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by Richard Thomas
To set the stage for a Topflight Grain harvest diary, I need to first tell you that we have 15 facilities open to take grain during the harvest season, plus two facilities for storage only. This means we had 60 elevator legs running, 43 pits to dump into, 13 grain dryers to keep running, and 95 employees working for us. When we started harvest this year, the first thing that happened to us was we got some gas in our diesel fuel. It seemed like that was a taste of how harvest might go. The very next day, Chuck Bentley, our controller, was helping one of the outside men dump a garbage can of soybean samples into a wheelbarrow and got chest pains. He told Scott, later in the afternoon, that he didn't feel so good and was going to go to Kirby Hospital to see what was wrong. We found out the next day that Kirby took him on to Carle and after checking him over, he had three blocked arteries. So, they kept him over night and gave him some pills and sent him home to decide when to have the bypass operation. He obviously didn't want to wait too long, so he went in for the operation the following Monday. So, he would be gone for a least 5 weeks. The weekend Chuck was getting prepared to have the operation, we got a computer virus in our compter system. We frantically had an anti-virus program installed, only to find out that it slowed our computers at the branches down to a snail's pace. We did get the virus cleaned up before it did any damage to our Agris grain system. But, after a couple days of complaints from customers and branch managers over how slow their computers were working, we decided to take the anti-virus off the branch machines and informed them not to do anything on the Internet. That decision meant that LaPlace wouldn't have a market screen because they were getting their quotes from the Internet. Later, after many hours of phone calls and frustrations, our computer providers got the problem solved.
Along with this, we had the usual farm bin overfill that needed to be vacced up. A loaded truck headed to one of our elevators over turned and we had to send a vac out to clean it up. Then, there was a combine unloading auger that broke and we had to vac the bin empty so they could get it repaired. We had a semi that someone put too much corn on and broke the frame,causing corn to spill out. They called to say he was coming to town, and to make room on the scales for him to weigh and dump. When he arrived, we were ready. I put one of my handkerchiefs in the opening to stop the flow of grain and we finally got him dumped. You could track him all the way through town and out to the farm, from the trail of corn he left. We had a wagon that broke down on a scale and had to be augered and scooped off so we could clear the scales. Thank goodness, at this operation we had two scales so we could continue to receive corn while all this was taking place.
We shipped by truck or rail, during harvest, 4.5 million bushels of grain and transferred between facilities another 1.1 million bushels in 45 days. That's 125,000 bushels per day we moved by rail or truck. At 900 bushels per truck it would equal 139 truckloads of grain, or by rail, 38 cars per day. You'll never know how much scheming, yelling, screaming, pleading, and praying goes on to get this accomplished. We are very fortunate to have a good relationship with the Pioneer Railroad who furnishes us power and cars for the short line railroad we own at Cisco. We loaded 10 trains of corn out of Cisco this fall and could have never accomplished such a feat if it had not been for the Bennett boys. They work for the Pioneer Railroad and did an excellent job in keeping cars supplied to our Cisco facility. Thank goodness for the rains during harvest. We didn't know how to pray: pray for rain to slow harvest down until we got a train or two shipped, but then we had several thousand bushels of corn laying on the ground, uncovered, that we didn't want it to rain on. But, the rains came anyway and just in time, in a couple of cases. You'll never know how close we came to getting full at some of our locations.
We had 95 people working for us during the peak of harvest. We have 38 full time people, so we were able to find 57 people in our trade area who were willing to help us out. They did a fine job and we appreciated their hard work and dedication. Some of them would make great full time employees if given a chance. We have some people who have worked for us at harvest time several years now. They are really valuable to us because they know what to do and how to do it. It is not uncommon for our employees to work 80 to 100 hours per week during the harvest season. One week, our payroll was over $65,000.
During harvest, we didn't have any major breakdowns because the maintenance crew did a good job of having everything ready. To get everything harvest ready, our repair expense is going to be way over budget. Last year, when the farmers harvested all the down corn in our area, they couldn't help but bring us a lot of dirt. That dirt was very hard on equipment and wore holes in lots of our spouts. So, the spouts had to be either turned, fixed, or replaced. With most of the spouts so high in the air, we had to hire outside help with cranes to do the repairs.
When harvest was over, we had 1.2 million bushles of corn piled on the ground, uncovered. We have another 900 thousand on asphalt, covered. The corn uncovered is being picked up, as I write this article. Some of it has had over 7 inches of rain on it and we need to get it up real soon. The other corn that is covered seems to be keeping real well. We did have a concern when the storm went through Monticello. We lost power at the locations where the corn is tarped, and we were afraid we might lose the tarps. The employees put some more ropes over the piles and we were able to keep the tarps on.
THANKS
by Chuck Bentley
Thanks to everyone who sent cards, phoned, and said prayers for me during my receng illness. It was greatly appreciated.
I have recovered quite nicely and am continuing to recover. It appears that I do have a heart, although there has been talk to the contrary.
I would like to thank Pam, Angela, Dick and the rest of the office staff who filled in for me while I was away during harvest. It's nice to know someone can take your place while you are gone.
Every one have a great holiday season and God Bless America.
EMERY NEWS
by Denny Hill
Another excellent harvest came to a close the first part of November in the Emery area. Just about everyone I talked to seemed to be pleased with how the crops turned out. From the yields reported to me, it looks like the corn crop averaged around 185 bushels to the acre and soybeans right around 50 bushels to the acre. These figures were very close to last year's totals. Our area was very fortunate to achieve these totals as you only had to go 20 miles north or south and the yields dropped off due to the lack of moisture.
It seems each year the farmers are getting the planters in the fields earlier in the spring and it is getting to be the norm for corn harvest to begin around the first of September, but I can't remember taking soybeans in as early as we did this year. Both corn and soybeans were delivered on the 4th of September this year, and we were still taking both commodities in November. It seems so strange to see beans being harvested and the field next to it hasn't even begun to turn.
With the excellent corn yields in our area, a ground pile for corn was again put into place here at Emery. The last week of September, we began putting corn on the ground and we ended up with around 325,000 bushels in the pile. Fortunately, we only had 100,000 bushel on the ground when we had the rainy spell in October. Around 6 inches of rain fell on this section of the pile and needless to say, we had to run it back through the dryer when we began picking it up. But, at this writing, we are picking up the rest of it, and it is coming out in excellent shape and we hope to have it compelted before Thanksgiving.
Thanks to Charlie, and the outside crew, we avoided any major breakdowns this fall that would have hampered our ability to take grain at the speed you are used to. They do an excellent job of keeping our equipment in great shape and recognizing any repairs that need to be done before we have a problem.
This fall, my family has been busy with the school activities of our two daughters. Jessica has been busy with cheerleading for the Maroa-Forsyth High School football and basketball teams, while Meghan has been enjoying playing basketball for the 7th grade Maroa-Forsyth girls this fall. Jessica will also be getting her driver's license in a couple of months, so things will be changing fast around our household.
Happy Holidays to everyone and thanks for letting us serve you!!
"MOST DUMPS" WINNER
(Garold said he wanted the award in blue, this year!)
by Mikki Burns
It's newsletter time again. Each time, I wonder what will I write about?
We have to talk about harvest. I feel we really had a good one again this year. As of this writing, we took 2,315,045 bushels of corn and 566,481 bushels of soybeans. Those figures include our specialty crops of high oil corn and nonGMO soybeans. We shipped out ten trains, which was over one million bushels of corn. Also, we trucked out over 200,000 bushels of soybeans. That kept us going so we could take your grain each day.
As always, Gary, Rick, and Garold did a SUPER job!! We had a great crew of parttime people that I would like to acknowledge and say a big "thank you" to:
Joyce Bennett came out of retirement and helped in the store and at the scales.
Jon Sago ran the scales each and every day and also helped with a train or two.
Meaghan Reeves came in after school, to work the scales, so Joyce could go home.
Stacey Burns and Laura Shaw worked every weekend with me, so the others could have some rest. Stacey worked last year and enjoyed it so much, she wanted to come back.
Heath Conover and Jeremy Richmond worked outside and were a tremendous help to the guys.
Everyone really worked hard and worked well together, and we had fun even though it is such a busy time. I want to say "thanks a lot" to all of you, and it would be great to have you all back again next year.
I would like to thank all of our customers and our new ones this year for your business. We hope you are satisfied with the service we provide.
With the latest events in America, we all need to be thankful for what we have. May the holiday season approaching be a blessed one for all of you.
IT'S BEEN A GOOD YEAR
by Kieth Whitaker
By the time this article reaches you, I will have put in my first full year here at Topflight Grain (November 27th). I have really enjoyed the opportunity to work with a group of people who work together so well and have concern for each other. I am glad that Chuck is recovering well from his bypass surgery.
This fall started steady and we were all stunned on September 11th, as our country was attacked by terrorists in New York and Washington D.C. From that day on we have hugged our kids more and better appreciated the things that we have. My son, Kirk, made the front page of the Decatur paper recently in a picture of him and his classmates reciting the pledge of allegiance, in a ceremoney the school had to show their loyalty to our country.
Our harvest was very good and orderly this year. The corn yielded near 200 and the beans around 50 bushels per acre. Everyone did a good job of telling us farm codes with their cards in the windows or on their dump beds. The nonGMO beans were also very orderly coming in this fall. We ended up testing almost every load, and for the most part, had very good success. We need you to return to us, any nonGMO contracts and certificates that have not been returned yet for our records. If we need to send a copy, please let us know.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season. I have enjoyed making new friends here at Topflight this past year and hope to meet more of you in the coming year. We really appreciate your business!
THE ROOKIES MADE IT THROUGH
by Derrick Bruhn
Monticello had a lot of new faces here this year. There was no one here that had been through a harvest at this facility. Of course, we had been through a harvest, but each facility is different. I must say that I am very proud of the job that we did here, and the dedication that Stason, Tommy, and Rob put forth. There were many late nights and early mornings, but they were always there and made it through another day. Occasionally, Stason would get confused and tell the office to send a truck to pit #4, when we only have 3, but we made it. I had some great help inside the office; Lynne, Kyle and Gina did a great job. Tommy was fortunate to have Chris, Randall, and Joey outside getting the job done. Stason and Rob put a lot of miles on the trucks running back and forth to Seynour, but they always returned at night. I want to thank the truckers that spent many nights transferring grain out of here so that we could keep the doors open for our customers.
Lodge is a facility that has been tough to run in the past, but I was fortunate to find a man that had many years experience and could handle the task. "Yoder", or "Shafer", or "Jimmy", whichever one you call him, did an outstanding job. If Jim wasn't busy, he would take time to give Dick's golf cart a sponge bath in hopes that he would be able to keep it for running back and forth from the office to the elevator. Jim carried his maintenance tools with him on the cart at all times, in his bibs. Many people have wondered why he wears those bibs, but what they don't know is that he carries everything but the torch and the welder in those bibs. Jim, you did a great job and Lodge will be waiting for you next year.
The feed store is closed. Sadlers gave up their lease and sold the inventory to Piatt County FS. they will be taking over the business and we wish them the best of luck.
Have a Happy Holiday Season and don't forget to stop in and see me.
ATWOOD HARVEST
by Sara Rawlins
After all the preparation and anticipation, harvest has come and gone here in Atwood. I have to say my first harvest went very well, thanks to the assistance of a great harvest crew. Helping Bill, outside, this year were Curtis Deel and Cory Brown. Bob Apperson also assisted us for part of the season. Barb Holt assisted me in the office and thanks to her, I stayed calm and organized. I want to thank all of our harvest helpers for their hard work and happy attitudes.
I would like to thank everyone that bought grain in this fall. It was wonderful to get to meet all of you. You all made me feel very weocomed and I really appreaciated that.
I would especially like to thank those of you who brought in nonGMO beans. Testing those loads was a new experience for us all and I really appreciated all of your patience and cooperation. I thought it went prettly smoothly and besides, it gave us a chance to visit.
Believe it or not, the holiday season is upon us again. My husband, Ben, and I will celebrate our first anniversary on December 9th. It's hard to believe the year is almost over. I guess time flies when you're having fun. We wish you all the warmest wishes for a safe and wonderful holiday season.
BEAUTIFUL CROP
by Brock Casteel
"Another harvest in the books." That's what we all like to hear at this time of year. This year's crop was beautiful, especially compared to last year's crop with all of that downed corn. I sure was glad to see the winds hold off until the later part of the fall.
Here at Topflight, we are keeping busy shipping grain, picking up ground piles, on the farm pickup with our grainvac and post harvest maintenance. In a lot of ways, we are already getting prepared for next harvest, just like our farmers will soon be getting ready for spring planting.
By the time this newsletter is printed, we will have already had our company trap shoot. I hope everyone enjoyed it, and if you have any suggestions for next year, be sure to let Pam or me know.
This time of year has become special for me because it is the start of the Indoor Winter National Tractor Pulling season, which will have me competing in locations such as Missouri, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Nebraska, and Kentucky. It is a pretty demanding schedule, but I hope to break into the top ten in the points standing this year.
Soon, it will be Christmas time. It sure seemed to come around quickly this year. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from all of us at Topflight to you and your family.
FAST & FURIOUS
by Vanessa Stinson
Yea!!! We made it through another fast and furious harvest. Your LaPlace facility took in 2.129 million bushels of corn and 421,000 bushles of beans. We also put close to 400,000 bushels of corn on the ground. This was all done in about 8 weeks. See what I mean about fast and furious?
This was a challenging year for us because of the new office and scale. We finished moving into the new facility on August 10th and harvest came 3 weeks later. I want to thank all of you for being patient the first few days while we were getting familiar with the system. You are a great bunch of people.
I would like to thank all of our parttimers this year. In the office, we had Tonya Tenney, Michelle West, Ashley Stinson, Kate Kirkland and Angela Warnick. The outside crew consisted of Lance Morgan, Johnny Smith, and Mike Ashenfelter. You all did a great job! I hope that you will consider doing it again next year.
Now we are looking forward to a great holiday season. I hope that it is a great one for you and your families.
SEYMOUR NEWS
by Doug Adloff
Harvest 2001 has come to an end for most of us, and now it's time to get that ground chiseled and fertilized in preparation for next year's crop. My first harvest at Seymour was a pleasant one. Getting acquainted with most of the patrons here was my favorite part about this harvest; there sure are a lot of nice people in this community, and they have made me feel welcome and right at home.
We were one of the Topflight elevators that accepted nonGMO soybeans this harvest. I believe that the program was a success overall. I tested every load of contracted beans that came across the scale, only to have a handful of rejects. Most generally, the feedback I received from the producers was positive regarding the nonGMO soybean program and testing procedure. Approximately 250,000 bushels of corn are on the ground east of the elevator in a concrete bunker. We have begun picking it up already, and by the time this article is printed, we should have most of it done.
In the latter part of October, we had, as a lot of the comminity remembers as if it were yesterday, a thunderstorm that produced tornadoes and high straight-line winds that did a lot of damage around Monticello. We were very fortunate that there were no major injuries as a result of the devastation. However, we had an empty government bin go over during the storm here at Seymour. The Seymour firefighters cut it up as a training exercise for a new steel cutting saw that they purchased for use in extricating people out of cars, buildings, etc. That took a lot of the work out of removing the bin.
I want to extend a big thanks to those part-timers who helped out up here this fall; you were all a big help in making this harvest a smooth one. Our excellent crew conssited of Donavin Webb, Kenny Skinner, Erik Miericke, Blake Humes, Alice Rice, and Becky Headly. You all did a great job!!
As everyone is winding down for the winter, I want to wish you a safe and happy Holiday Season
PIERSON HAPPENINGS
by Russel Wright
As I sit here today, reflecting on the recent harvest, lets give thanks for a safe and bountiful harvest season. This year's harvest at Pierson was a "bin buster", as they say. The Pierson facility took over 205,000 bushels of corn as well as almost 85,00 bushels of soybeans over pre-harvest projections. I want to thank our customers for making this possible.
I also want to thank the many employees for working the long hours to achieve this. Thanks to Gloria for all her hard work and expertise. Thanks also to Jean Kistler for working the one-weigh scales, as well as sampling the grain. Stacey Lehew would come in the evening, to help at the scales so we could get our paperwork done. Our outside help of Benny, Denny West, and John Logue deserve a big thank you and a pat on the back for dumping all this grain and keeping the line to a minimum, not only dumping, but loading out, drying corn, and filling the two outside rings. I want to thank Brock for working the countless hours of making sure everday ran smoothly, not only at Pierson, but Atwood, Lanton, Burrowsville, Lake City, Smiths, Van Horns, and LaPlace. Willard made sure all the breakdowns were kept to a minimum.
A thank you to Tim Nelson, Curtis Deel, and Chris Canull for their hard work at Lanton this year. I can't forget Dave Conlin at Burrowsville. He was a one man show, weighing, running the nonGMO test of the soybeans and after waiting for the test results, dumping the beans.
Debby and I are looking forward to our son's (Marcus) wedding the Saturday after Thanksgiving. He is marrying Nicol Troyer from Gibson City. Her parents are neighbors to Dick Thomas's mother. All the grandchildren (5) are growing and looking forward the the holidays. Speaking of that, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.
MERCHANDISER REPORT
by Scott Docherty
The September 11 tragedy sure has changed the way we live and do business in many ways. I saw a lot of flags waving high on combines, tractors and trucks this fall. I have been to a couple of events where security was tight, checking bags, cameras, and anything that looked suspicious. I know I didn't mind and I think most people have welcomed the increased security just so they can feel more comfortable in this time of uncertainty. It is hard for me to believe that Topflight Grain will even have to implement more security at all of our elevator locations. Yes, food secuirty will have to be stepped up also, and as part of that food chain, we are seeing measures being implemented to head off some type of sabotage that these terrorists may try to use.
Harvest started off great this year, with nice weather and the corn standing and moistures coming in at 21% and 22%. We started receiving grain September 4 and harvest continued until November 5, which was about 2 weeks longer than normal, with all the rain we received in October. The 8 inches of rain in October was a welcome break to harvest but it sure did NOT help our outside corn piles. Eric and all the outside help have done a nice job getting these piles picked up and put back into the elevators. All the Topflight staff did a great job of dumping and drying the 19 million bushels we received this harvest.
The LDP game was again a huge play this fall with corn LDP getting to 23 cents per bushel and beans getting to $1.42 per bushel. The USDA crop report projected the corn crop at 9.55 billion bushels and bean production at 2.92 billion bushels. These larger production estimates lowered the average farm price range in corn from $1.80 to $2.20 and in beans, $3.90 to $4.70 per bushel. The South American bean crop that is being planted right now is projected to produce a 2.64 billion bushel crop for the spring of 2002. The South American crop for 2003 is projected to be even larger and porduce more soybeans than the US for the first time in history! The big question is what will the new farm bill entail for farmer subsidies and loan rates? This will determine what kind of corn and bean acreage we could see planted working into 2003. There has been a lot of talk concerning corn on corn acreage for 2002, with December 2002 corn futures at $2.47 and November 2002 bean futures trading at $4.61.
The average price for November bean futures in October was $4.37, for those of you with crop revenue policies and the average price for December corn as of this writing is $2.04. The spring guarantee was $2.46 for CRC corn policies. Remember, to make sales up to your guaranteed yield when using these crop revenue policies for the 2002 crop year.
Topflight Grain is offering High oil corn contracts for the 2002 crop year and will also be offering a nonGMO bean contract for next year. The details for the nonGMO bean contract should be available by the 2nd week of December.
I look forward to working with you this winter and wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas.
COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, IMPROVEMENTS
by Eric Clements
I hope everyone's harvest went well this year. I think that everything went smooth at Topflight. We didn't need all the rain that we got on the ground piles, but the rains came when we needed a good break. The biggest breakdown was a leg belt at Cisco that tore in two. Henry Lust drove to Des Moines, Iowa, to pick up the new belt. Garold and Roger were in charge of the belt and bucket crew. They had it all up and running by 5:00 the next day.
As I write this, we should be finished picking up the ground piles at Milmine and Emery in a couple of days. Between the two places, we can pick up about 80,000 bushels a day. The weather has been ideal for picking the corn up off the ground.
Lately, I have been working on projects and improvements for the upcoming year. If anyone has any comments or suggestions about any of our facilities, please feel free to contact me. Sometimes little things can make a big difference.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.
HARVEST #26
by Louie Tieman
Sept 6 was my first load of beans at 13.2% moisture. I predicted the 8th. My first load of corn was September 10, and I predicted the 13th. Moisture was 20.6%.
Sept 11 a field of corn made 199 bushel/acre, #2.
Sept 15 Linda Bowlby's first prediction was ????
Sept 20 Spankie, Jim Burns hired man, told me that when you see a green light come on that doesn't always mean to go, especially if you're at the horse & buggy elevator and the probe is still down in the truck!
Sept 21 Whoops! Tailgate popped open on the way to town.
Sept 21 Wilma Lux said I have one of the nicest articles in the newsletter. She brought in fried chicken, BBQ, and cheeseburgers since I was busy running the scales and Teri was cleaning up the corn from "Whoops!" Teri hauled in 146 bushels from the spillover. Roy told her not to sell it, that he'd tell her when to sell it. The price that day was $1.94. When to sell, Roy?
Sam Brandenburg helped put up our flag pole, today, also. Turn signal on truck for Linda Born, truck wasn't used to turn signal. Dessert day was carrot cake, but Alice Briggs took care of ole Louie!
Sept 25 Met George Muirhead again for the first time in about 20 years. He brought me grain way back then. He hasn't aged in all that time.
Today was also the day Tom Walsh told me it was like the sign at Glennon's Tavern, "Free beer tomorrow". Well, my load of beans was the same way.
Sept 26 Gregg Briggs told his mom to cut Jim Sebens' dessert into smaller pieces. That way, I would be able to get my dessert. Thanks, Gregg, good advice.
Started putting corn on the ground today.
Sept 27 Linda Born said "all done" with beans.
Sept 29 Yes, sir, Wilma Fendley forgot to weigh back empty again. This makes the 4th year in a row. I'm betting now she will not do it again next year.
Oct 1 Betty Hendrix brought me apples, again this year. I usually get apples and
watermelon. Maybe Warren didn't raise watermelons, huh, Warren?
Today was the day the chain stuck on the big spout. Can't forget that day.
Oct 2 Duane Robson always says, "Have a nice day, Louie." Has to be better than the day before, right? Must be a better day. Larry Larson tells me these scales are the fastest, this side of the Mississippi.
Oct 3 Jack Swartz brought in a load of corn and said it was overloaded. Ole Kyle J. wouldn't shut off the auger wagon.
Oct 6 Linda Born came in and kept saying "Dave Thompson's going to try it, Dave's going to try it."
Oct 9 I met Jim Linville's kids today, Nathan, and Twila. They sure liked the candy.
Spankie said he was tired of the 30 - 40 minute lines. I told him to come to a good "fast" elevator and quit bragging on LaPlace and Cisco.
Imogene Phipps brought over baked goods. She said if they did it in Bement, then she had to, in Milmine.
Jerry Huffington jokingly tole me he was going to have a semi next year, but don't tell Dad.
Oct 11 It's getting rough in the old world. Thurm's driving a silver combine and Duane B has a Steiger in his field. Fact or rumor?
Oct 12 Debi James brought donuts and said I was older than her. Ouch!!
Oct 16 People are wondering about Stason and said he should write a big newsletter article.
Oct 18 Linda Bowlby made her FAMOUS turtle cake today. There was white powder on the top of it. Teri said it was going to be confiscated! LOL!!
One driver hauling in said he liked Milmine over ONE of the elevators because the outside guys were really friendly.
Oct 20 Ed Huffington said he didn't sign my paycheck, but he would sign the bottom of the next newsletter. He said his son in Missouri really enjoys our newsletter. Thanks, Gary Huffington, your name even made our Topflight newsletter.
Oct 29 Shirley Sievers said she got her Cadillac back. That's the tandem with the automatic in it.
Nov 7 I found out today that Roger Briggs has a new Corvette. I thought I heard it wrong, so I asked again. I heard it right, OK, but then I heard it had a "For Sale" sign on it. I bet ole Charles A, retired farmer from Monticello had something to do with that.
Nov 12 Everyone finished harvest, corn and beans.!!!!!!!
Thanks for your business and have a wonderful Holiday Season as the end of the year winds down.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU
by Pam Jarboe
This newsletter comes to you, as you can tell, through the effort of our talented (although not always eager!) staff. They take pictures, collect news items in your community, and write about the events at your local elevator. Once they have done all that, I spend about two days, assembling it, so the printer can make it look good for you to read and enjoy. (They do excellent work, from the paper clipped assortment of articles and pictures that we give them.) I have found that it's best to go home, where, except the cat meowing for attention, it's quiet. Thursday, while I was home, I was interrupted several times by telephone solicitors. Some of them are even rude. I slammed the phone down the last time, and vowed to create support for a congessional ban on telephone solitations.
Soon, I calmed down, as I retyped a few more harvest articles, and reflected on what this season is truly about. Throughout this newsletter, you will read about the bountiful harvest, the good quality of this year's crop, and the terrific people we had to help us through the season. Those are the reasons for the first Thanksgiving, a season we still celebrate. As producers of the food for this country, we still have reason to be thankful and grateful for the bounty of our crop, and the family and friends that surround us.
These same family and friends will continue to be with us, as we celebrate the Christmas holidays. Especially in agriculture, where we have worked hard all year, this is the season to gather with family and friends, and enjoy the fellowship of these wonderful people. We include you, our customers, among our family and friends. In our agricultural communities, we work together, we play together, we pray together. We're deeply entwined in many people's lives. That is the strength of our rural areas, and that brings so much meaning to the Holiday season. We have so many people to share our lives with, to share the season with, to extend our best wishes to. May the season be bright for you and your loved ones, from Dan, Eric, Shannon & Jason, and me.
JASPER BURTON
by Richard Thomas
Jasper Burton stopped in the other day to show me a picture of him and his 1987 grain truck. Jasper retired a few years ago, but the truck is still running. Jack Gallivan bought the truck when Jasper retired and still uses it to haul grain in the fall. Jasper said he had owned 5 different trucks in the 60 years he had been trucking. The Burton family moved to Bement when Jasper was 9 years old, from Summerset, Kentucky. Jasper and his brother, Herb, could put more bushels of grain on a truck without ever spilling any, than any other person I've ever seen. Jasper said they used to haul lots of Topflight Feed back in the early 1940's. Sometimes they would bag feed until 10:00 pm, in the evening, and made deliveries as far away as Danville, Illinois. Jasper also hauled grain from the local corn shellers and filled the bin site we used to have at Voorhies. What I remember about Jas was he would always shut his truck off when he pulled on the scales, while you weighed and probed him. He knew how to pinch a penny. Jasper and his wife, Evelyn, are to be congratulated because they raised four fine children and sent all but one through college. Jas, we're glad you're enjoying your retirement and THANKS for all the hard work you've done for the elevator over the years.
Our congratulations to . . .
Joe & Virginia Ponder, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary;
David & Lynley Luck, parents of a new daughter, Landyn;
Brandon & Tammi Boyd, parents of twin sons, Mason & Matthew;
Chris Karr, proudly displaying his Topflight Grain cap in the "Soybean Digest";
Lynne Bruhn's grandfather, whose picture appeared in their local paper, with his Toplfight Grain cap;
John & Beulah Hendrix, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary;
Charlotte Rainey, celebrating her 80th birthday;
Pauline Muirhead, celebrating her 90th birthday;
Nora Veech, celebrating her 100th birthday;
Heather Mulvaney, one of our part-timers last fall, who was crowned Homecoming Queen during the Bement Homecoming activities;
Helen Thomas, celebrating her 85th birthday;
Brock Casteel and Katie Feazel, recently engaged;
Sara Rawlins, with an "A" in her Parkland Marketing class;
Randy & Michelle West, recently married;
Rob & Becky Marsh, parents of a new son, Cody.
Our sympathies to the families of . . .
Ross Reeder, Mabel Rutherford, Helen Harrison, Donald McKinley, Galen Jenkins, Martha Dunn, Hildred Wheat, Lucille Funk, Gladys Evelyn Phillips, Flora Dye, John Fay, Nelson Jackson, Dean "Spud" Shepherd, Wilbur Trimble, Charles R. Gregg, Dorothy Scott, Norma Martin,
and all others who have lost loved ones.
WHY YOU STORE GRAIN IN BINS
by Richard Thomas
We ended harvest with about 1.2 million bushels of corn on the ground, uncovered. Then we have another 800 thousand that is covered and on asphalt or lime. The only reason I mention this is the exposure we have in doing something like this. The last two years, we have been very fortunate that the weather cooperated with us. This year, it was a different story. The first corn we put on the ground was September 26th, at Milmine, out in a corn field, and it has had about 8.5 inches of rain on it, so far. We also have a pile at Emery, out in a bean field that has had over 6.5 inches of rain on it. We started picking these piles up the 1st of November and hope to have all the uncovered corn picked up before Tahnksgiving. The corn on top of the piles in sprouting and looks like it is almost tall enough to cultivate. The first that we put out is also very hot. We have to bring it all back into the elevators and re-dry it to get the sour odor out. So far, we have been able to blend it out without getting too much of a discount. However, the corn next to the ground is so wet and damaged that we are separating it into another pile and it will be worth only salvage vaule.
I remember the first time we ever piled corn on the ground. It was at the Piatt elevator. We went to the top of the concrete elevator and put a flex spout over the side, some 125 feet up in the air, and planned to run corn on the ground, next to the elevator. Art and Betty Knowles were still running the elevator at Piatt, and, of course, Art didn't want to do it. I remember telling him, "Tomorrow an noon, we're going to the ground, and that's it! Get ready!" He called me the next day after he started to the ground and asked where I wanted the pile. I was really getting mad at him by now, and said "Right next to the elevator just like I've been telling you." Art says, "Well, some of it is going on the office and the rest is going on top of my house." Of course, he loved that. I told him to stop and I would come out and check it out. Sure enough, the wind was catching the corn that high up in the air, and blowing it east, right where he said it was. So, Art just started dumping trucks back behind the elevator and we soon found out that, that wasn't the way to put corn on the ground. So, the next year, we put a spout down from the top of the elevator and put about 350,000 bushels on the ground. The spout worked well, but it was moisture corn we put in the pile with no aeration under it. One day, I sent Curt Miller out to check on the condition of the pile. When he came back to the office, he reported to me that the corn was so hot that birds wouldn't even land on it.
So, you can see, we have had lots of practice piling corn on the ground and why we prefer putting in in bins. You can sleep a lot better at night and don't have to worry about burning any bird's feet.
ADOPTED CLASS
We met our "adopted class", the Bement 2nd graders, in September, before the elevator lot became busy with lots of trucks. The classes of 33 students, taught by Mrs. Hammond and Mrs. Strack, were attentive and eager. We talked to them about corn and beans, and coops, and gave them a tour of the office and the elevator. It seems, though, that the highlight of the tour was the popcorn, served at the conclusion of their visit.
Down on the farm, at Curtis Orchard
After harvest, on November 13, we visited Curtis Orchard with our second grade class. Mrs. Curtis met the group, and told us about the orchard business. She explained that with all the apple trees in the orchard, they have to have lots of honey bees to pollinate the apples. She described the bee colony and the queen bee, the worker bee and the drone bee. Each bee has a specific job within the colony, and she described these jobs. She also showed us the protective clothing that Mr. Curtis wears to gather the honey from the bee hive.
The tour of Curtis also included a demonstration of the apple sorting tray, and the cider press. Delicious apple donuts and apple cider were served to everyone, then all of the students enjoyed the playground. They wandered through the maze, jumped in the hay mow, stayed in jail, climbed on the train, and petted the small goats.
The weather was perfect for the outing. It was a wonderful trip for the Topflight employees, and the second grade classes.
SPUD SHEPHERD
by Richard Thomas
Bonnie and I went to the Veteran's Day celebration here in Bement on the 11th of November, and we were really impressed with the program. The speakers did a fine job and the music was great. I couldn't help but think about my old buddy Spud Shepherd, who recently passed away. Spud was really involved in the Veterean's organization. He worked hard on getting a booklet printed with all the veteran's pictures in it and what wars they fought in. I was glad I had the opportunity to honor Spud at our last annual meeting. As our preacher says, "Spud is still with us, he just has a new address".
COME, VISIT US
At Topflight Grain, we always enjoy visiting with our customers, whether on the phone, in the office, via the newsletter, on on our website.
We continue to update our website, and offer changes that you suggest, to help you in your farming operation. Recently, we added a page of LDP values. You can get the LDP and PCP daily values, since the beginning of harvest. This information may help you as you make decisions about the government program payments. We also added a rain map through the spring and summer months. Louie Tieman kept this page updated and it provided some interesting information to everyone who visited that page. Afrer the crop tour, those results were posted on the website. During harvest, we added a page that showed our daily harvest receipts. (We hear that ADM loved that page!) Denny updates the cash grain bids and market comments, daily, showing the bids at each location, the basis, and the change from the previous day. Soon, you will be able to view your grain records through our website.
If you want to see what any of us look like, our pictures are on the staff page, with an email link back to any of us in the office. Some of our important customers (that's you!) are shown on the "Customers" page. Pictures of your facilities and a history of the company are also included. You'll even notice some nice aerial photographs of the facilities. These have been taken by Ginny Dahms and Burr Nelson, part of the team who hosts and puts together the information on our website. Some of the other pictures were taken by Paul Fleener.
All of this information is available at www.topflightgrain.com. During the month of October, an average of 4900 people per day checked in on us, through the website. They have visited from Canada, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Norway, universities, other grain companies, and government agencies.
However you visit us, we're happy to hear from you, appreciate your comments, and are glad that you chose to do business with us.
CAREERS IN AGRICULTURE SCHOLARSHIP
Agrilance, Land O'Lakes, Farmland Feed, and Croplan Genetics are sponsoring the "Careers in Agriculture" scholarship program. They will be distributing $50,000 in scholarhips to students pursuing a career in agriculture.
If you are a student, or know a student, who is interested in an agriculture career, please call the Bement office for a scholarship application form. You can also obtain the form, on line, at www.agriliance.com.
It may give someone a good opportunity!
WHAT'S HAPPENIN'??
Gerber State Bank is installing an ATM machine in the entryway to the Cisco office.
Chris Karr won the "Hats On" award, for wearing his Topflight Grain cap, in a recent Soybean Digest article. Chris will be Doug's guest for lunch, in recognition of the award.
We've been meeting with Illinois Power, trying to solve a low voltage problem at Emery.
Jim Murphy's daughter, Tasha, has recovered from a broken arm.
The KYROS preschool students toured the Monticello elevator in October. Derrick gave them popcorn and balloons.
The Bement Sophomore class, who built their homecoming float in the Mill, won first place in the Homecoming Parade, with their float.
Adam Logue passed his CDL test.
The Emery, Seymour and Pierson offices were broken into. The thieves took money from the pop machines.
Scott spoke at the Hervey City test plot tour, in August.
The Monticello crew helped clean up, after the tornado destroyed parts of Monticello. Fortunately, we had little damage at the elevator.
2001 HARVEST FACTS & FIGURES
Date harvest began: September 4
Date harvest ended: November 9
Total bean receipts: 4,100,829 bushels
(including nonGMO)
nonGMO receipts: 654900 bushels
Total corn receipts: 14,950,866 bushels
(including high oil)
High oil corn receipts: 499700 bushels
Biggest bean day: September 26
297,027 bushels
Biggest corn day: October 4
835,489 bushels
Total beans shipped out: 1,094,710 bushels
Total corn shipped out: 3,864,544 bushels
Total employees on payroll: 95 people
Corn on the ground: 1.2 million, uncovered
900, covered, on asphalt
Average corn moisture: 17.35%
Average bean moisture: 11.46%
SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what happened and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical. But, as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he should shake it off and step up.
This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up. . shake it off and step up . . shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up.
It wasn't too long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him - all because of the manner in which he handled this adversity.
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
All Topflight Grain offices will be closed on Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25th, and on New Year's Day, Tuesday, January 1st.
In order to prepare all the January checks, please complete your grain business by the close of business on Friday, December 28th. We will be printing January checks and settlements during the weekend so that you can pick them at the opening of business on Tuesday, January 2, 2002.
If you wish to pay your drying bill, or storage bills, in the 2001 year, please be sure that the check is in our office before Friday, December 28. If you "need" additional income in 2001, please be sure to notify us by Friday, December 28.
THE BULL and THE BEAR
Topflight Grain received the "Bull and Bear" award from Growmark, in August. As one of five recipients of the award, Topflight was acknowledged for the shipment of over 19 million bushels of grain through the Growmark system, in the past year.
The award was announced at the Growmark annual meeting, and printed in several news articles, and on the Growmark website. Growmark recognizes member achievements to demonstrate that "member cooperatives are a valuable resource to their owners and to Growmark."
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
I ran into a stranger as he passed by.
"Oh, excuse me please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too:
wasn't even watching for you."
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked her down.
"move out of the way," I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But the children you love, you seem to abuse.
Look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers she brought for you.
She picked them herself, pink, yellow, and blue.
She stood quietly not to spoil the surprise,
and you never saw the tears in her eyes."
By this time, I felt very small
and now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by her bed:
"Wake up, little girl, wake up," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
She smiled, " I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."
I said, "Daughter, I'm sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
She said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway."
I said, "Daughter, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."
We all know what FAMILY means:
Father
And
Mother
I
Love
You
MARKET POOL NEWS
by Denny Hill
The Topflight Grain Marketing Pool is a risk management marketing service that we offer to our patrons to give them an alternative to his or her marketing plan by having full time advisors working to make better market decisions for your operation. The 2002 Pool sign-up is underway and will close January 31, 2002. If you are interested, please give me a call at 1-800-955-2180, or contact your local branch office.
We had a good response with the 2001 Marketing Pool with the corn pool receiving 1.4 million bushels and 312,000 bushels in the soybean pool.
The following is a breakdown of what we have done with the 2001 Marketing Pool. With the corn pool, we had an average cash sale of $21.0 for the fall delivery, fall pay customers. With the average LDP payment during harvest being 18 cents, our customers were netting $2.28 a bushel. We have purchased call options on 80% of these bushels to give us some upside protection. The second pool, we started in January, had an average cash sale of $2.05, so they were netting $2.23 per bushel. This would compare with the average customer who sold their corn across the scale and received $2.05 per bushel, including their LDP. As you can see, we have netted our customers an extra 18 to 23 cetns per bushel so far and have covered our sales with call options in case of rallies in the market into next spring.
With the soybean LDP calculations being 10 to 15 cents out of line with the cash price of soybeans most of this fall, we decided to put our bean pool bushels on a basis contract after harvest and will look to price them with any rallies in the market. Our goal with the soybeans is to get our customers at least 20 cents over loan rate and replace our sales with call options if we see it necessary.
The 2002 Marketing Pool Sign-Up will end January 31, 2002, so please respond immediately, if you are interested in this program we offer.
nonGMO BEAN PROGRAM
If you have nonGMO beans stored in your bin at home, those beans could be eligible for a 20 cent premium. The first "call" for nonGMO beans has opened up, and the market is seeking your beans. Please check with your local Topflight office, if the beans in your farm bin are non GMO. We may be able to help you earn an extra 20 cents per bushel.
2002 HIGH OIL CORN PROGRAM
The high oil corn program for 2002 will include premiums of 20 cents for fall delivered corn and 25 cents for "buyer's call" delivered after harvest of 2002. (These are the maximum premium. The actual premium is based on the oil content of your corn.) Seymour has been added as a delivery location for the 2002 high oil program, in addition to the Bement and Cisco facilities. If you're interested in this program to enhance your corn profits, please ask your local manager about the details.
LDP & PCP
The government payment, or Loan Deficency Payment, again, this year, will be a very significant portion of your farm income. To collect this payment, you must complete the proper forms at the FSA office, and you may need to submit your delivery sheets. If you need help understanding this program, or need copies of your delivery sheets, please let us know. We also have the 633 forms in each of the offices, and will fax the form to the FSA office, if you want us to. We can also fax your delivery sheets to the FSA office, if you ask us to. We'll do whatever we can, to help you with the farm program.
PUUULLLLL ITTTTT!!!
20 shooters participated in the Topflight Turkey Shoot on Tuesday, November 13, at the Warrensburg Sportsman's Club.
Turkeys were won by the top five shooters in the 50 bird "derby", where each participant shot 25 targets from the 16 yard line, then another 25 targets from his "yardage", determined by the score of the first 16 targets. Other turkeys were won by the two pair of shooters who won the "Protect your Partner" contest, where a pair of shooters tries to outscore the other pairs of shooters. The last contest was a "splatter board", where pairs of shooters tried to scatter shot closest to the center of a sheet of paper.
Derby prizes were won by Dan Jarboe, Johnny Bailey, Ron Parsons, Rob Wood, and Gary Brelsfoard. The Protect your Partner shoot was won by Ed Lynch and Dick Brelsfoard, and Craig Bushert and Ron Clark.
Everyone enjoyed a casual lunch of BBQ, potato salad and baked beans. Door prizes awarded to each shooter. These were donated by Decatur Junction Railroad, Shooters Corner, and Topflight Grain. If you'd like to join us next year, please call, to be sure you're on the "trap" list. It was a fun day, and avid to "not-so-avid" shooters had a good time.
Christmas Open House
Friday, December 21
at all Topflight locations
Please join us for refreshments and fellowship as we celebrate the spirit of the Holiday Season!
Merry Christmas to each of you and your families.