106 years Strong

Comfrey • Morgan • Morton • Springfield • Wabasso

www.HarvestLand.com

Vol. 14 No. 3 • September 2012

You Define ValueAt Harvest Land, we feel that the best use of our time and energy is in strengthening our relation-ships with our most important assets—our owners, employees, and business partners. As I wrote in the last newsletter, we continue to pursue our goal of building a better organiza-tion and improving our relation-ships by bringing value to our owners. One important step in accomplishing that is creating a common focus, then commu-

nicating it effectively within our organization. That was the driving force behind our Value Proposition.

What is a Value Proposition?A Value Proposition is a promise of value to be delivered and a belief from the customer that value will be delivered. Put another way, we make a commitment to you, and we expect you to hold us to that commitment.

A diversified team of Harvest Land employees was created to develop our Value Proposition, and we worked closely with United Suppliers, one of our business partners with experience in helping to facili-tate the Value Proposition process. We were motivated by a desire to make a real difference in the lives of our owners, employees, and business partners.

The Value Proposition gets all of us on the same page. Ulti-mately, we believe it will result in easier decision making and better resource allocation, create a highly engaged workforce, and clarify why you, as our owners, should support this business. It’s putting our purpose statement—“Committed to Our Owners’ Success”—into action.

The Value Proposition isn’t an entirely new direction, but rather a focusing concept developed from the core

values that have guided Harvest Land for decades: vision, financial strength and stability, and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with all stakeholders. These are values that don’t change, but instead are the underpinning of our company culture.

You suggested, we respondedOur Value Proposition isn’t a concept to be implemented “down the road.” We are, and have been, listening to our owners, and we’ve already taken steps to deliver value in response to what we’ve heard.

Kevin Langemo, livestock production specialist, was added to our team in August. His hiring was based on your suggestion that it would be of value to you if we would step up to the plate, better utilize our new feedmill, and address livestock producers’ need for improved nutritional information, swine sourcing for independent producers and integrators, and production and risk management services. Read more about Kevin on page 8.

Long-time Harvest Land employee Kurt Soupir has also stepped into a new role as producer marketing advisor. You suggested that a source of readily available grain marketing advice would be of value to you in these extremely volatile times. Kurt is that presence, available to visit you on your farm, by phone, or in the Morgan office—whichever is more convenient for you.

Yes, the numbers are important and there will be time to talk about them. But those numbers mean nothing if our success doesn’t translate to yours. You are the reason we exist, and that’s why we remain “Committed to Our Owners’ Success.”

As always—and we cannot say it enough—thank you, and keep your input coming. We are intently listening, engaged, and ready to deliver. n

AgQuest InsurAnce Agency Is An eQuAl OppOrtunIty prOvIder

By DENNIS SCHREIERGENERAL MANAGER

Page 2 ©2010 Harvest Land Cooperative. All Rights Reserved. Published in partnership with VistaComm® (www.VistaComm.com).Page 2 ©2012 Harvest Land Cooperative. All Rights Reserved. Published in partnership with VistaComm® (www.VistaComm.com).

A Fond Farewell

Mike Vollmer will miss two things when he retires at the end of this month—the friends he’s worked with, and the customers who have become friends through the years.

With more than 40 years of experience in the farm credit industry—the past 16 with AgQuest—Mike’s accumulated wisdom will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace. But he’s also irreplaceable in his other role. “My wife, Patricia, has been retired for two-and-a-half years, and she’s tired of being home alone,” Mike states.

Mike began his career in 1971 with Farmers Home Administration, and later worked with the Federal Land Bank. He started at what was then Harvest Land Inc. in the fall of 1996. “When I started, I recall that all of our loans fit into two file drawers,” Mike notes.

“AgQuest has grown tremendously since those early days.”

Many producers have worked with Mike during his entire AgQuest career. “With some of those, not only have we developed a growing business relationship, but we’ve also become friends,” he says. “I’ll miss that, but I think the hardest thing will be leaving the relationships that I’ve developed with my co-workers over the years.”

The Vollmers have no big plans for retire-ment, but it sounds like he’ll have no trouble keeping busy. “We moved into a

new home about two years ago, so there are odds and ends that need to be done there,” he says. “We’ll take some day trips and do some antiquing. And we have three generations of things to go through to prepare for some gigantic garage sales.” n

Is Your Grain Covered?

Many Harvest Land producers carry peak-season grain coverage with us. With the steady (and sometimes spectacular) increases we’ve experienced in grain prices over the past few years, it’s a good idea to touch base with us and make sure your policy values are still in line with the real value of your stored grain.

If you don’t carry peak-season grain coverage and are wondering what we’re talking about, here’s a quick explanation. The normal property insurance policy would cover the bins on your farm in the event of loss—for example, a windstorm ruptures a bin. The grain inside, however, would not be covered.

Peak-season grain coverage insures the grain against loss. And, it is structured so that the coverage is adjusted as the volume of stored crop changes. Give me a call at 320-523-5824 to review your coverage or get the details about peak-season coverage. And, of course, if you’re in the market for farm coverage from someone who really understands the unique risks involved in agricul-ture, call me for a quote. n

By AMBER WEBER, AGQuESt

Bridge Project Nears Completion Work on the State Highway 258 bridge two miles south of State

Highway 14 should be wrapped up in the next few days.

Page 3

Preparation Will Make Claim Process Easier

As we prepare for the harvest, there are a few things to keep in mind. Before chopping for silage or the destroy-ing of any crop, it is imperative to contact your AgQuest agent. Those fields need to be appraised or released before the crop is put to another use. If you believe you will have a production loss as you are checking your fields, please call us at that time. We will set up a claim to follow notice of loss procedures. OLd CROP GRAIn MUST Be MeASURed PRIOR TO neW CROP STORAGe.

The moisture-short 2012 season raises the possibility of a $200,000 claim. Any time there is a $200,000 claim, the system will trigger an APH review, which is a review and verification of your actual historical production. Once you have had a $200,000 claim and your APH has been verified, that information will be maintained and you will not be required to submit it again.

Keep production separate by unit, and/or by field if possible. Permissible methods of keeping production separate include: • Printable combine monitor records along with total

accountable production.• Settlementsheetsofproofofsalereceipts.• Appraisalsperformedbyanadjuster• Markingabinbyunitnumber.• Weighingproductionwithacertifiedscale.• Recordedweightsfromagraincartwithanintegrated

scale.• An accurate count of wagons, trucks, or combine

hoppers.• Acceptablefeedrecords.

Record retentionYou are required to retain your harvested produc-tion records for three years. If you are in the 2012 crop year, then records from 2011, 2010, and 2009

would be required. Records to retain could include, but are not limited to:• Settlement sheets or other

acceptable proofs of final crop. It is recommended that you label each load with the unit it was harvested from.

• Appraisals.• Bin measurements by a

claims adjuster or FSA representative.

Please make sure that your crop insurance payments are received by, or are clearly postmarked on or before, 10/31/12. If this does not happen, then interest must be charged from the original due date or from 9/1/12, depending on the policy. The RMA rule applies only to this year, so the dates will change for 2013.

Aflatoxin Aflatoxin takes advantage of moisture stress and insect damage under high temperatures conditions like we experienced this summer. If you suspect your crops have aflatoxin, contact your AgQuest insurance agent before you:• Harvestthegrain,• Putthegraininstorage,or• Deliveritforsale.

AIP must perform the sampling to be taken directly from the field and processed through an approved testing facility before moved to storage.

Please call us if you have any questions. When in doubt, check it out, and have a safe harvest season. n

By kAtHy MAINERAGQuESt INSuRANCE offICE MANAGER

Some Issues Could Surface at Harvest

Conditions during the growing season weren’t necessarily prime for top yields, but they were, in many cases, favorable for stalk rot. It’s a good idea to check your fields for stalk issues and schedule the worst fields to harvest first.

I guess the only good thing you can say about a year like this is that it offers a great oppor-tunity to evaluate seed treatments and how various hybrids and varieties performed.

Early birds likely to get the seedIt’s too early to sound an alarm, but keep in mind that seed fields went through the same growing season our crops did. The sooner you can sit down with your account manager and come up with your order for next year, the better. Some of the experts are talking about 100 million acres of corn next year, which would be a tall seed order to fill in a good year.

Finally, a general reminder that if you see something in the field that doesn’t look right, call your account manager right away. don’t wait until the field is harvested and worked up before you report a problem, because those are pretty tough to confirm. n

By BREtt BRAuLICk AND DouG JESkE

The Harvest Land herbicide eval-uation plot was planted May 21. Corn pre-plant incorporated herbicides were applied April 26 and soybean pre-plant incorpo-rated herbicides were applied April 30. The pre-emerge appli-cations were not made until May 21. We planned on applying pre-plant corn and soybean her-bicides within a week before planting, followed by the pre-

emerge applications the day of planting. Once again, nature did not cooperate with us. Wind and rain resulted in a three- to four-week gap between these two sets of applications, so please take this into consideration when looking at the overall ratings for the soybean and corn. The pre-plant incorporated herbicides had suppressed weed germination much longer than the pre-emerge applications when ratings were done. next year, we will add more checks to the herbicide plots to make rating individual products easier, as we had too much distance between checks in this year’s plot. When you look at rating percentage differences, understand that no actual counting of weeds is involved. A rating of 92% vs. 86% is not a large difference because it is more of a visual opinion. Conversely, a rating of 85% vs. 65% would indicate a significantly visible difference.

The corn pre-plantsIt became obvious that we waited one week too long in rating the corn pre-plant incorporated products vs. 2011. One thing I can take from that is when using a fall-applied product, we probably should be applying the post-emerge application within six weeks of planting. A spring incorporated or pre-emerge should be done within seven weeks of planting. For those of you that are considering a fall application, Metalachlor (dual®) seems to have less breakdown than acetachlor (Harness®). If using acetachlor, possibly increase rates a little. For spring, in my opinion (based on past seasons), acetachlor products seem to have a little better activity on small-seeded broadleaves.

The soybean pre-plants As I stated above, these products were on approximate-ly three weeks longer than the pre-emerge applications. From my perspective (as well as the others rating these herbicides), as was the case in 2011, Authority™ First performed well, coming close to matching the best pre-emerge applications that were applied much later. As long as your fall tillage does not have too much variation (4” from high to low), it allows a much wider window of application (three weeks prior to planting in this case)

while still showing very good residual activity. The Prowl®/Sharpen® combination did well on waterhemp and lambsquarter, but because we can only apply 1.25 oz. of Sharpen, the ragweed control faded after about 3 ½ weeks (this is expected).

I would like all of you (at least the ones without rota-tional restrictions) to consider an incorporated Authority First application vs. a pre-emerge application for two reasons.• Afterthelambsquarterproblemsthisyear(toomany

escaped the field cultivators), please consider a leveling pass on cornstalks followed by Authority, and then a shallow second pass. This additional pass will help reduce the lambsquarter left in the field, or possibly eliminate them.

• If counting on a pre-emerge application, rememberthat if soil conditions are good, you may only have five days to make this application. Throw in wind and rain events and it leaves a very narrow window (sometimes a day or less) to get your pre-emerge applied.

Please keep in mind that in a field that has or is suspected to have resistant weeds (waterhemp or ragweed) it is crucial to have that soil-applied herbicide on! With the limited options we have with post-emerge, trying to get a heavy population of resistant weeds under control after they germinate is next to impossible.

New soybean products There are three new herbicides containing Zidua® that were tested in soybeans pre-emerge: Anthem™, Fierce™, and a tankmix of Zidua and Verdict™. each was impres-sive on lambsquarter and waterhemp. Unfortunately, the availability of these herbicides in 2013 will be very limited. One new post-emerge product, Marvel® (pre-mix of Flexstar® and Cadet®) was tested and seemed to do a very nice job. We are expecting a little better supply of that product, possibly to pair up with Authority, as they are both made by FMC.

SummaryThere were only 16 rows of soybeans that that did not receive a mode of action change to control waterhemp (pre-emerge or post-emerge). Coincidentally, 12 of those 16 rows have waterhemp taller than the soybeans. Resistance? I would appreciate hearing your thoughts or questions directly or through your account manager. I would also welcome suggestions of what you would like to see next year and beyond. Space does not allow us to publish the ratings in this article, but some of the plot pictures, as well as this year’s ratings, will be posted on the website. Or, you can get a copy from your account manager. n

Herbicide Plot Yields Wealth of Data Visit www.harvestland.com to view pictures and ratings

Page 4

By tIM WoELfELCRop pRotECtIoN MANAGER

Page 5

All Over the BoardYou can understand the uncer-tainty in the market when you consider the incredible variability in yields just in our trade area. We’ve seen fields with virtually no yield already cut all the way to fields with better yields than last year. Our best estimate locally has our grain handle down 5-10% from last year on both corn and beans, and last year was down 15% from the year before. So yes, there will be an impact.

In light of that, we only have three bean trains sold for fall. We haven’t booked many corn trains, because producers don’t want corn and because producers don’t want to sell what they’re not sure they have, and neither do we. We are fortunate in that you traditionally do a good job of planning your marketing and are appropriately conservative. As a result, we generally don’t have many producers who are oversold, and conse-quently no concerns about filling contracts.

The good news, if this qualifies: The BnSF planned to increase freight rates by almost eight cents per bushel back when they were anticipating a huge crop. They

have now backed off on that rate increase in light of the projected harvest numbers. And, forecasters are still predicting the switch to an el niño pattern later this fall. Hard to imagine a wet fall at this point, but who knows.

Backward beansWe may be entering a new marketing era, at least when it comes to soybeans. As you look at the board, May beans are cheaper than harvest beans because of what is expected to be a huge South American crop. We’ve only seen this on a couple of other occasions, and then only for short periods. This looks like a lengthier event.

I tend to believe this is the way the bean markets are going to be going forward, good crop or bad, because of the role South America is playing in the world market. The world now has two big new crop pricing periods every year, and this will result in some fundamental changes in bean marketing and bean movement.

New roleFinally, congratulations are in order to Kurt Soupir, who will be taking his marketing knowledge and experience into the field in his new position as producer marketing advisor. He will be a fantastic resource for Harvest Land grain customers. n

By kEvIN DEBERGGRAIN MERCHANDISER

Upgraded and Ready

With an early harvest on the horizon, I believe we’re in good shape to take advantage of what could be an extended fall applica-tion season. Virtually all of our dry product is onsite now. Last fall was rough on our custom ammonia rigs, so we have upgraded the fleet with new bars. We felt we had to make that move in order to provide the level of service you deserve. We also purchased a new chisel plow for anhydrous application.

We would encourage you to line up your phosphorous and potassium application as soon as possible so we can get that down early before the anhydrous rush. That’s a huge help in scheduling our equipment and providing timely service.

Finding part-time drivers has been a struggle recently, so we have initiated a pilot program offering generous incentives to try to expand our pool of drivers. If you’re interested in an excellent part-time income or just want more information, contact me or Kristin Henning at 507-249-3196. n

By JoEL kREtSCHopERAtIoNS

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Spend Time to Save Time

As the harvest season approaches quickly, take the time right now to ensure that this harvest will be a safe and efficient one. One way to accomplish that is to make sure that your most important piece of equipment for this season—your combine—is ready for the rush of harvest.

The key to safe and efficient combine operation is an operator who is concerned about safety and is constant-ly alert for situations which may result in injury to them-selves, family members, and co-workers, or damage to their machine. Simply put, accidents contribute to higher costs, both in terms of dollars spent on repairs and/or medical expenses and dollars lost to downtime—not to mention the human cost.

Pre-harvest machine preparation Safe operation during harvest depends in part on pre-harvest preparation. Preparation should begin several weeks before harvest to allow the lead time necessary to secure replacement parts and efficiently prepare the combine for harvest. Pre-harvest preparation is also an effective way to reduce possible breakdowns during harvest.

One of the most important parts of your pre-harvest preparation is a review of your operator’s manual. A quick review will help experienced operators refresh their memories about correct operating procedures and appropriate safety precautions. new or inexperienced operators should take time to carefully read the manual and become thoroughly familiar with the operating

instructions and safety precau-tions for the machine.

Pre-harvest preparation should also include a number of other important operations which can help detect potential safety hazards and improve combine efficiency.

• Thoroughly clean the combine to remove any fieldtrash, rodent nests, and oil or grease buildup. This will not only help improve combine efficiency but may also improve safety. By removing trash, oil, and grease that has built up, you will also greatly reduce the risk of a combine fire during drier harvests.

• Carefully check for loose or missing nuts, screws,shields, and sheet metal. Missing shields should be promptly replaced to prevent accidental contact with the components they are designed to guard. Other loose or missing hardware should be tightened or replaced to prevent machine breakdown.

• Inspectallbelts,chains,andotherdrivecomponents.Look for evidence of wear, such as frayed belts, worn or loose chains and sprockets, or sloppy bearings. Replace any components which you do not feel will last through the harvesting season. It is much easier and safer to replace worn or broken parts while your combine is sitting in a well-lighted, well-equipped shop than it is to try to replace parts in a corn or soybean field under the hot sun or in the middle of the night. n

By AARoN GuGGISBERG, SAfEty MANAGER

By pAt MACHtENERGy DIvISIoN MANAGER

Don’t Wait to Line Up Energy Needs

It may be too soon to know exactly what your fall propane needs will be, but it’s definitely not too early to contract some of the propane you’ll need for drying, home heat, and agri-culture use. We’ve got a full range of contracts for propane and refined fuel, so talk to us before you get busy in the field. don’t forget about our budget payment plan for residential propane.

If you need some work done on barn heaters or any other propane-related equipment on your farm, now is the time. If you’ve already had work done this summer—new service, remodeling project, or new appliances—

we’ll need to leak check that prior to delivery. Call us, because there’s no charge when we do the checking.

What’s your plan?There may be some confusion out in the country about the deadline for having your Spill Prevention, Contain-ment, and Countermeasures (SPCC) in place. The ePA has established a deadline of May 10, 2013, but that deadline only applies to farms that began operating after August 16, 2002. If your farm was operating before that date, you should already have your plan in place.

As I’ve mentioned before, farms that store fewer than 10,000 gallons of oil products can create and self-certify their own plan without enlisting the help of a profes-sional engineer. A template that will guide you step-by-step through the process is available at http://epa.gov/osweroe1/content/spcc/tier1temp.htm. n

Page 7

Pre-harvest Notes

As combining gets under way, contact me or your account manager so we can calibrate your yield monitors for both corn and soybeans.

It’s also time to get on the schedule for fall soil sampling. Contact your account manager with the fields that need to be sampled so we can get them done as soon as you’ve harvested the crop. As usual, soil labs are busy in the fall, so the sooner we can get sampled and the results processed in, the sooner we will have fertilizer recommendations and can spread those fields. n

By MAtt pIEtIG, HARvESt MAx

Catching Up on New EmployeesWe’ve brought a lot of new talent onto the Harvest Land and AgQuest teams over the past several months—so many people, in fact, that we’ve fallen a bit behind in our introductions. We’re going to try to catch up right now.

Let’s start with Terry Jensen, who’s been pretty good at flying under the radar and dodging interviews. He’s been with Harvest Land since last October, and has kept plenty busy with custom application and other duties as assigned in the agronomy department.

Terry and his wife, Sarah, live in Springfield, where Terry grew up on the farm. He enjoys the chance to stay active in agriculture and work with area producers. He also appreciates the agronomy team he works with in Springfield.

Living two worldsnew AgQuest loan servicing representative Tanner Hansen is living in two worlds at the moment. “In a way, this is almost an extended internship for me,” He says. “I graduate from Minnesota State Mankato in december.”

Tanner is already putting the finance degree he’ll earn to work, entering loan information and learning the AgQuest system. A native of Redwood Falls, Tanner grew up in town but was always hanging around the family farming operation in Tyler.

“This is the area of the finance industry I want to be in, and the kind of company I want to work for, so I’m in a good place here,” Tanner states. “I’m also hoping to farm one day.”

When he’s not working, Tanner like sports, hunting, fishing, farming, and spending time with his family.

New directionJust about everything is new for Jessica Keech—new career path, new surroundings, and marriage. And the change has been great.

A graduate of Minneapolis Business College with an administrative assistant’s degree, Jessica works with payroll for Harvest Land. That’s a bit of a shift from her former position in a commercial real estate firm in downtown Minneapolis. She’s also returned to her home town of new Ulm.

“I lived in Minneapolis for seven years, and I got to experience life in the city,” she says. “But I recently married and I want to start a family, and this is where I want to be to do that.

“This is totally different work than what I was doing before,” Jessica continues, “so I’ve been learning a lot about insurance and agri-culture. But everyone I work with has been really nice and very helpful. And I do bring some good organiza-tional skills and expertise in excel. I think this is a good fit.”

Jessica’s husband, Justin, is also a new Ulm native who also came back home from the city—Seattle, in his case. They knew each other in high school, but got re-acquainted when both returned to new Ulm and were married in May. Though she’s been busy lately, when she does have downtime, Jessica enjoys volleyball, golf, and motor-cycle riding. n

Tanner Hansen

Jessica Keech

Terry Jensen

PO Box 278Morgan, Mn 56266-0278

Licensed Agquest cROP insuRAnce Agents

MORGAn 877-626-7453 Lynn Button, Kathy Mainer, Mark Kubesh, Cheryl Manderfeld 507-249-3196 Pat Macht, dennis Schreier, Mark Vogel, Matt Pietig COMFReY 507-877-2441 Rick KastnerMORTOn 507-697-6113 Todd Beran, Keegan MammenOLIVIA 800-463-3616 Sheri Bakker, Amber WeberSPRInGFIeLd 507-723-7350 Jim Boyle, Joel Heiling, Tim WoelfelWABASSO 507-342-5184 Jon Christensen

New Resource for Swine Producers

Harvest Land Cooperative would like to introduce our new Swine Specialist, Kevin Langemo. Kevin grew up raising hogs as the 6th generation on his family’s farm, and he’s been working in the swine industry ever since. Kevin attended the University of Minnesota majoring in ag education. Following graduation, he went to work for Land O’ Lakes, earning the position of Pork enter-prise Consultant. He left Land O’Lakes but continued to work in the swine industry, selling feed, helping put together producer groups, and advising individuals and producer groups as to best management and marketing strategies. Currently, Kevin is once again employed at Land O’Lakes and has now joined Harvest Land Coop-erative, which leads us to another major announcement.

Harvest Land is excited to announce the launch of our retail feed sales program. Kevin will be in the country making farm calls to help bring benefits to you and your farming operation. This program will be available to livestock producers who raise various species, but swine will be a particular focus. The program will also provide nutritional expertise to area producers, whether you mix your feed on the farm or have your feed milled and delivered.

Thanks to our industry affiliations, Harvest Land is able to offer services in addition to feed milling. These services include pig sourcing, production management recommendations, financing through AgQuest, risk management, and producer networking.

If we can help you in your swine enterprise, or if you have questions about the new program, please contact Glenn at 507-249-3196 or Kevin at 507-720-5561. Kevin will be glad to stop out and talk with you about your operation. n

AgQuest InsurAnce Agency Is An eQuAl OppOrtunIty prOvIder