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By Scott Docherty
They say you learn something new every day and I truly believe that is true. The last 3 months have went by pretty quickly and not to say without a few bumps along the way.
The fiscal year end was a little better than expected but there is not much time to dwell on the past and it is time to dive right in with an updated budget for 2004/2005.
Topflight Grain did redeem 164,000 dollars of estate stock and category 2 stock, which is individuals retired from farming. Topflight Grain does have an objective to improve facilities and build working capital and revolve stock to get within 15 years of the current year. This may seem aggressive but with the commitment of our employees and specific goals and objectives for Topflight Grain, we truly believe we can reach these goals.
Topflight Grain has spent 1.7 million dollars on facility improvements and increased storage by 700,000 bushels at our Cisco location to bring Topflight Grain total storage capacity to 22,000,000 million bushels. I truly believe that to stay competitive that we will need to continue to upgrade and improve our facilities to stay an efficient, progressive company. I know you have heard this before but the key to all this concrete and steel is to retain good, motivated people.
Natural gas is significantly higher this year and proposed increases in delivery charges also could mean an increase cost of 80,000 dollars for Topflight. The increase in fuel and steel will also have a big impact on our budget for this next fiscal year.
We should be able to get most of the corn shipped out before harvest and get our bins ready. We will definitively need our temporary storage facilities ready also, for this huge crop we are going to harvest. Harvest averages 54 days from start to finish when we look back at our harvest receipts for the last 5 years. We will take 25,000,000 bushels in those 54 days, which is 462,000 bu per day including Sundays. I know I am concerned about railroad service again this year with the CN and the CSX have trouble placing cars for loading in July and August let alone October in glut slot harvest.
Remember if you have EU NON approved corn that will be harvested this fall to contact your local Topflight branch manager so proper arrangements can be made to channel these varieties.
Topflight Grain will also designate which elevators will accept the EU NON approved varieties for delivery fall 2005 by December 1 so seed orders can be placed and plans put together for the spring of 2005. Our goal would be to get full approval in all markets so the pollen drift and segregation would not be an issue.
I am looking forward to a great harvest and let’s make sure it is a safe also!
FEELING OLDER
By Jill Kuykendall
This will be a first for me to write the article for the High Flyer newsletter. Denny is a trusting soul, isn’t he? He is busy getting things finished up before another harvest is upon us. Several bins are ready to be cleaned out, mowing needs done and repairs made. Part-time help needs to be secured, vacations worked around, etc. etc. You all know how it goes. We use to have slack times where you could catch your breath, but not any more.
It seems like this time of the year rolls around quicker each year, but I thought it was just old people that talked about it.
I’m sure Denny is feeling his age since his daughter, Jessica, is starting college at SIU-Edwardsville. She will be helping during harvest on her weekends home this fall. Meghan will be a sophomore at Maroa-Forsyth this fall. She’s looking forward to a big basketball season this year. This summer she’s been busy with basketball and softball. Terri still teaches math at Meridian and keeps up with the girls’ schedules. I’d think it would be hard to go back in the fall. I have 2 sisters that teach, so I hear their conversations on the back to school topic.
My husband, Jerry and I still haven’t gotten our camper out of the shed. Don’t we plan ahead! We still have two or three weeks yet to get some camping in. Jerry keeps really busy with volunteer work and some babysitting for neighbors and friends. He is on a mission trip from our church right how, doing some much-needed roofing and repairs at the Methodist church camp in Lewistown, IL. Six adults and six youth went to spruce up the camp.
Our great-nephew, Ryan, is growing by leaps and bounds. He’s 13 lbs. and 24 in long. When he was born at 25 weeks, Nov 15 2003, he weighed 1 lb 7 oz and 12 in long.
He is the sweetest little baby! He’s doing well and we hope and pray he continues progressing as well as he is now.
Gary and Barb Wood worked on the Relay for Life the latter part of July at Richland College. It was a successful event again this year, raising almost $180,000.00 I keep asking Gary Liggett when he’s going to get married, and all he says is “You’ll be the first to know”. Ronnie Miller’s two little boys keep him busy. Aaron Hill has been golfing this summer; he even has Jace, his 4 year old golfing. Must be a family tradition.
We hope everyone has enjoyed the nice weather we’ve had this summer and we hope your harvest goes smoothly and safely.
HELLO FROM EMERY!!
By Sandy
Davenport
Where has the summer gone? I can’t believe that it is the first of August already and harvest is just a few short weeks away. Charlie even found a “willy worm” in the office a couple of weeks ago, so you know that fall isn’t far off.
Seems like we have been busy most of the summer. Most of the farmers have delivered their on-farm stored grain to the elevator. There haven’t been too many days that we haven’t shipped grain out. I did miss not having Jerry Lambert stopping in for a load every once in awhile. I don’t have anyone to “pick on” now. He and Juanita did stop by in May. They were in the area after traveling for 38 days. I don’t think he really missed us, I think that he just wanted to rub it in that he didn’t have to go to work anymore and that we do.
Charlie has been kept busy with the usual outside maintenance and chores. He always has grain ready for the trucks to haul out. Both the big bean and corn bins are empty and he is working on getting the others emptied and cleaned out. I am sure it will take right up to harvest time to get that all accomplished. Mowing is a never-ending job. Cisco has loaned us John McCabe to help Charlie.
Sometimes I will go to Waller to weigh trucks that are hauling grain from the elevator. Always feels good to go back for awhile. Although I have been at Emery for a year now, just the other morning I turned at Waller to go to work. Guess I had my mind on something else and was back to my old routine.
Jerry and I have been kept busy this summer. We have done quite a bit of camping and going to ballgames. We went to Nashville and then on to Branson earlier this summer and plan on doing another 3 or 4 day getaway before harvest. In our spare time we try to get all the yard work done.
By all indications, this will be another big harvest. I believe that Roger Lewis and Lindsey McCool will be able to help in the office again this year. They were life savers to me last year! If anyone has any suggestions or concerns about the up-coming harvest, please let me know.
Have a safe and enjoyable harvest!
LAPLACE
By Vanessa Stinson
What a beautiful summer we have been having. The crops are looking good and ahead of
schedule in this area. This summer here
in LaPlace, we have been working on getting the dust system in place at the
bean complex and working on the list of things that need done before
harvest.
We have a new face
outside again this fall, Mark Albert.
Mark comes to us from the Milmine elevator. He has worked there for the past few years. Welcome aboard!
Scot Daily moved on to
a new job with Pioneer Seed Co. out of St Joe.
This was a move up for him and closer to his hometown of Chrisman. Good Luck to you, in your new job.
On the home front, our
youngest daughter, Nicolle, will be moving to Eastern Illinois University later
this month. Ashley will be attending
Richland Community College and working at the Veterans Clinic in Decatur, and
Gretchen is now working full time at the Krogers store in South Shores. She is also going back to school this fall
to work on her bachelor’s degree in management. We are very proud of our daughters for continuing their
educations.
Keith and I are doing
a lot of camping this summer.
We hope that you have a very prosperous harvest! Be
safe!!
By
Jason Geppert
Hello everyone, my name is Jason Geppert. I started with Topflight Grain on May 19th. I will be assisting Derrick with merchandising and I will be in charge of the Monticello and Lodge facilities. My wife Angie, and I moved to Monticello in July. I am originally from Nashville, Illinois and she is from Okawville, Illinois. We have been married for four years and do not have any children. I graduated from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agribusiness Economics. I then accepted a position with a full service Coop in southwestern Illinois called Okawville Farmers Elevator. I was a location manager for one of their facilities for three years and then moved to the assistant merchandiser position for four years. I then accepted this position with Topflight Grain. Angie will be going back to school to further her education and working part-time running the scales at harvest in Monticello. We are both very excited to be living in Monticello and look forward to being a part of the Topflight Family.
At the Monticello facility, we have replaced the main corn receiving leg with a 15,000 bushel per hour leg and have leveled out the incline conveyor on top of the elevator. We made these improvements to make harvest lines minimal and unloading time faster. The employees at Monticello have been working hard to prepare for the upcoming harvest. Rob Dick has been busy working on replacing the old leg belts on the wet leg and in the old house. He also has been rebuilding distributors and repairing load out spouts. Jim Shaffer has been getting bins ready for harvest at Lodge, Seymour, and Monticello. He will be returning this year to run Lodge for the harvest season. Bob Boughton has been mowing, spraying weeds and trimming bushes to keep the facility looking clean. Chris Frye has helped out wherever needed. He will be back at Seymour this fall for harvest. Sherryl Young has been busy with the rail settlements and watching the offers that come in. Stason Kopps has been making sure that things are ready to go for the upcoming harvest. Derrick has been busy with his new position and has been showing me the ropes so that my first harvest at Topflight Grain can go smoothly. Hope that everyone has a safe harvest.
By Rodd
Runyen
The sun sets in the west amid a beautiful red and orange sky, but it now occurs one minute earlier than the previous day. The birds begin to flock together as the crops slowly begin to turn from green to brown. The view of convertibles, swimming pools, and baseball will slowly be replaced with combines, frost, and football. Summer is winding down in Central Illinois as we prepare for fall and another harvest season.
After going on the crop tour, the corn crop looks as though the yields will be good in this area. I read where they said that the Illinois corn crop was the “jewel of the nation”. I hope these predictions come true for all of our farmers and you have a very successful harvest.
The bean crop looks as though it is coming along. We have had a cool, wet summer so it will be interesting to see how the beans fare. Hopefully they will bring in better yields than last year and the beans will be bigger! I guess we will know the answers as soon as harvest begins!
Well, my Chicago Cubs haven’t done as well as I had hoped, but don’t count them out! I still believe they will make the play-offs. From there, who knows what can happen! We will have to wait and see. Of course I have to deal with harassment from St. Louis fans, Eric and Scott, every day, but the season isn’t over yet! Wouldn’t it be a shame to have the Cubs knock the Cardinals out of the playoffs? Can you say Nomar Garciaparra? GO CUBS!!
As football
begins, I want to wish the Cerro Gordo Broncos good luck for a very successful
season. I am looking forward to Friday Night Football Frenzy! Of course the
Cerro Gordo vs. South Piatt game is the highlight of the season in the Bement
office. By the way, did anybody else see ERIC CLEMENTS driving a red van around
Bement that said CERRO GORDO BRONCOS on the back? Eric, I knew you were
secretly rooting for Gordy, but I guess now it is out in the open for all to
see! Welcome to the Cerro Gordo side!
On a personal note, I would like to thank all of you who have been praying for and asking about my wife Tera. After having been told by her neurosurgeon that there was nothing more she could do for her brain tumor, we went to Bloomington to another doctor. He performed surgery on Tera on July 15TH in Bloomington. The surgery was very successful. They were able to get all of the tumor and some areas around it. She will be going through chemotherapy as there are “invisible” roots that can allow for the tumor to come back. She also has more options available for her down the road. I truly believe God sent us to this doctor and He is hearing your prayers. Again, thank you from our entire family, and remember, always get a second opinion!!
Again, I hope everyone has a safe and successful harvest. We look forward to seeing and talking to you as you bring your crops in. Until then, enjoy these last days of summer!
Wow!! where did the spring and summer go? Here it is August already, school starts in a few weeks, as well as football and volleyball practice and marching bands begin their routines for the games. Of course everyone has had a really busy summer. Brock spent a few days in the state of Washington attending a GEAPS conference. He has also found the time to attend a few tractor pulls in the area. Willard and his wife Jean spent a week on their motorcycle, visiting lots of attractions and seeing the Rocky Mountains. Willard said they had a good time, but it was nice to get back home. Fred and Pat spent a few days in Las Vegas with their son Dan and new daughter-in-law Christena. Then they went to El Paso, Texas, to see their other son David take command of an Army company. Gloria’s daughter, Stacey, got married in June, while Hilary was crowned Ms. Teen Atwood. Congratulations to them. Gloria and Rob will be spending a few days in Mexico, I’m sure they will have a good time. Debby and I had a really good time in Florida last spring visiting Mickey Mouse and spending a few hours on the Atlantic beach. We also watched grandson Zacary play t-ball, what a fun time.
The operations crew cleaned and loaded 313 rail cars since January. Late summer also means cleaning out bins and getting them ready for harvest. They also cleaned out bean bins here at Pierson as well as at Lanton and Burrowsville. I want to thank Kyle Shay and Allan Perry for helping us out this summer. Allan will be going back to the U of I this fall, while Kyle will be attending Richland college. They both did a good job doing what ever Brock wanted them to do, so good luck in school.
Everyone have a safe and bountiful harvest.
By Brock Casteel
Well it looks like harvest is upon us again. I don’t recall a year, in my short time of remembrance, that a crop has seen this ideal of weather conditions for a growing season. Sure, there has been bug pressure on a lot of fields, but we haven’t seen the extremely hot and dry days in the middle of pollination, or crop drowning rains of spring planting. I can only hope that we have this same good fortune for harvesting season.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers for making sure that all dump bed trailers and trucks had their safety chains on for last fall. By performing this simple task you are helping your coop by preventing injuries at harvest time. Please check these chains again before this harvest.
Other things to remember at harvest time include; maintaining low speeds while coming onto the scale, or going to and from the dump pit, listening and watching for directions from the dump pit operator, and letting the scale house know what farm each truck is hauling from. If any drivers are new, or want a refresher on the traffic patterns or dump pit operations, contact you local Topflight office and feel free to bring a truck and driver in to show it to them first hand to make harvest time easier for everyone. I look forward to seeing you all at harvest time, have a safe and profitable fall.
By Mikki
Burns
We wait and wait for summer to get here and before we know it—it’s gone. Summer goes so-o-o fast!! And another harvest is rapidly approaching. Our new bin is finished and the final touches are being completed. This addition will really help our location during the harvest season. Everyone has been busy hauling grain trying to get as empty as we can so that we will be ready for this new crop. Joyce and Jon will help me again here in the office, and Heath will return to help outside.
We say this each year—but please notify us of any farm code changes prior to harvest. It helps us so much if we have them set up in the computer and the one-weigh before you pull onto the scales. It will save a lot of time and stress for everyone. Also, I would like to ask all farmers and truckers to please un-tarp before you pull on to be weighed. It saves time on the scales and also prevents a possible accident. Everyone seems to want to go so-o-o fast during harvest!!
We have sure enjoyed this summer—it has been a busy one for our family. ‘JD’ is now walking—Audrey is sitting up—Blaine is talking more and more each day. In July, both grandsons had birthdays. ‘JD’ turned one and Blaine turned two. Audrey is now 8 months old. They are growing up so-o-o fast!!
We thank all of our customers and hope each and every one of you have a safe and plentiful harvest. Please don’t go so-o-o fast that anyone gets hurt!!
I live with three women in my house - one wife (Jan), and two calico cats (Isabel and Agnes). I can’t talk about my wife, but I can talk about the cats.
Isabel is older and a little overweight. She likes to share my recliner, so when she is in it, I am not. The other day Jan told me Isabel was going to the vet, but be sure not to say anything in front of Isabel about it. She doesn’t like the cat carrier. After the vet visit, I find a new low carb cat food on the shelf. Sounds like the diet I am on.
Agnes is younger and full of energy. She meows every morning when I get up until I pet her. When I pet her, she will purr loudly, then fall over flat on the floor. I really have a way with women. When company comes, Agnes will run and hide under the blankets on the bed and not come out until the next day. She must have a complex.
I know I have a complex because Jan is threatening to bring home “Ester”. I told Jan, one more woman in the house is over the limit. Of course you know who usually rules the house. Have a great harvest and stay safe.
By Doug
Adloff
Harvest is just around the corner, and we have been busy at Seymour preparing for another bumper crop. We have shipped a lot of grain out the past few months, averaging about two trains per month since the first of the year. Our annual crop tour revealed the potential for another big harvest this year. Both the corn and beans look great in this area, with the exception being the areas hit by wind and heavy rain. I believe if we can get a couple more rains by the end of August, we will be looking at corn yields close to last year, with beans much better.
Some repairs have been made to your Seymour elevator over the summer. Rob has spent quite a bit of time here and has had Chris helping him out whenever he needed it. He has just finished replacing one of the main receiving leg belts in the elevator that was getting very worn. Earlier he replaced a portion of the unloading auger that empties the concrete bins, while also replacing a fan motor on one of the Columbian bins. Chris has been working over here quite a bit getting things ready for harvest. He has been cleaning out the tin cans at the bin site, the Columbian bins, and a couple of the concrete bins. By the time we start receiving the new crop, the elevator will be virtually empty. Stason and Jim have spent some days here too, sweeping bins and hauling beans from the bin site.
I have been doing a little bit of everything the past few months. Being the chairperson of the ISO audit committee, I have been quite busy working on audits and helping to work toward our goal of ISO certification. The summer has been very good to the grass and weeds, as I have struggled at times to stay on top of the mowing and spraying. Chris has helped me out when I have been away at ISO meetings by weighing trucks, mowing, running grain, and loading semis.
As we move into this fall and the harvest season, I look forward to your business and to serving you as efficiently as we can.
By Stason
Kopps
Another harvest is almost upon us. It is the time of year when most of us in the grain business begin to worry about being ready. The last few months have quickly gone by. So once again we are hurrying to get a few last minute projects done. These last few months the Monticello crew has been very busy.
The construction project at Monticello is almost done. Within a couple days everything should be finished. All of us are looking forward to seeing this equipment in action.
Bob Boughton has spent most of the summer cleaning and mowing. The Monticello elevator has been pretty well empty all summer, so he has not had to move much grain. Chris Frye and Jim Shaffer have been busy cleaning bins at both Lodge and Seymour. We got the bins at Lodge empty early this year, but there are still a few bins left to empty at Seymour. Rob Dick has been busy with maintenance. He has put in three leg belts this summer and still has one more to put in. Plus Rob has fixed any breakdowns we have had. This summer I have helped Jim, Chris, and Bob clean bins and helped out wherever else needed.
It appears this will be another big harvest. I hope harvest is safe and productive for everyone.
By Pam
Jarboe
It’s been busy at Topflight this summer. We’ve had a lot of fun with boat trips, crop tours, the annual meeting, and watching the grain prices. We’ve also worked hard. The guys have been cleaning out bins, trucking grain, cleaning the elevators, and doing a lot of maintenance work to get ready for harvest. The company has worked with the state auditors to ensure compliance with the state grain laws, with the accountants as they prepared the financial statements for your company, and with the ISO auditors as we attempt our ISO certification. Everyone had a “before harvest” list, which is just about completed. We’ve attended several meetings, learned a lot, and met some very interesting people.
As you read through this newsletter, you may stop on the “Grain Page” a little longer than you have for several years. It shows big moves in old and new crop, corn and beans. You’ll probably look at it, and feel good about some of the sales you made, but maybe feel that you should have made some more sales, too. Ruby Lamb always told me that farmers are the biggest gamblers of all. These prices certainly gave us plenty of opportunity to place our bets!
I hope this harvest runs in a straight line for you, directly towards your goal. If your circles start intersecting too much, come in and have some popcorn with us, or a chocolate candy bar. (I just read that every diet should include a chocolate!)
By Eric
Clements
It seems as though the summer went fast this year. Mitchell and Hayden both participated in summer baseball. This occupied several of our evenings this summer. Matt Wright and I coached the Maroon T-Ball team to several ties. No score is kept in the T-ball games. Hayden seemed to have a problem with this procedure. Mitchell played on the Bement A Ball traveling team. He did really well for his first year on this team. He played in the outfield and even pitched a few innings. I think that he gets his abilities from his Uncle Kent.
The Cisco and Monticello projects are about finished and will be finished in time for the fall harvest. With the way the crops look, the new bin at Cisco will be a great addition. The operations crew has been busy cleaning bins and making necessary repairs to equipment to get everything ready for the harvest. Topflight has a new maintenance truck to help with all the repairs. The truck is a Chevrolet 3500 with a standard service body. The truck has the Duramax diesel engine and the Allison transmission. We hope to get a longer life out of this truck with the diesel engine.
Well, I guess a should also bring up the fact that Rodd has had a tough time this year with his Cubs so far out of first place. I told him that there is always next year. Then I told him that 1908 wasn’t really that long ago. This did not seem to help. I will keep trying to cheer him up though. I know that he appreciates my efforts.
I hope that everyone has a safe and productive harvest.
By
Derrick Bruhn
I was fortunate enough to work beside Scott for two years observing and learning. Now we are putting to the test the amount I have retained. Last month when bean basis was falling 30-60 cents a day, I called Scott and told him he forgot to teach me about this. He assured me that this doesn’t happen very often. Historically beans have only been above $10.00 for a total of 8 months. This marketing year we have been above $10.00 a total of 4 months. Beans fell very fast on the news that China was no longer going to continue to be a big importer of beans. Corn has felt the pressure from beans and was unable hold gains. Again hindsight is really good and when corn got to $3.00 everyone should have been a big seller. It is amazing in the world today how quickly we can go from having a shortage of corn and beans one minute and the next we seem to have enough. South America has changed the bean market by supplying the world with a second bean crop every year. Corn is a little slower to recover with the US still the major producer of corn. The US is expected to have a usage of 10.5-bil bu of corn this year. The ethanol industry has really helped with consumption of corn and we expect that industry to continue to grow. The US may no longer be an exporter of corn if feed and ethanol continue to grow at current rates.
This summer we have been keeping all the trucks busy and loading a lot of trains. The outside crews have done a great job of getting all of the bins, flats, and ground piles cleaned up. We will go into harvest with a record low corn and bean inventory. We don’t expect to have many problems filling it all up with the crop that is growing out there.
This summer it has been very difficult to get railcars on a couple of our railroad lines. These railroads have seen a large corn crop last year and a lot of fertilizer movement and that has kept hopper cars very busy. Unfortunately the outlook for this fall doesn’t look much different. We have trains sold for harvest as always and hope that the cars arrive when they are supposed to.
The August USDA report had a couple of surprises. The report showed corn production at 10.923-bil bu. This is another record production with yield estimate of 148.9 for the US. The increase in ethanol, feed and exports are helping to keep the ending stocks projection at 1.132. Last year out ending stocks were 896-mil bu. Beans were on the other hand lower than the trade was expecting. Bean production was estimated at 2.877-bil bu with a yield of 39.1. The trade was expecting a 2.96 crop and a yield above 40 bu/ac. There was an increase in expected crush and seed/res to keep the ending stocks tight at 190-mil bu. Last year we were at 105-mil bu carryout. Frost scare is a very large unknown at this time and could change these markets.
Lynne and I moved into the house Feb 14th. I told her not to expect a Valentines present like that again. We have been working on the outside and getting ready for a new addition to the family. We are expecting a little girl November 22. We are very excited about our first child and the first grandchild on both sides of the family.
Have a safe harvest!
By Richard Thomas
Retirement is GREAT!!! The first thing I did was shut off the alarm clock and take the watch off my wrist. Every day seems like a Saturday or Sunday. I took the whole month of June off and now I’m coming in a few hours each week and screwing things up so the employees have something to do. Bonnie and I took a trip to Mackinaw Island in June. Went on up to Sue Saint Marie to see the locks and from there we took a train ride up into Agawa Canyon in Canada, which was beautiful. Saw four waterfalls that were just awesome. On our way home we stopped in Grand Rapids Michigan to see the Meijers Gardens. A must stop for anyone going in that direction. Mr. & Mrs. Meijers of the Meijers grocery chain donated 160 acres of land to the city for one of the most beautiful display of flowers and sculptures I have ever seen. On our way home I couldn’t quit thinking about how nice it would be to leave something so gorgeous to society. I knew I would never be able to do something like that but then I thought if Topflight Grain had pocketed all their profits they might have been able leave something like that for posterity. Instead they paid it all back to their stockholders like a good cooperative is supposed to do. I think in the last newsletter I pointed out that the company had made over 15 million dollars in the last 35 years. That sure would have built a nice flower garden.
I have found out there is one bad thing about retirement. You have to start spending some of the money you saved over all those years. It was great watching the thermometer rise each year as money was put aside for retirement but when the thermometer starts to go the other way it’s hard to make the adjustment. If the money runs out I figure I could always be a greeter at a Wal Mart store. In the mean time Bonnie and I are really enjoying ourselves.
TOPFLIGHT GRAIN GOLF OUTING
By Denny Hill
The Topflight Golf Outing was held on July 21st in Tuscola at the Ironhorse Golf Course. This was the 7th annual golf event for Topflight Grain and the first time the tournament was held at the Links style golf course in Tuscola. The weather was hot and humid but fortunately the rain stayed away and the round of golf was completed as scheduled.
144 golfers teed off at 8:30 to enjoy the day and possibly win some of the fine prizes that our vendors were so kind to bring for giveaways. First place went to the team of Terry Parsons, Jeff Parsons, Bob Spence and Kevin Phipps as they toured the course in 10 under par. Second place went to the team of John Hill, Mike Ferrill, Mitch Myers and Ralph Myers. Third place went to Jurg Padrutt, Margrit Padrutt, Marc Padrutt and Terri Hill. Fourth place winners were Russ Wright, Paul Wright, Jim Fendley and Wilma Fendley.
Proximity winners were: Ladies long-drive ----- Wilma Fendley; Ladies longest putt ---- Rita Blickhan; Ladies closest to the pin – Doris Seal; Men’s longest drive ---- Bob Spence; Men’s longest putt ---- Mike Myers; Men’s closest to the pin --- Roger Burton
After the golf everyone enjoyed a fine lunch prepared for us by the Basket Case Catering of Decatur.
We hope everyone enjoyed the new setting for this year’s golf outing and would appreciate any feedback you might have and we look forward to next year’s outing.
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT . . .
The preacher who was an avid golfer?? Every chance he could get, he could be found on the golf course, swinging away. It was an obsession.
One Sunday was a picture perfect day for golfing. The sun was out, no clouds in the sky, and the temperature was just right. The was in a quandary as to what to do, and shortly, the urge to play golf overcame him.
He called an assistant to tell him that he was sick and could not do church, packed the car up, and drove three hours to a golf course where no one would recognize him. Happily, he began to play the course.
An angel up above was watching the preacher and was quite perturbed. He went to God and said, “Look at the preacher. He should be punished for what he is doing.”
God nodded in agreement.
The preacher teed up on the first hole. He swung at the ball, and it sailed effortlessly through the air and landed right in the cup, three hundred and fifty yards away. A picture perfect hole-in-one. He was amazed and excited.
The angel was a little shocked. He turned to God and said, “Begging Your pardon, but I thought you were going to punish him.”
God smiled. “Think about it. Who can he tell?’
Our sympathies to the families of . . .
Carl Schmidt, Dale Boyd, Marge Stoerger, Bernice Strohl, Betty Jo Harned, Robert Reeder, Bob Morris, Jack Boland, Anabel Miller, Rosemary Garvey, John Rogers, Betty Reeder, Grace Dye, Robert Eugene Hughes, Sylvia Eskew, “Yank” Day, Elwood Albert, Edwin Withers, Elmer Meece, Ken Cole, William Fair, Lora Mae Gisinger, Ken Carroll, Gordon Lindstrom, Eilena Coward, Juanita Senenty,
And to all others who have recently lost loved ones.
Congratulations to . .
Jason Bennett, son of Mike & Pam Bennett, named a United States National Award Winner in English, by the United States Achievement Academy; Jim and Ethel Carney, who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in April; Clarence Parrish, who was presented with the National Resources Conservation Service Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his 20 years of service in the Monticello NRCS center; Cathie Jo Knight and Scott McFarland, who were married on July 10. Scott worked in the Bement office of Topflight several harvests ago; Matthew and Michelle Perry, parents of a new son on March 24; Jason Perry, winning first place in the Champaign County Carcass Show, with his pig, “Lucky” ( see related story); Tyler Marsh and David Williams, featured in the Decatur Herald, promoting the June Barn tour that raised funds for the Maroa Sesquicentennial; Jeff Gregg, Ryan Meece, Ben Murphy, Jason Perry and Kit Webb, high school recipients of the Piatt County Farm Bureau Foundation Scholarship; Cale Beccue, Amanda Bennett, Amanda Hayes, Kyle Meece, Breine Stevens, Garrett Stoerger, and Ryan Vogelzang, college recipients of the Piatt County Farm Bureau Foundation Scholarship; Gene and Joann Bentley, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June; Harold and June Kaufman, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June; Jason Perry, graduate of Bement High School, awarded the Outstanding Citizenship certificate of the Sons of the American Revolution; Chris Perkins, Cerro Gordo High School graduate, awarded the Outstanding Citizenship certificate of the Sons of the American Revolution; Patricia Chenoweth, Niantic-Harristown high school graduate, awarded the Outstanding Citizenship certificate of the Sons of the American Revolution; Dianne Daggett, named honorary member of FCCLA; Jack and Kathleen Hill, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June; Frank and Pat Lubbers, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in May; Jason Lubbers and Jill Hays, who were married in November; Raymond and Yvonne Howland, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June;
Alyssa and Anna Hendrix, featured on the front page of the Piatt County Journal, displaying their 4-H ribbons and projects; Frank and Violet Swaim who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August; Walt and Doris Morganthaler, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August; Charlie and Vi Winters, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August; Willis and Kathy Bolsen, grandparents of a new grandson, Justin Wayne Bolsen; Gina Stoerger, crowned Miss Moultrie-Douglas; Ralph Traxler, Jr, featured as Trucker of the Month; Autumn Runyen, placing 2nd & 3rd in the state tumbling competition; Annie Docherty, placing 2nd and 6th in the state tumbling competition, and winning a Gold Medal in the Jr Olympics in floor exercise and 6th and 10th in the mini and the trampoline; Bailey Runyen, pitching 2 no-hitters on May 25; Atwood-Hammond HS graduates – Jennifer Lust, Nicole Fiala, Mallory Reeder, Sharlie Schable, and Tim Walker; Arthur High School graduates Truston Eads and Landon Kennel; Courtney Turner, elected president of the Monticello FFA; Hillary Lehew, who received the Girl Scout Silver Award; Stacey Lehew, and Jeff Trough, recently married; Hillary Lehew, crowned Miss Teen Atwood; Othella Remmers, who celebrated her 91st birthday in August; Clark & Mary Waldmier, who recently celebrated their 60th anniversary; Lloyd and Leahdell Turner, who just celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary; Louie and Angie Stoerger, who celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary; Sassy Wolfe, daughter of Russ and Heather Durham, featured in the Decatur Herald promotion of healthy lungs
In late May, the van pulled into Cisco, and the man and the wheelchair appeared. Rick Stone watched the strangers, and introduced himself to the man in the wheel chair and the staff traveling with him.
The man that Rick met is Kevin Saunders. Kevin was traveling the country promoting a healthier nation. He was meeting with city leaders to provide a framework for structuring and enhancing health fitness committees, event ideas and promotional ideas that would encourage proper exercise and proper nutrition. His Health & Fitness Tour of America is taking his motivation and inspiration across the country.
Kevin was a federal grain inspector in Texas, when an explosion in the concrete facility threw him over 300 feet in the air, landing him on a concrete pad. He suffered from massive internal and external injuries, collapsed lungs and a severed spinal cord. Doctors told the family that Kevin would not survive the injuries. Kevin told them “There’s always a way!”.
Confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, Kevin developed a training program and nutritional program, with the aid of a very qualified trainer and a world famous nutritionist. He competes as a wheelchair athlete and served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. Now, he travels the country with his wife, Dora, to present a message of motivation and hope. He says, “You can do anything if you never give up! It’s not what happens to you that matters, but how you respond. Hard work and dedication are not outdated values. They make the difference in our everyday lives.”
Our spring field trip with the Bement second grade class took us to some very interesting places in Monticello.
The tour began at the Nabisco warehouse on the south side of town. Dennis Spangler told us that Chips Ahoy and Oreo are the most popular cookies in the world, animal crackers were first made in 1900, and that some of the Nabisco ovens are over a mile long.
At Kirby Hospital, Barb (Laley) Melton began the tour in the convenient care room, then to the physical therapy room, X-ray and CT scan area, and through the ambulance. We saw X-rays of a broken bone, a plant, and a fork to show what they look like on X-ray film.
Our visit to EZ Flow was very noisy. Craig Myers gave each tour participant ear plugs to wear in the plant The plant produces plastic drainage tile surrounded with Styrofoam. The Styrofoam eliminates laying a rock bed under the tile. There were many huge bins filled with Styrofoam!
After lunch at McDonalds and playtime at Nick’s park, the final stop for the day was at B & A Screenprinting. Al guided us into the design room, where the artist uses a computer to aid in the design to be printed. Then it is transferred to a screen to be used in the printing process. Roger was demonstrating the print technique and at the end of the dryer, Sue presented each student with a T-shirt that listed each place visited on the 2nd grade field trip.
It was a great day; very educational and very interesting.
Our year with the 2nd grade concluded with a Play Day on the last day of school. We joined the students for a sack lunch, then enjoyed the afternoon in Coles pasture. Teams were formed for relay races, wheelbarrow races, potato sack races, Tug-Of-War and duck-duck-goose.
It was a great year, with a great class, and we look forward to meeting this year’s second class very soon.
WELCOME!!
Topflight Grain welcomes four employees to the full time staff.
Aaron Hill joins the Maroa operations staff. Aaron’s primary job is grain transportation, but he assists in all areas of the company’s operations.
Ronnie Miller is a member of the operations staff at Maroa. You will see him dumping trucks, cleaning bins, and keeping the elevator clean.
Jason Geppert joined the Monticello staff, as assistant merchandiser. He introduces himself in the Monticello location report.
Jack Warren works with the Bement operations crew, wherever help is needed. He has been cleaning bins and helping get facilities ready for harvest. Jack and his wife, Dana, live in Monticello.
FRIDAY THE 13th WAS A GREAT DAY!!!
Almost 820 stockholders and friends met at the Civic Center in Decatur for the Topflight Grain Annual Meeting, on Friday, August 13. The meeting brings together many wonderful people, who meet and visit, throughout the evening.
Once again, the food was delicious, with a choice of steak, chicken or pork, to accompany potatoes, salads, vegetables, and dessert. We appreciate the Monticello FFA chapter in their assistance with drink service and table clean up.
As the meal finished, annual meeting chairman Cary Hinton welcomed the guests and introduced Bill Schable, who asked the blessing on the meeting and the people.
President Richard Larimore called the meeting to order. Allen Reeder presented the minutes, and controller Chuck Bentley reviewed the company’s financial statement.
In the manager’s speech, Manager Docherty talked about his new position as manager of the company; he talked about many of the programs and policies that have made Topflight successful, that he anticipates continued value to the stockholders and to the company; and he talked about the changes in agriculture, including tax laws that have encouraged changes in farm ownership, and biotechnology that breeds traits beneficial to production, yet are unaccepted by consumers world-wide.
Tim Menacher, as nominating committee chairman, presented the results of the election of the board of directors. George Riley, Bill Schable, Richard Larimore and Ron Meece were re-elected to serve as 2004-2005 directors, with Allen Reeder, Cary Hinton, Kenny Ruff, JW Day, Louie Stoerger, Duane Robson, Dave Zelhart, Kyle Johnson, and Tim Morton.
With no further business, the business meeting was adjourned, to enjoy the melodic talents of Teresa Fraysure. Teresa sang a variety of country lyrics and some of the “older” tunes of a few years ago. Teresa’s voice and talents were a great conclusion to the evening.
As the guests left, the directors thanked them for supporting the company, and presented each one with a pound of Farmland bacon.
FAREWELL, MANAGER THOMAS
Many, many friends and family attended the open house reception, as Richard Thomas retired as manager of Topflight Grain. Memories were recalled and memories were made. It was an afternoon filled with fellowship and friendship as each guest greeted Dick and Bonnie with best wishes for a happy retirement.
A Marine was deployed to Afghanistan. While he was there, he received a letter from his girlfriend. In the letter, she explained that she had slept with two guys while he had been gone, and that she wanted the pictures that he had of herself back. So, the Marine did what any squared-away Marine would do. He went around to his buddies and collected all of the unwanted photos of women that he could find. He then mailed about 25 pictures of women (some with clothes, some without) to his girlfriend with the following note . . .
I don’t remember which one you are. Please remove your picture and send the rest back.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
A back-up generator has been installed at the Bement office. The generator will provide power to run the computers and office machines, when electrical problems occur.
Brock Casteel, safety manager, plans and conducts monthly safety meetings. All operations employees attend the meetings and participate in the lessons. Occassionally, industry specialists present the material. A good lunch is also enjoyed by all!
At the July meeting, fire safety and the proper use of fire extinguishers were demonstrated by Getz Fire Equipment.
Derrick Bruhn has joined the Piatt County SWCD board.
Richard Thomas received the Very Important Volunteer award from the Bement schools for his work with the 2nd grade class, the Tech Prep program and the SOS program.
Jill & Jerry Kuykendall helped organize the St Jude’s Bike-A-Thon in Maroa, in April.
The maintenance crew installed a catwalk in Seymour to make it easier to do maintenance work on a conveyor.
Mitchell Clements completed and graduated from the DARE program at Bement Grade School. He also won the lion mascot in a drawing.
The State of Illinois has inspected our moisture testers and gram scales, to be sure they meet the required specifications; Fairbanks has inspected all the truck scales to be sure they meet the required specifications; the “hot spot” cables have been inspected to be sure they are working to measure the temperature of the grain in the bins as we fill them and store grain through the winter; and the help wanted ads have been placed ---- it’s beginning to look a lot like harvest at Topflight.
Michael Burton, Henry Lust, and Bill Dirks were among the crew who helped with improvements at the Atwood-Hammond track and field project on Saturday, August 7.
A new maintenance truck has just arrived in time for Roger to keep up with the harvest repairs.
Eric Clements and Allan Perry enjoyed some of the ice cream cake, which marked Allan’s last day of summer employment with Topflight. Allan was a great help in cleaning out bins, in preparation for harvest, and willingly performed any task he was asked. We wish him the best of luck as he continues his ag education at the University of Illinois.
GSI could be the acronym for Great Secretary’s Itinerary, or maybe for Grain Systems, Inc. Either way, it was a great Secretary’s Day, when Dick and Scott escorted the Topflight ladies to GSI in Assumption.
Owner Craig Sloan spent the day with group, explaining how the company began as a small business that shaped the steel panels for farm bins. From there it has grown to a very large, multinational plant that still produces those steel panels, but also everything else that builds the steel bins. He discussed the management and ownership transitions that the company has seen, as it has grown.
Through the plant tour, Craig explained the machines, the computers and the processes that employees were performing, including the installation of a new laser machine.
The tour concluded with lunch served in the executive meeting room, and time to visit, more, with the owner and manager of the company.
By
Richard Thomas
How much money should your cooperative make? Goals set by the board and the management team at our last board retreat was a 10% return on invested capital which means Topflight Grain needs to make at least 1.5 million dollars a year. Last year after the annual meeting a stockholder made reference to a board member that $406,000 profit was not an acceptable earnings for a company the size of Topflight Grain. This is just one example of the demands exerted on managers and CEO’s.
This type of pressure and condemnation is what drives CEO’s and managers to take chances and put their companies at risk. An example would be the recent problems at the Watseka Farmers Grain Co. in Watseka, IL. Their manager had taken a long position in the soybean market of 1 million bushels in hopes of righting a sinking ship. Of course the market turned and in a matter of three days the loss amounted to over a million dollars. The Ill. Dept. of Agriculture intervened and now the cooperative is being sold.
Should the stockholders be more concerned about whether the cooperative is being run as efficiently and trustworthy as possible rather than how much money they make? There are some stockholders who think it is fine for their cooperative to just break even each year. We all know you can’t grow and expand if you only break even. But agriculture is a strange animal different from other businesses. Weather, prices, seed, and timing have a big impact on farmer’s decisions, which in turn affect profits.
In the last several years we have watched our service income (drying, storage, and carrying charges) decrease each year. With faster drying hybrids, earlier planting dates, and the increase in natural gas prices, drying income has become a thing of the past. New marketing strategies by farmers and no carrying charges on the board has decreased storage income substantially. These services charges are how we made most of our money over the years.
When expectations exceed common sense possibilities, the potential for risk taking increases. At Topflight Grain we have risk taking policies in place and checks and balances within the management team that we feel will keep the possibilities for major losses occurring. However if making money becomes more important than running a good honest business then the pressure to take risks become a possibility.
Maybe before we judge the performance of the general manager or CEO of a company by how much money they make, we should take in consideration their honesty and integrity and say THANKS FOR DOING THE BEST JOB YOU COULD under the circumstances.
LUCKY
By Allan
Perry
It was Tuesday, the 13th day of July; that should have been our first warning. Many of you may remember this day. It was a day, one of the few this summer, that was very hot. It was the day that many powerful storms passed through central Illinois, including the one that knocked out power in Danville for quite some time. It was the day that my brother and I were moving our hogs into the Moultrie-Douglas County Fair in Arthur. It was the day that Lucky the pig started his exciting journey to becoming the Grand Champion.
After the storms moved through and the atmosphere had settled, my brother and I decided to start loading our hogs and head to the fair. We loaded the ones at our house with no problem; we had help from our dad. We then had to go to my Grandma’s house by White Heath, to load some more hogs. Instead of coming along with us, my dad decided his time would be better spent at a card game in Bement.
My brother and I get to Grandma’s house to find that the storm had been much worse in her area. There were down tress and tree limbs blanketing her yard. Luckily, we could back the trailer to the barn to load the pigs we needed to get. However, the extra wind had brought with it, 2 inches of rain. This meant that the hog lot was enveloped with water and mud. It was about 7:45 in the evening when we started loading. We had 10 hogs to load. To say the least, they were less than cooperative.
There was
mud flying everywhere, slipping and sliding, pigs squealing, but not as if they
were mad or scared, but as if they were enjoying watching my brother and me try
to corral them and put them on the trailer, and fail miserably. Of course, my brother and I had some choice
words to throw into the craziness as well.
“Where is Dad when you actually need him?” “How come he gets to play
cards when we’re out here doing this?”
”Not that pig . . . that pig, you
idiot.” And so on and so forth. But to be honest, we actually kept cool heads
through most of this. We would bring up
a few pigs at a time, lock them in the barn, then put them on the trailer. There came a point (this is important) that
my brother had to open the back sliding gate on the trailer and push the rest
to the front and close the divider so we could put the rest on the back. We put the remaining 5 pigs, including
Lucky, on the back. We got in the truck
and saw that it was now 9:45; I can’t say that it had been the most enjoyable 2
hours of my life!
We get a little ways down the road and decide we better stop and see if the lights are working okay. We both went to the back of the trailer and didn’t notice any problems. Boy!! Were we wrong!!
We pull into the fair ground at Arthur and I see this 9-year-old kid that I show hogs with, run up along the truck waving and yelling at me. I thought he was just excited to see me. I rolled down my window and he informs me that the sliding gate on the trailer was wide open. Remember how my brother went in through that gate earlier? Well, we closed it, but we never locked it. Sure enough, there were only 4 of the 5 pigs on the back of the trailer. We quickly unloaded the remaining pigs and a friend of mine and I went to look for him.
We drove around for 2 hours sticking a flashlight out of the window, driving 30 mph, retracing our path. Mom called Dad away from his card game and they were also driving around and never found anything. We expected the worst; he had fallen off and died in a ditch. It was not a good day for the family. As Mom and Dad were driving home, the serpentine belt went out on the van. Even after searching the next day, we found nothing. We considered him dead and lost.
Four days later, Saturday, we had just gotten home from the Christian County Fair, where we had won the barrow show. We unloaded the pigs at our house and my dad and brother headed to Grandma’s to unload the rest. Not 10 minutes after they left, I get a call from Jeff Morris, . . . . “did you guys lose a pig?” Josh Bates had called him and he and a bunch of friends had heard that we lost a pig, but they didn’t know our number, but thought Jeff would. I’m thinking, “Okay, where do I go pick up the carcass at,” but Jeff tells me they have him corralled on the Ivesdale-Atwood road. I called my dad and brother and tell them to meet me there with the trailer. I sped there as fast I could and meet all the guys.
Nathan Summers had the pig lassoed with a cargo strap and wench. They told me they had chased him through the cornfield until they caught him. Then they brought him some water. He was happy to see me because I brought some feed. Looking around I saw that he had probably been drinking water out of the ditch and eating bugs and grass and whatever else he could find. He had made himself a mud hole in the ditch and a nest to sleep in. My dad and brother finally showed up and Lucky was more than happy to jump right on the trailer. Upon examination, I saw that he only had a few scrapes and no broken bones. That was amazing, considering the stretch of highway where he fell out I must have been driving at least 55.
But the best part is that a week later, he was named Grand Champion Carcass at the Champaign Cou1nty Fair and sold for $950. And that is the story of Lucky the Pig.
The ISO audit committee met to review its findings after the initial Bement audit. They interviewed all employees at the Bement site, to question work procedures versus the quality manual that has been written for the company.
After these audits and more meetings with the ISO leaders, a certified ISO registrar performed an initial audit to determine the readiness for actual certification. Realizing that harvest is near, the final audit has been postponed until after harvest.
Once certified, Topflight should realize better documentation of all procedures within the company, and improved followthrough in meeting customer needs.
We were delighted last May to visit once again with the students from Morgan Park Academy. Their annual trip to Bement includes a visit to the Ayers Farm, Bryant Cottage, and Topflight Grain. It’s almost a culture gap, between the youth from near Chicago and the agriculture business in central Illinois. They have lots of questions, and are full of enthusiasm.
On July 22, a group of students from Tiawan visited Topflight Grain. They were hosted through Millikin University, and our ISO coordinator, Larry Stapleton. Their two day tour of agriculture included the Ayers farm, Topflight Grain, U of I farms, Thorp Seed, and ADM.
Later, in July, a group of Scott and Dick met with a small group from Japan who were interested in high oil corn. They discussed the specialty crop in the Bement office, then went on to one of the local farms growing high oil corn.
ST JUDE BIKE-A-THON
The 12th annual St. Jude Bike-a-thon held in Maroa was again a very successful event. $9,600.00 was raised for the Children’s Research Hospital. More than 40 bike and trike participants enjoyed good weather and had a good time raising money for a good cause. The event was held on Saturday, April 24, 2004.
Coordinators of the fundraiser, Jerry and Jill Kuykendall would like to thank several groups and individuals for their help; the Patchwork Home Extension Unit for taking care of drinks and cookies as they have every year, the Maroa Lions Club members for controlling traffic at the intersections, Maroa Township Road Commissioner, Shawn Pittman, for furnishing signs and barricades. Thanks to Julie Crabtree and Sharon Head for taking care of registration, a thank you to several of the moms for supervising the Trike-a-thon and punching cards for the bike-a-thon riders, thanks to Topflight Grain Elevator for allowing us to use their office for registering and a place to organize and start the ride.
Everyone that raised $35 received a St. Jude T-shirt. Those that raised $75 received a gym bag also. The top pledge earners in the student division received the following prizes:
Bicycle donated by WalMart-----Cole Hoffman
CD boom box from St. Jude ----- Maggie Tucker
Cash prizes went to Bryson Young, John Sandfrey, Madysen Sharp, Evan Clapp, Heather Breazeale , Keith Merriman, Andrew Hastings and Samantha Bennett.
The top pledge earner in the Adult division was LeRoy Wilson. The entire community deserves a big THANK YOU. Several adult participants turned in hundred’s of dollars each and the top four student riders brought in more than $300.00 each. It is an honor to coordinate an event such as this in such a generous community.
We would also like to thank the Business sponsors that added $2500 to the total. They include: Hoffman Farms and Trucking, Maroa Lions Club, Maroa Woman’s Club, Huffman Cabinets, Calvert Funeral Home, Dr. Tim Miller, Maroa Pub, Maroa-Forsyth Community Bank, Spacemark, Topflight Grain, Four Winds RV, Mashburn Well Drilling, Allison & Associates, CPA, Dr. Chad Burmeister DMD, KB Welding & Fabricating, Maroa Lumber Co., Brown, Hawkins, Basola & Mattingley, Lawyers, Stoutenborough Insurance Agency, Heartland AG, Country Lace and Wood Creations, LOCOMP, Fine Things, Carl Christiansen Construction, Sweethearts, and M&M Café.
We have been warned by the IRS that they will be checking truck diesel fuel tanks during the harvest season to ensure compliance in using the proper fuel.
Also, be aware that the new Slow
Moving Vehicle signs must be displayed by September 1. This change became law three years ago,
allowing a phase in to this September.
The new signs are 10 times more reflective than the older signs, and are
designed to last a longer time before losing their reflective value.
The annual crop tour was conducted by Topflight Grain on August 3. 12 teams surveyed the trade area, stopping every 3 or 4 miles to conduct the survey.
In the corn fields, they counted the population, rows of kernels, and the number of kernels in a row. Using a yield calculator sliderule, these numbers produce an estimated yield for the field. .
In the bean fields, three plants were selected, to count the number of pods. Most noted in the bean field was that the beans were still developing pods and that it was too early to estimate the yield.
At the meeting, held that evening, to present the results of the crop tour, Derrick Bruhn showed the past year’s estimates, and then showed the numbers of this year’s survey. The estimated corn yield was presented at 174 bushel/acre. Spokesman from several of the groups commented on some corn tips not completely filled, lots of bugs in the bean fields, and pods still setting and filling in the bean fields.
Derrick, and Pam, also showed the aerial crop tour that they had taken on July 23, with pilot Larry Bartram. The pictures showed areas of corn blown down, and areas of water damage, but an overall picture of a good crop. (These pictures are available on the website www.topflightgrain.com, by clicking in the crop tour box, on aerial crop tour.)
Also on the evening’s program was Russ Dukeman, Brian Malone and Ken Keithly.
Russ, salesman for United Prairie LLC, showed several corn root systems, with various insecticide treatments, no treatment, and corn bred with insect resistance. He also discussed pests, fungus and disease in the fields today. (Russ’s information follows this article.)
Brian Malone, Piatt County FSA, reviewed the procedures for claiming Loan Deficiency Payments and the papers to be filed prior to harvest. He showed the change in the loan rates, and then discussed the new mapping program the FSA office is using to provide more accurate maps.
Ken Keithly, O’Brian Commodities, presented a market outlook, that began by reviewing the rapid drop in grain prices, as a meeting of several negative factors. Looking ahead to the harvest season, he suggested a trading range, with slightly lower prices, with the possibility of higher prices after harvest.
The meeting also included a delicious pork chop dinner catered by Bill and Loretta Stoerger. Our compliments to the chefs!
Our thanks to Kestrel Technologies for posting the results so quickly on our website, for our customers to view.
ROOTS, INSECTICIDES, AND OTHER
ISSUES
By Russ Dukeman
Every year brings its share of challenges, and this year is no exception. Most of the area has experienced, to some extent, less than desirable corn root systems. There are many reasons for this event, beginning with the weather. Timely and ample rainfall has kept the root systems this year small and shallow. This factor, coupled with compaction, has unfortunately set the stage for the lodging we are seeing today. The second component affecting corn root systems has been a large and long rootworm larvae hatch. In some cases third and fourth instars larvae were found with pupae larvae. This points toward an extremely long rootworm larvae feeding period.
With the stage set for rootworm problems, lets examine the results of the various insecticide treatments. First of all there were fields with no insecticide treatments. These fields pretty well speak for themselves, and will most likely have significant yield losses along with harvesting concerns. Next there are the seed applied insecticides of Poncho 250 and Poncho 1250. Treatments of Poncho 250 have resulted in rootworm protection similar to a no insecticide situation, while control with Poncho 1250 was adequate where there was less rootworm pressure. However, where Poncho 1250 was used and heavy rootworm pressure was present, rootworm control was not acceptable to most growers. In general insecticide treatments of Aztec and Force were adequate, although exceptions do exist. In many cases rootworm control problems can be traced to insecticide application problems or errors. Finally, rootworm resistant corn varieties have seemed to give adequate control, although some damage could also be noted in these fields. It would appear that not all conversions had equal amounts of protection.
With July and part of August behind us now, let’s look forward to the rest of the month. If we have prolonged dry weather look for the corn crop to “come on” fast, due to the previously discussed poor root systems. This may cause growers to harvest at higher moistures than normal. Also, do not rely solely on field drying without some careful field scouting; August storms may cause fields that look good now to lodge quickly. In short, take advantage of some of our cooler than normal temps. to look at your fields carefully.
Finally a word on soybeans and some other issues to be concerned about. Fortunately we have yet to experience any significant insect damage in bean fields. So far aphids have not been an issue and yet some people have sprayed for these bugs. Every grower should be very wary of claims of yield gains, due to spraying without justification. The same situation would be true for gray leaf spot in corn. I have heard reports of corn being sprayed after tassel for this disease. In this situation there will most likely be no effect on yield, besides the treatment being a costly proposition. Don’t get emotional and make well-informed decisions if you have such a situation arise on your farm!! Have a safe Harvest!!
EVERYONE HAS A STORY TO TELL
By
Richard Thomas
Louie Tieman came to work for Bement Grain Co. on July 11, 1975 as an operations employee. He worked here in Bement and Voorhies until the Milmine branch manager’s job became available in June of 1978 and he took over that position. On his first day as the Milmine branch manager several farmers came into the office and informed him they would be taking their grain to LaPlace, which is where a former Milmine manager was managing at the time. Of course he was very concerned about losing business and we had many discussion about the matter. I told Louie not to worry that they would come back because we would be able to offer better services and prices. Because of Louie’s good communication skills and the great service he performed the business did come back and we ended up owning the LaPlace elevator.
Louie just had a unique way of handling customers. He always kept track of every one’s yields and even exchanged the information with other customers. Only Louie could get by with sharing such secretive information. He kept track of everything from when the grain was planted each year to when it was delivered to his elevator and what the moisture content was and who delivered the grain. He was just written up in the News Gazette about the collection of running memorabilia he has saved over the years. He was always open about sharing his love life experiences with everyone, which was entertaining to say the least. Customers told me the first thing they read when they got our newsletter was Louie’s column. I think the best way to describe Louie is he just never grew up and I believe that’s why everyone liked him. Everyone kind of envied his outlook on life.
Louie overcame a lot of adversities in life but kept a positive attitude. He had to finish raising his three kids who were still in High School when his wife passed away in 1991. After her death he gave up smoking, which was one of his wife’s last wishes and took up running and is known all across the country for the marathons he has entered. His flamboyant running uniforms were always a hot topic of conversation at these running events. Sometimes what he didn’t wear was a topic of conversation as well.
When Louie was 37 years old he developed arthritis and this condition has continued to get worse. Recently he was diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis and had to take a leave of absence as a result of not being able to do his job. He is looking into disability because of his worsening condition. If he can’t get the disability situation worked out he will be back working for us this fall.
Whatever the
outcome we appreciate the dedicated service, fun loving attitude, and wonderful
newsletter articles Louie has provided for us over the years.
Every Sunday, a little old lady placed $1,000 in the collection plate. This went on for several weeks until the pastor, overcome by curiosity, approached her one day. “Ma’am, I couldn’t help but notice that you put $1,000 a week in the collection plate,” he stated.
“Why yes,” she replied, “every week, my son sends me money, and since I don’t need it all, I give $1,000 to the church.”
The pastor replied, “That’s wonderful, how much does he send you?”
The old lady said, “Oh, around $20,000 a week.”
The pastor was amazed. “Your son is very successful, what does he do for a living?”
“He is a veterinarian,” she answered.
“That is a very honorable profession, the pastor says. “Where does he practice?”
The old lady said proudly, “Well he has two cat houses in Las Vegas, and one in Reno.”
HARVEST REMINDERS
Facilities accepting nongmo beans are Atwood, Cisco, Emery, LaPlace, Maroa, Seymour and Shacks. A grower contract must be signed to participate in the program, which includes a 50 cent per bushel premium. All loads will be tested prior to dumping, to verify the nongmo status.
High oil corn will be accepted at Bement and Cisco. Producers must sign a grower’s contract to receive the additional premium for the oil content of this corn.
The Piatt and Burrowsville elevators will be closed to farmer deliveries this season. Due to decreasing business at both facilities and the increased cost of safety maintenance in the equipment and the structures, themselves, the board and management have decided that both facilities should be closed for harvest deliveries. It was a tough decision, and one that was carefully considered.
If you have new farm names, new farm splits, or changes of addresses, please tell your Topflight manager. It is much easier to handle these changes before the rush of harvest sets in.
Please be sure to pull gently onto and off of all truck scales. Abrupt stops and quick starts cause undo stress and wear on the scale equipment. Also, be sure to follow the traffic pattern, for safety and efficient unloading. To keep traffic moving, untarp prior to pulling onto the scales. If you have any questions, please ask!
We would like to congratulate Ron Day, Pat Malone, Stuart James, and Ginny Dahms as winners of the monthly drawings for the world famous Topflight Grain T-shirt. Their names were selected from the correct answers to the Topflight trivia question posted weekly on the company website. Pat Malone told us the only other thing he ever won was the draft for the U.S. Army!
For your chance to win the super duper T-shirt, click the Trivia tab at www.topflightgrain.com and submit your answer. Winners are chosen monthly from the correct answers during that month.
Questions may ask you to name 2 directors, the capacity of the company, the symbols of Christmas that light up the top of the elevators, the inventor of the pneumatic grain probe, and how many locations the company has.
We’ve had some fun with it, and have been very impressed with your knowledge of your company. We look forward to hearing from you.
We’ve added another feature to our website. It’s a link to farm management companies. This has been added as a service to our landowners who may be seeking professional management services, and to our producers who are seeking to expand their operations. The site lists many of the farm management services in our area, with links to their websites. If it will help you with your operation, please visit the site: once you’ve opened our home page at www.topflightgrain.com, click on Agri-Links, then on the Farm Management button. This is not an all-inclusive listing, but it is a list of the local firms who returned their address to us.
Many of you have tried the iView link on our website, that allows you to search your Topflight grain records. None of us have been happy with the program, because it required too many selections and was just not easy to use. We have found another program, through another company, that we think will be easier to use.
It will still be secured through user ID and password. Your grain balances appear on the first screen, deliveries are totaled by farm, and ticket drill down is available. Open contracts are also shown, with more information available through drill down. One feature we liked, too, was that you can perform “what-ifs” on your grain balances. By entering the current price (or higher or lower prices), it will calculate the value of your remaining grain, based on the price you submitted.
We are working to get this system in place by the harvest season. Current users to the iView system will be set up in the new system. Others may register through the “Producer Info” tab on our website. There is no cost to use the program, but you must register so that your accounts can be set up.
GRAIN PAGE
We have bought 817,000 bushels of new crop beans, at an average price of $6.98; and 6,110,000 bushels of new crop corn, at an average price of $2.73.
By
Derrick Bruhn
The average price contract is when a customer agrees to price a portion of their bushels of corn each week through historical seasonal highs. This program started pricing on Jan 8th and went through 21 weeks till May 27th. The average price for fall corn during this period was 2.77 ½. The customers that took part in this program were sent one contract for the average of the time period. The sign-up for next years program will start November first for anyone interested in participating. If you have any questions call Derrick @ (217) 762-2163.
TOPFLIGHT GRAIN MARKETING POOL
By Denny Hill
For the past 6 years Topflight Grain as offered a Marketing Pool where patrons who deliver grain to one of our facilities may commit a certain percentage of his corn and soybean production for Topflight to market for them. This has been a popular program, as it has grown from 500,000 bushels to over 2 million bushels in the past few years.
For a producer to sign up, he or she just needs to determine how many bushels of corn or soybeans you want to enroll in the program, choose the pay dates you need to fit your cash flow requirements, read the marketing pool agreement thoroughly and sign-up.
Some of the features of the marketing pool concept:
1. All marketing decisions are made by the Topflight staff.
2. The only charge is the service fees on options we purchase and this cost is part of the contract price.
3. Conservative risk management strategies will be used to accomplish pricing of the grain.
4. Participants will be provided an update on the pricing progress of the pool bushels as the year unfolds.
5. Margins and option premiums will be covered by Topflight Grain. Costs of the option premiums paid or earned will be charged or credited to the pool account.
We feel offering you this program gives the customer an alternative to his marketing
plan by having full-time advisors working to make better marketing decisions for your operation, giving you more time to direct your attention to producing and expanding your operation.
The sign-up for the 2005 crop year will begin September 1, 2004 and run until the end of this year. If you are interested in this program please give me a call @ 1-800-955-2180 and I will be glad to answer any questions you might have or you can ask your local branch manager and he or she will be glad to help you.
USDA Avg
Aug 12 trade estimate
Corn 10,923 10,784
Soybeans 2,877 2,965
Yield USDA Avg
Aug 12 trade estimate
Corn 148.9 147
Beans 39.1 40.2
USDA Avg
Aug 12 trade estimate
Corn 1.132 1.182
Soybeans 190 251
Some of our local communities are preparing to celebrate (or have celebrated) their 150th anniversary, or Sesquicentennial. These celebrations involve all the local citizens, organizations and businesses in a variety of activities and events. We encourage your support at these celebrations to enjoy the festivities, and to reunite with friends and family.
The town of Niantic celebrated their Sesquicentennial this summer.
Maroa celebrates September 17 –19, this fall.
Cerro Gordo and Bement both hold their celebrations next summer.
Be sure to join the fun!!!
YOU PAY, THEY WILL COME
by
Richard Thomas
Five or six years ago Bonnie and I decided it would be great if all our family could get together once a year during the summer for a few days. After checking dates etc. it looked like getting our three kids and grandkids together was going to be a problem. However when Bonnie and I mentioned that we were footing the bill it seemed like some dates became available. This year we all met at Anthony Acres on Lake Sara near Effingham. The kids called this year’s retreat “Old School” because it’s where we vacationed for several years when they were growing up. Each family is responsible for one evening meal and the rest is on us. Bonnie and I tell the kids we are enjoying helping them spend their inheritance.
It seems the older I get the more I enjoy these family get togethers. It’s great to see your kids get along so well together after seeing them fuss and fight as youngsters. Bonnie and I find out things our kids did when they were growing up that we had no idea about. Sometimes it gets so bad we tell them we don’t want to know anymore. To see our grandchildren interact with each other is also a real pleasure. Of course we always have to pose for the family picture that will appear on the yearly Christmas card. Trying to get eight adults and six grandkids together long enough to take a picture is a real challenge.
Each year we set a date for next year’s big event so they know a year in advance and can start clearing their calendars for the occasion. Bonnie and I hope we can carry this tradition on for several more years.
TOPFLIGHT GRAIN
AND ISO
by Russel Wright
As was written in the last “High Flyer” newsletter, Topflight Grain is trying to get ISO certified. Just an update to let everyone know what our status is. We picked as our certification company, DNV, Det Norske Veritas, their main office is in Oslo, Norway. This may sound a long way from Topflight Grain, but they have offices in Houston,Texas as well as Bingham Farms, Michigan. Their offices put us in touch with a local auditor from Des Moines, Iowa.
We scheduled a pre-assessment audit in July at Bement. Barry Bristol was the auditor and after reviewing our Quality Manuel, procedures, and training materials, he concluded that we had only fourteen non-conformities. Not bad for the first time of doing this. Mr. Bristol has allowed us time to get these corrected. Many of them we could fix and some we are working on. Topflight Grain was to have their initial certification audit the last of August, however we have decided to extend this to December. We feel that with harvest right around the corner, that we wouldn’t have ample time to implement some of these procedures and have at least ninety days records.
One thing you will notice on your scale tickets is that there are initials for the scale operator and “passed” on the quality. This is one example of a procedure that is required. We also have work instructions that a person can obtain in the computer or in the book on ISO. These instructions are designed to help a person do a certain job that they don’t otherwise know how to do. Eric has set up a maintenance database for all the equipment that Topflight owns, and divided into groups, such as grain legs, augers, pickup trucks, tractors, etc. This database will help keep track of when some work or maintenance was done on a particular piece of equipment. These are some of the many procedures that are required to be ISO certified. If anyone has any questions about ISO or they want to know more, please feel free to call me or stop by the Pierson office.
ILLINOIS RIVER BARGE TRIP
On August 4th, Ron O’Connor and I went on a barge tour of the Illinois River. The trip was coordinated by the Illinois Corn Growers Association and the Illinois Soybean Association, as well as some other organizations. Ron had been on one of the previous year’s tours from Peoria to Pekin, and highly recommended it. When we signed up, the Peoria trip was full, so we opted to go on the Ottawa trip.
We parked at Ottawa, and then were bussed to Peru to board the barge. It then made its way up the river to Ottawa. As we were cruising along the river, several factories and elevators were pointed out and briefly talked about. We could see a lot of storm damage from the bad tornado that went through Utica back in the spring. When we passed by Starved Rock, we had to go through a lock. The water downstream was 18 feet lower than the water upstream. The lock and dam system was discussed a lot during the trip. They are trying to promote and pass legislation to spend time and money to upgrade and enlarge the locks on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to allow river traffic to travel more efficiently. The trip was very relaxing and interesting. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about the relationship between the river system and Illinois agriculture.
Topflight Grain mission statement: We are committed to the future of agriculture by improving the profitability of our customers through quality and exceptional people.