ID
or social security number handy. You’ll
be asked to create a password and type it
twice to verify. If you have trouble, call
1-800-521-2021 and a customer service
representative will
help you.
Soon, Heartland Cooperative
Services will offer
an online option for
paying your bill.
Watch for more
details in the weeks ahead. ■
DIRECTORY
ABBOTSFORD
NAPA223–6371
ANTIGO
Country Store
623–3516
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PO Box 260
Dorchester, WI 54425-0260
VISTACOMM
Return Service Requested
ATHENS
Agronomy257–7676
C-store257–7587
Feed Mill/Hardware
257–7591
800–236–7582
Petroleum654–5134
800–521–2021
BROKAW
Grain Site
870-2455
DORCHESTER
Agronomy654–5401
C-store654–5559
Feed Mill
654–6632
Office/Petroleum
654–5134
Omega Valley Farmers 654–6722
800–521–2021
EDGAR
Mill
Edgar Travel Center
352–2441
352–2414
GREENWOOD
C-store267–6105
Feed Mill
267–5100
888–272–3639
Petroleum743–3252
800–521–2021
HOLCOMBE
Lake Holcombe C-store 595–4112
Twelve Mile C-store
532–9654
MARATHON
Agronomy
NAPA
Office
443–6100
443–3460
443–2241
MERRILL
Feed/Country Store
Merrill Cenex
536–2491
536–5600
NEILLSVILLE
C-store743–4678
Office
743–4646
Propane/Country Store 743–3252
800–944–5424
After Hours LP
743–9009
OWEN
Agronomy
229–4621
800–578–3378
NAPA229–2181
SHELDON
Agronomy
452–5242
Feed
452–5116
Fuel/Hdwe/Office 452–5111
WEYERHAEUSER
Convenience Store 353–2612
Heartland Adds Member Value
By Dennis Schultz, General Manager
Although Heartland
Cooperative Services
is a growing cooperative, we have not forgotten our roots. We
remember how we got
here and who helped
get us here. We also
know that, in order to stay here, we must
continue to grow and change in ways that
allow us to care for both the mega-farms
AND the small family farms.
In addition, we understand the importance of offering value-added products and
services if we want our farmer-members and
this cooperative to continue growing. I’m
referring to Omega Valley Farmers™, which
has commitments from the Kroger chain to
place products from our local dairies in 3,400
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
grocery stores nationwide. We also have
another large grocery store chain, with over
8,000 domestic and international stores,
looking at our omega-3 products.
I’m also referring to our ability to apply
two different fertilizer products at variable
rates in one trip across a field with our new
New Leader Twin Bin spreader. We also
have our GreenSeeker® nitrogen application technology, our organic feed mill, our
investment in local NAPA stores, our bulk
oil delivery program, and the opening of
our 2.26-million-bushel grain drying and
handling facility in Brokaw last fall.
Heartland Cooperative Services is and
will always be an innovator and early
adopter of business and technology that fits
and is good for the future of our customers
and this farmer-owned company! ■
To be the leader in value-added products and services in our core
business areas through competitive pricing.