27875 County Rd 27 Sleepy Eye, MN 56085

riverregioncoop.com

Main Office & West Elevator East Elevator Cobden Elevator Agronomy & Energy BCA Products Cenex C-Store Feed Mill

No Time Like Present to Create Your Future POSITION OPEN

We have Ice Melt too! Are you making an extra trip to the hardware store to get ice melt? Our BCA division has multiple ice melters and traction grit available for purchase by the bag or by the pallet. Many sizes and packages to choose from with varying melting capabilities—all at great prices. When you are stopping in for your agronomy, energy or tire needs, save a trip and grab a couple bags of ice melt at our BCA location or Cenex C-Store in Sleepy Eye!

River Region Co-op 2016© Created with the services of Madsen Ink Co.

River Region Coop is seeking a

Full Time Tire and Shop Mechanic to work in our maintenance shop between Essig and Sleepy Eye. Duties include tire repair in our shop and on site, maintenance on pickups, semis, trailers, forklifts, and ag equipment. Class A license preferred but will train. River Region offers competitive wages and a full benefit package. For more information, contact Robyn at 507-794-5831, ext 203. For an application, stop by one of our locations or visit our website at www.riverregioncoop.com. Send resume/application to River Region Cooperative, PO Box 429, Sleepy Eye, MN 56085 or email to [email protected].

Join our growing cooperative!

C

ongratulations to the 12 Brown County farm families who were recipients of the Century Farm designation at the 2015 Minnesota State Fair. Since the program began in 1976, nearly 10,000 farms in Minnesota (over 200 in Brown County) have been recognized as Century Farms. It is inspiring the level of sacrifice, hard work, dedication, management and planning it takes to keep a farm legacy alive for multiple generations. With today's high land prices and low commodity prices, careful succession and estate planning may be more important now than ever to ensure the farm survives the next generation. At a minimum, a strong succession plan should take into consideration: 1) Transfer of Ownership – often times the operation and land are separated, 2) Tax Considerations – minimizing estate and inheritance taxes,

Sleepy Eye &

LOCATIONS: 507-794-3031 507-794-4581 507-794-7390 507-794-5831 507-794-5411 507-794-3330 507-794-3001

Cobden

3) Legal Implications – eliminating probate and reducing settlement costs, 4) Income in Retirement – where will money for retirement living and expenses come from, 5) Estate Protection/Preservation Strategies – minimizing the risk of catastrophic long-term care expenses or other uncertainties depleting assets, and 6) Family Relationships and Feelings – the existence of a written and communicated farm transition plan may prevent families being torn apart as the farm passes from one generation to another. Just like your fences, an estate and succession plan should be “horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.” Often times this requires ongoing assistance from a team of experienced advisors to help identify and mend potential weaknesses or “holes” in a plan. Even the best plans may need to be modified over time. If your goal is to see future generations have the opportunity to continue the farming legacy, it may be time to evaluate your farm transition plan.

Prairie Plans has over 25 years of experience in helping farmers, businesses, and individuals transition assets to the next generation. For additional information on farm succession planning or if you have questions please contact Prairie Plans by phone at 723-4811 or 800-772-8809. Copyright © 2015 Prairie Plans, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Inside

• Cobden Upgrade Complete • Nine New Employees Join RCC • New Freightliner Truck Arrives • Department Columns

JANUARY 2016

n Hailing from Springfield, Travis Matter is a 2003 graduate of Springfield high school. He furthered his education by attending Ridgewater College in Willmar to pursue a degree in Auto Mechanics. Travis started working for River Region in December in our grain department as a grain laborer in our Cobden location. Prior to working with us, he worked for Harvestland Cooperative in Springfield for 6 years. Travis' hobbies include hunting, fishing, watching sports, and hanging out with family and friends. Travis is the son of John and Audrey Matter of Springfield. n Russell Parker has been with River Region part time since October 2014 in our energy and agronomy departments. He started full time in August 2015 to be our LP Transport Driver. Prior to working with River Region, Russell worked for the City of Springfield in the Park and Street department performing maintenance and landscaping duties. He also worked at Harvestland Cooperative as a custom applicator and tender driver. Russell's hobbies include fishing, cooking and motorcycling. Russell has a 16-year-old daughter, Mikayla, and lives in Springfield.

TRAVIS

RUSSELL

n Dave Worth comes to us with a long history of agronomy sales and management under his belt. He is originally from Redwood Falls, MN and attended Southwest State University in Marshall, MN studying Business Administration. After college, he was a custom applicator for Farmers Coop Oil of Echo in Echo, MN. Following some time in the military, Dave returned to Hennepin Coop Seed Exchange as the General Manager until 2010 when they merged with Waconia DAVE Farm Supply. After that, Dave was a sales agronomist for Hefty Seed in Winthrop, MN and then the agronomy manager for Farmers Coop of Hanska. Dave started at River Region on November 30th as an agronomy account manager. He is excited to be with us and he plans to stay with us until he can retire. Dave currently lives in New Ulm and when he has free time, he enjoys deer hunting and fishing.

NEW EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT 2

n As a Chicago native, Jim Conway spent time at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL pursuing Radio and TV Communications. Deciding against a career in communications, Jim got his CDL and hit the road as a commercial driver. He moved to Nashville, TN and started driving coach for various entertainers in the music entertainment business. After 24 years on the road, Jim wanted to put down a few roots and moved to the area in May of 2015 JIM where he currently resides in Morgan. Jim was hired in our agronomy department as a tender driver in September. When asked what he likes about being at River Region, Jim responds, “It's a great crew to work with!” Jim's hobbies include building and flying remote control helicopters and airplanes. n Sonya Hoffmann has been with River Region's feed department since September as our feed accounting specialist. Prior to starting with River Region, Sonya was an accountant at the Redwood County Auditor Treasurer's office. She is a Lucan native, a Wabasso high graduate and attended Southwest State University majoring in Business Accounting. Sonya currently resides in Springfield with her husband Tim. Sonya and Tim have 4 children, Shawna, SONYA 25; Shayla, 23; Kalley, 17 and Shane, 15. Sonya's hobbies include riding motorcycle, gardening, canning and spending time with her friends and family, especially her two grand-daughters, Sophia, 4 and Isabella, 2. Sonya is excited to be at River Region to learn about production agriculture and meet all of our customers. n Steve Schroepfer was hired in October as a tire service technician and mechanic for our maintenance shop. Steve is originally from Rochester, MN but moved to Sleepy Eye to be with the farming side of the family. He graduated from Sleepy Eye Public High School in 2012 and went on to study auto mechanics at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Jackson, MN where he became an ASE Certified Mechanic. Previously, Steve worked as STEVE a tire technician at Ed's Repair in Springfield. Steve is currently living in rural Sleepy Eye where he enjoys fixing his own cars.

n Holly Timgren was hired as our C-Store manager the week of Thanksgiving. She came to River Region with 18 years of retail experience from Casey's General Store. She started with Casey's in 1997 and became the assistant manager in 2008. Holly's goal while at River Region is to make our employee's work a little easier at the C-Store by streamlining operations wherever she can. Holly grew up in Wabasso and went to Mankato State University in Mankato. She and her husband Troy have been married for 17 years and live in Sleepy Eye. Holly enjoys sitting down for a good read in her free time.

HOLLY

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Protecting the soybean root system against early season diseases is one of the most important planned approaches to achieving high yielding soybeans.

T

”

Planning your 2016 Approach to Success!

he planning process for 2016 is underway. The agronomy team at River Region wants to stress the different options and line ups we have to cover your seed needs. Credenz soybeans, brought to us by Bayer, are a new seed lineup that handles both Liberty and Roundup soybeans. We also carry the reliability and versatility of Croplan, Mycogen, NK, & Stine brands.

When thinking about seed options, you really have to ask, “Is Liberty right for me?” Year after year, we struggle with troublesome fields and changes need to be made to alleviate some of that struggle. Soybean herbicide programs need to start off right from the beginning. Full rate pre-plant herbicides need to be applied in the start of the season, along with a good post applied residual. With contact herbicides in Liberty, we cannot expect to go to these fields with just a two pass program, pre plant and post, because we have too many weeds germinating throughout the entire summer. Over lapping residuals, along with a Liberty program, will definitely add another tool in the toolbox. Regardless of what seed you end up going with, stacking

Pelzel from page 6t

to ensure your furnace is safe and operating efficiently. As far as the gasoline and diesel side of things, we are right in the middle of some serious cost downside for those products.

“

I believe crude oil will trade in the $40 to $60 dollar range into 2016.

”

As I write this, crude oil is currently hovering around the $38 to $40 range, which translates to the lowest priced fuel we have seen in about seven years. Can we ever lock in gas and diesel at the very bottom of the market? Probably not, but when we see prices where they are now, it is definitely time to consider taking a position in regard to your fuel needs. Unless

By Chase Bierman Seed Specialist

residuals for the right spectrum of weeds will be key! Tough situations go away, but tough people do not! We need to understand how much weed pressure we have in the field and go to battle correctly right out of the shoot! Remember, once you see the weeds from the road they're already too big to try and control. Seed treatments are one topic we really need to start taking more seriously! We plant earlier each season into cooler soils. Every year we see 10 to 15,000 more plants per acre on a treated acre. Protecting the soybean root system against early season diseases is one of the most important planned approaches to achieving high yielding soybeans. Not only do seed treatments in early planting pay off, but also where we have higher pH soils! When we treat, we are protecting our seed from Phytophthora, Pythium and Rhizoctonia. We also offer a product called Clariva Complete to manage the disease plus cyst treatment. 2016 will have plenty of agricultural issues to manage around, whether its weed control, diseases, or insects in both corn and soybeans. Talk to your account manager to help manage your farm!

OPEC decides to significantly cut production, and barring any major conflict in the world, I believe crude oil will trade in the $40 to $60 dollar range into 2016. If you have any questions or concerns regarding anything energy, please give us a call at 507-794-5831. Thanks again for the patronage, and Happy New Year!

7

By Bruce Sevcik Senior Agronomist

Mixing it up Right!

W

“

With prices the way they are we don’t need to fertilize the weeds!

”

e've all had things in our life work well, some not so well and some total disasters. But we remember the disasters, and tend to forget the things that work well! Why should I change something that's working well for me? Good Question!

we need to have different products and products that are not totally resistant to certain weeds; mixing it up will still only work if we can get activity on certain weeds. Everyone has resistance! Some resistance is greater than others. If you don't think you have it or think you won't get it, you do and you will; the extent of how bad is up to you.

So ask yourself, how long have I been using this program and is it really working on all of my acres? Am I using the same chemistry or mixing it up? Am I getting the weeds I really need to control, or do I need to target more specific weeds?

With prices the way they are we don't need to fertilize the weeds! We need to start these fields clean and keep them clean throughout the growing season! To accomplish this means we need a good PRE-PLANT program followed by a timely POST-PLAN program for 2” to 4” weeds, and/or a cultivation or second POST-PLAN program.

Around our area the specific weeds we need to target would have to be waterhemp and giant ragweed. You have small and large seeded weeds with unbelievable numbers of seeds that germinate throughout the different depths in the soil profile! Tough to deal with, right? But targeting these specific weeds and over lapping chemistries (and products) is the best way to deal with it! But keep in mind,

By Bill Pelzel Energy Manager

Take Advantage of Low Input Costs

W

ow does time fly! Here we are again with another successful harvest in the books, at least from a yield perspective. I would like to thank all of our River Region patrons for the business you did with us this past year; we had a profitable year again because of you. I would also like to thank all of our dedicated employees for their hard work. Without their efforts, we would not be able to provide the outstanding customer service that we are known for. The energy department has been located near BCA and our new shop facility for over a year. The transition has worked wonderfully! We are communicating internally better than we ever have before, and sharing employees from department to department has proved to be very beneficial.

6

Remember that the residual properties of these chemicals generally only last 2 to 3 weeks in the soil! Overlapping and extending the residual products is the only way! For those of you that know me, I've been mixed up for years and I'm still working! Talk to your account manager, make a plan and mix it up!

As we all know, we never seem to have a down time in the ag industry; it is very critical to monitor input costs on almost a daily basis. Your energy inputs have been an extremely interesting commodity to watch in the last 12 months. We have seen propane mirror a roller coaster, but thankfully as of late propane costs have been flat. It appears to be staying there at least through the first quarter of this year when we are expecting to see exports ramp up. Having said that, we may have to consider locking up our propane costs a little earlier than what has become the norm….Just some food for thought. In addition to buying propane for your home heat, please consider giving our propane service technicians a call to conduct a furnace inspection if you haven't already done so. We have added a camera to our inspection process that we can use Pelzel to page 7 s

n Steve Wester was hired into our grain department in September as a truck driver and grain laborer. When asked STEVE what he likes the most while working at River Region, he replies, “I like working here because I get to do a variety of things and I'm not stuck doing the same thing every day.” Previously, Steve worked at Schwartz Farms hauling livestock and working in the warehouse. Steve grew up in the Redwood Falls area but graduated from Wabasso high school. He has been married for 13 years to his wife Natalie. The Westers live in Springfield and have two daughters and one son, Hailey, 19; Madison, 10 and Nick, 7.

n Kristi Saenz states she is at River Region, “Because the people are fantastic here!” Kristi has worked in our energy KRISTI department as an administrative assistant since October. She is a 2006 Springfield high school graduate and she received an associate's degree in health care management in 2012 from Colorado Technical College. Kristi is also on track to complete a second associate's degree in accounting in 2016 also from Colorado Technical College. Before coming to River Region, Kristi was the billing manager for six years at America Midwest Transportation in Courtland. Kristi and her husband Jose, have a five year old son, Jaxon, and another child on the way in the end of January. Kristi and her family reside in Sleepy Eye.

Benefiting from Swine Partnerships

G

reetings and belated Happy Holidays from all of us at the feed mill! It's been quite some time since all livestock markets have been this depressed. As we approach and work through the coming year, we don't expect any major changes. Most producers are looking at and have locked in all or part of their feed inputs. Most inputs are at levels that are helping to cushion the blow of some negative returns. If you haven't locked in any inputs or are new to the process, give us a call and we will be glad to walk you through it. On the swine side of our business, we are experiencing multiple benefits from partnering with AgriCare Nutrition and AgriSwine Alliance. AgriCare, a manufacturer of swine premixes and base mixes, has introduced us to Doug Doell, a consultant who specializes in independent diet recommendations.

By Jim Soukup Livestock Production Specialist

We utilize his experience with coproduct diets to maintain best cost of gain rations. In addition to the benefits from our partnership with AgriCare Nutrition, our partnership with folks at AgriSwine Alliance has also allowed us to provide options for our swine producers to cover all aspects of their operations. AgriSwine Alliance provides our customers direct access to wean and feeder pig sourcing, swine record keeping, marketing contracts as well as trucking options. If you have space available, we are still looking for finishing barns to fill. If you are interested in learning how these two partnerships can help your bottom line, give us a call. We continue to try to give you the best possible services and thank you in advance for trusting us with your business in 2016.

The long awaited mystery truck is finally here! Barney Treml will be sporting the new 2016 Freightliner straight truck with a Walinga feed body the next time he delivers!

3

By Kevin Subart General Manager

Year in Review

T

he past fiscal year for River Region Cooperative, which ended July 31, 2015, once again produced very positive financial results which enabled your cooperative to pay good patronage, retire past equity and reinvest in assets vital to the ever changing speed of agriculture production. First the financial results: Sales Local earnings Regional earnings Total net margins Income Tax Net Margin

$ 90,504,168 $ 2,986,472 $1,010,491 $ 3,996,963 ($ 309,877) $ 3,687,086

Of this income total, $1,316,150 is held by the company and put in the general equity reserve, $1,422,561 is allocated to patron's equity and $948,375 is distributed in cash to the participating patrons. An additional DPAD allocation of $912,423 was passed on to grain patrons that can be used to reduce their taxable income. These are all very positive numbers to report and for all patrons to share. In addition, your Board of Directors have also retired past equity in the amount of $1,152,594 which represents all of any remaining equity of Community Coop which is $482,121, Farmers Elevator equity from 1998 of $638,804 and River Region and Farmers Elevator patrons over 80 years old of $31,659. These are all impressive returns to you, the present and past patrons of River Region Cooperative. Thank you for your business the past year, and we the employees and the Board of Directors will continue to provide you with the service you expect and invest in the assets you need to benefit your The mayor of Cobden, Butch Krebs, left, stopped out to see the new upgrades with Curt Helget, Cobden scale and elevator operator.

Cobden Grain Expansion Open House

“

4

”

business or personal needs. We will do this with the utmost financial responsibility that your investment deserves.

Cobden Grain Facility: Very Impressive Improvement I want to give a little update on the improvements we made at the Cobden grain facility and say thank you to all patrons who utilized the facility this fall. The improvements accelerated the dumping process for both corn and soybeans. With the understanding of you, the patron, and the diligence of our employees, I believe this upgrade was a big success. As with any new setup, there are always a few things that still can be improved upon. With your help of suggestions, we will continue to make this facility a first rate choice for our patrons. Not only did our elevator improvements help the Cobden area, but it also helped our Sleepy Eye elevators run smoother and more efficiently because our customers were distributed more evenly. With higher yields compared to last year, we had a much better and faster flow than in the past. I would like to extend a huge thank you to all the past patrons of River Region who have stuck with us waiting for this improvement, those who came back after years of frustration with the old operation, and to the NEW PATRONS who utilized the new facility and have entrusted us with their grain handling business. Rest assured, we will do everything we can to prove to all the past, present, and future customers that we are here to serve them, all owners of River Region Cooperative.

The River Region Cooperative Cobden grain expansion open house on September 15th was a huge success. The weather gave us a little bit of a challenge being that is was very windy, but we moved the light lunch inside and made the most of our event. River Region employees served a pulled pork sandwich, chips and refreshments to roughly 250 people. It was a great opportunity for everyone to socialize and learn about the upgrades we made to the Cobden grain elevator. We thank all of the patrons that attended and the employees for volunteering their time to help set up, serve and cleanup. This was a great opportunity for us to show our appreciation for your business! Carlin Johnson (center in blue), Grain Department Manager, lead small group tours of the facility explaining the upgrades to the elevator.

Don’t Wait Until Last Minute

With the understanding of you, the patron, and the diligence of our employees, I believe this upgrade was a big success.

T

he fall of 2015 is over! The harvest started early and finished on time with no rain delays to speak of. We started off very well when it was time for tillage, but it was too wet in some areas to keep going when the rain came. The agronomy operations team worked hard to get it done, but we had a few acres that did not get finished. This fall was the prime example of why we cannot wait until the last minute to put on your ammonia in the fall. When the land is fit, we need to put on ammonia and incorporate N-Serve to inhibit nitrification, which helps optimize yield and profit potential. I believe with the cost of urea being real close to the cost of ammonia, growers will choose to use urea. With the addition of new pull type spreaders and tenders, dry fertilizer spreading really runs smoothly. We are working on a few advancements in our spraying equipment. This fall we purchased a new Hawkeye controlled Miller sprayer with a 120 foot boom. The Hawkeye Nozzle Control System is made by Raven. The Hawkeye system adjusts the droplet size at slow or high speeds, controls each nozzle individually to turn them on or off and gives our operators individual valve diagnostics to monitor every nozzle to alert them immediately of a system issue. This feature will help us reduce drift and overlap of product on the corners of fields and around the building sites or pie shaped fields. We have also added

“

With the varying temperatures that we have had, grain can quickly go out of condition.

H

”

the Hawkeye control system to one of our 90 foot sprayers. We are excited to try these two machines out and will be watching them very close this spring! 2016 is the third season we will be selling 7-23-5 liquid starter. This product is a high ortho, poly blend with low salt. Research shows it pays to add a liquid starter even into high fertility fields because some nutrients are unavailable due to colder soils, compaction or improper pH. Our 7-23-5 liquid starter is a good product to handle each spring giving your young crops the nutrients they need to green-up quick, promote root development and help overcome disease threats and adverse growing conditions. We will have it readily available this spring since we added a storage tank for it at our east plant. Talk to your account manager about it and see if you can incorporate the benefits of 7-23-5 liquid starter into your fields this spring. Please welcome our new agronomy account manager, Dave Worth. Dave comes to us with a lot of experience in agronomy and seed. Check out his new hire biography for more details on where he has been. Dave will be an exceptional addition to our agronomy sales team. Any questions or comments, please call me.

2015 Harvest is a Wrap!

appy New Year to all of you! Across the board, most patrons in this area said yields were above average, and the grain we had come into our elevators was a verifying reflection of that. Between all three elevators, we set a new record on bushels received during harvest this year. With that in mind, I would have to say that everything went very well! Most of our patrons who used our Cobden facility were very impressed with the upgrades to improve the speed of unloading and the flow of traffic at the facility. I would like to again thank all of you for your patronage and support this past harvest season and look forward to serving your grain marketing needs in the future. Now that it has been a few months since harvest, I want to remind you to check your bins regularly to make sure the grain is

By George Schwint Agronomy Manager

By Carlin Johnson Grain Dept. Manager

staying in good condition. A lot of this year's grain went straight into storage without drying. With the varying temperatures that we have had, grain can quickly go out of condition. All grain bins should be cored and cooled to ensure safe long term storage. If you have any questions or concerns give us a call, we will be glad to help. I would also like to encourage you to use our convenient on-farm grain pickup service. We have a fleet of ten trucks ready to bring your grain to town. It's a win, win situation; we help you get your grain to town and your equipment stays clean and dry in the shed! Call any of our grain locations to make arrangements for one of our trucks to pick up your grain. Hope you all have a successful and prosperous New Year!

5

By Kevin Subart General Manager

Year in Review

T

he past fiscal year for River Region Cooperative, which ended July 31, 2015, once again produced very positive financial results which enabled your cooperative to pay good patronage, retire past equity and reinvest in assets vital to the ever changing speed of agriculture production. First the financial results: Sales Local earnings Regional earnings Total net margins Income Tax Net Margin

$ 90,504,168 $ 2,986,472 $1,010,491 $ 3,996,963 ($ 309,877) $ 3,687,086

Of this income total, $1,316,150 is held by the company and put in the general equity reserve, $1,422,561 is allocated to patron's equity and $948,375 is distributed in cash to the participating patrons. An additional DPAD allocation of $912,423 was passed on to grain patrons that can be used to reduce their taxable income. These are all very positive numbers to report and for all patrons to share. In addition, your Board of Directors have also retired past equity in the amount of $1,152,594 which represents all of any remaining equity of Community Coop which is $482,121, Farmers Elevator equity from 1998 of $638,804 and River Region and Farmers Elevator patrons over 80 years old of $31,659. These are all impressive returns to you, the present and past patrons of River Region Cooperative. Thank you for your business the past year, and we the employees and the Board of Directors will continue to provide you with the service you expect and invest in the assets you need to benefit your The mayor of Cobden, Butch Krebs, left, stopped out to see the new upgrades with Curt Helget, Cobden scale and elevator operator.

Cobden Grain Expansion Open House

“

4

”

business or personal needs. We will do this with the utmost financial responsibility that your investment deserves.

Cobden Grain Facility: Very Impressive Improvement I want to give a little update on the improvements we made at the Cobden grain facility and say thank you to all patrons who utilized the facility this fall. The improvements accelerated the dumping process for both corn and soybeans. With the understanding of you, the patron, and the diligence of our employees, I believe this upgrade was a big success. As with any new setup, there are always a few things that still can be improved upon. With your help of suggestions, we will continue to make this facility a first rate choice for our patrons. Not only did our elevator improvements help the Cobden area, but it also helped our Sleepy Eye elevators run smoother and more efficiently because our customers were distributed more evenly. With higher yields compared to last year, we had a much better and faster flow than in the past. I would like to extend a huge thank you to all the past patrons of River Region who have stuck with us waiting for this improvement, those who came back after years of frustration with the old operation, and to the NEW PATRONS who utilized the new facility and have entrusted us with their grain handling business. Rest assured, we will do everything we can to prove to all the past, present, and future customers that we are here to serve them, all owners of River Region Cooperative.

The River Region Cooperative Cobden grain expansion open house on September 15th was a huge success. The weather gave us a little bit of a challenge being that is was very windy, but we moved the light lunch inside and made the most of our event. River Region employees served a pulled pork sandwich, chips and refreshments to roughly 250 people. It was a great opportunity for everyone to socialize and learn about the upgrades we made to the Cobden grain elevator. We thank all of the patrons that attended and the employees for volunteering their time to help set up, serve and cleanup. This was a great opportunity for us to show our appreciation for your business! Carlin Johnson (center in blue), Grain Department Manager, lead small group tours of the facility explaining the upgrades to the elevator.

Don’t Wait Until Last Minute

With the understanding of you, the patron, and the diligence of our employees, I believe this upgrade was a big success.

T

he fall of 2015 is over! The harvest started early and finished on time with no rain delays to speak of. We started off very well when it was time for tillage, but it was too wet in some areas to keep going when the rain came. The agronomy operations team worked hard to get it done, but we had a few acres that did not get finished. This fall was the prime example of why we cannot wait until the last minute to put on your ammonia in the fall. When the land is fit, we need to put on ammonia and incorporate N-Serve to inhibit nitrification, which helps optimize yield and profit potential. I believe with the cost of urea being real close to the cost of ammonia, growers will choose to use urea. With the addition of new pull type spreaders and tenders, dry fertilizer spreading really runs smoothly. We are working on a few advancements in our spraying equipment. This fall we purchased a new Hawkeye controlled Miller sprayer with a 120 foot boom. The Hawkeye Nozzle Control System is made by Raven. The Hawkeye system adjusts the droplet size at slow or high speeds, controls each nozzle individually to turn them on or off and gives our operators individual valve diagnostics to monitor every nozzle to alert them immediately of a system issue. This feature will help us reduce drift and overlap of product on the corners of fields and around the building sites or pie shaped fields. We have also added

“

With the varying temperatures that we have had, grain can quickly go out of condition.

H

”

the Hawkeye control system to one of our 90 foot sprayers. We are excited to try these two machines out and will be watching them very close this spring! 2016 is the third season we will be selling 7-23-5 liquid starter. This product is a high ortho, poly blend with low salt. Research shows it pays to add a liquid starter even into high fertility fields because some nutrients are unavailable due to colder soils, compaction or improper pH. Our 7-23-5 liquid starter is a good product to handle each spring giving your young crops the nutrients they need to green-up quick, promote root development and help overcome disease threats and adverse growing conditions. We will have it readily available this spring since we added a storage tank for it at our east plant. Talk to your account manager about it and see if you can incorporate the benefits of 7-23-5 liquid starter into your fields this spring. Please welcome our new agronomy account manager, Dave Worth. Dave comes to us with a lot of experience in agronomy and seed. Check out his new hire biography for more details on where he has been. Dave will be an exceptional addition to our agronomy sales team. Any questions or comments, please call me.

2015 Harvest is a Wrap!

appy New Year to all of you! Across the board, most patrons in this area said yields were above average, and the grain we had come into our elevators was a verifying reflection of that. Between all three elevators, we set a new record on bushels received during harvest this year. With that in mind, I would have to say that everything went very well! Most of our patrons who used our Cobden facility were very impressed with the upgrades to improve the speed of unloading and the flow of traffic at the facility. I would like to again thank all of you for your patronage and support this past harvest season and look forward to serving your grain marketing needs in the future. Now that it has been a few months since harvest, I want to remind you to check your bins regularly to make sure the grain is

By George Schwint Agronomy Manager

By Carlin Johnson Grain Dept. Manager

staying in good condition. A lot of this year's grain went straight into storage without drying. With the varying temperatures that we have had, grain can quickly go out of condition. All grain bins should be cored and cooled to ensure safe long term storage. If you have any questions or concerns give us a call, we will be glad to help. I would also like to encourage you to use our convenient on-farm grain pickup service. We have a fleet of ten trucks ready to bring your grain to town. It's a win, win situation; we help you get your grain to town and your equipment stays clean and dry in the shed! Call any of our grain locations to make arrangements for one of our trucks to pick up your grain. Hope you all have a successful and prosperous New Year!

5

By Bruce Sevcik Senior Agronomist

Mixing it up Right!

W

“

With prices the way they are we don’t need to fertilize the weeds!

”

e've all had things in our life work well, some not so well and some total disasters. But we remember the disasters, and tend to forget the things that work well! Why should I change something that's working well for me? Good Question!

we need to have different products and products that are not totally resistant to certain weeds; mixing it up will still only work if we can get activity on certain weeds. Everyone has resistance! Some resistance is greater than others. If you don't think you have it or think you won't get it, you do and you will; the extent of how bad is up to you.

So ask yourself, how long have I been using this program and is it really working on all of my acres? Am I using the same chemistry or mixing it up? Am I getting the weeds I really need to control, or do I need to target more specific weeds?

With prices the way they are we don't need to fertilize the weeds! We need to start these fields clean and keep them clean throughout the growing season! To accomplish this means we need a good PRE-PLANT program followed by a timely POST-PLAN program for 2” to 4” weeds, and/or a cultivation or second POST-PLAN program.

Around our area the specific weeds we need to target would have to be waterhemp and giant ragweed. You have small and large seeded weeds with unbelievable numbers of seeds that germinate throughout the different depths in the soil profile! Tough to deal with, right? But targeting these specific weeds and over lapping chemistries (and products) is the best way to deal with it! But keep in mind,

By Bill Pelzel Energy Manager

Take Advantage of Low Input Costs

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ow does time fly! Here we are again with another successful harvest in the books, at least from a yield perspective. I would like to thank all of our River Region patrons for the business you did with us this past year; we had a profitable year again because of you. I would also like to thank all of our dedicated employees for their hard work. Without their efforts, we would not be able to provide the outstanding customer service that we are known for. The energy department has been located near BCA and our new shop facility for over a year. The transition has worked wonderfully! We are communicating internally better than we ever have before, and sharing employees from department to department has proved to be very beneficial.

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Remember that the residual properties of these chemicals generally only last 2 to 3 weeks in the soil! Overlapping and extending the residual products is the only way! For those of you that know me, I've been mixed up for years and I'm still working! Talk to your account manager, make a plan and mix it up!

As we all know, we never seem to have a down time in the ag industry; it is very critical to monitor input costs on almost a daily basis. Your energy inputs have been an extremely interesting commodity to watch in the last 12 months. We have seen propane mirror a roller coaster, but thankfully as of late propane costs have been flat. It appears to be staying there at least through the first quarter of this year when we are expecting to see exports ramp up. Having said that, we may have to consider locking up our propane costs a little earlier than what has become the norm….Just some food for thought. In addition to buying propane for your home heat, please consider giving our propane service technicians a call to conduct a furnace inspection if you haven't already done so. We have added a camera to our inspection process that we can use Pelzel to page 7 s

n Steve Wester was hired into our grain department in September as a truck driver and grain laborer. When asked STEVE what he likes the most while working at River Region, he replies, “I like working here because I get to do a variety of things and I'm not stuck doing the same thing every day.” Previously, Steve worked at Schwartz Farms hauling livestock and working in the warehouse. Steve grew up in the Redwood Falls area but graduated from Wabasso high school. He has been married for 13 years to his wife Natalie. The Westers live in Springfield and have two daughters and one son, Hailey, 19; Madison, 10 and Nick, 7.

n Kristi Saenz states she is at River Region, “Because the people are fantastic here!” Kristi has worked in our energy KRISTI department as an administrative assistant since October. She is a 2006 Springfield high school graduate and she received an associate's degree in health care management in 2012 from Colorado Technical College. Kristi is also on track to complete a second associate's degree in accounting in 2016 also from Colorado Technical College. Before coming to River Region, Kristi was the billing manager for six years at America Midwest Transportation in Courtland. Kristi and her husband Jose, have a five year old son, Jaxon, and another child on the way in the end of January. Kristi and her family reside in Sleepy Eye.

Benefiting from Swine Partnerships

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reetings and belated Happy Holidays from all of us at the feed mill! It's been quite some time since all livestock markets have been this depressed. As we approach and work through the coming year, we don't expect any major changes. Most producers are looking at and have locked in all or part of their feed inputs. Most inputs are at levels that are helping to cushion the blow of some negative returns. If you haven't locked in any inputs or are new to the process, give us a call and we will be glad to walk you through it. On the swine side of our business, we are experiencing multiple benefits from partnering with AgriCare Nutrition and AgriSwine Alliance. AgriCare, a manufacturer of swine premixes and base mixes, has introduced us to Doug Doell, a consultant who specializes in independent diet recommendations.

By Jim Soukup Livestock Production Specialist

We utilize his experience with coproduct diets to maintain best cost of gain rations. In addition to the benefits from our partnership with AgriCare Nutrition, our partnership with folks at AgriSwine Alliance has also allowed us to provide options for our swine producers to cover all aspects of their operations. AgriSwine Alliance provides our customers direct access to wean and feeder pig sourcing, swine record keeping, marketing contracts as well as trucking options. If you have space available, we are still looking for finishing barns to fill. If you are interested in learning how these two partnerships can help your bottom line, give us a call. We continue to try to give you the best possible services and thank you in advance for trusting us with your business in 2016.

The long awaited mystery truck is finally here! Barney Treml will be sporting the new 2016 Freightliner straight truck with a Walinga feed body the next time he delivers!

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n Hailing from Springfield, Travis Matter is a 2003 graduate of Springfield high school. He furthered his education by attending Ridgewater College in Willmar to pursue a degree in Auto Mechanics. Travis started working for River Region in December in our grain department as a grain laborer in our Cobden location. Prior to working with us, he worked for Harvestland Cooperative in Springfield for 6 years. Travis' hobbies include hunting, fishing, watching sports, and hanging out with family and friends. Travis is the son of John and Audrey Matter of Springfield. n Russell Parker has been with River Region part time since October 2014 in our energy and agronomy departments. He started full time in August 2015 to be our LP Transport Driver. Prior to working with River Region, Russell worked for the City of Springfield in the Park and Street department performing maintenance and landscaping duties. He also worked at Harvestland Cooperative as a custom applicator and tender driver. Russell's hobbies include fishing, cooking and motorcycling. Russell has a 16-year-old daughter, Mikayla, and lives in Springfield.

TRAVIS

RUSSELL

n Dave Worth comes to us with a long history of agronomy sales and management under his belt. He is originally from Redwood Falls, MN and attended Southwest State University in Marshall, MN studying Business Administration. After college, he was a custom applicator for Farmers Coop Oil of Echo in Echo, MN. Following some time in the military, Dave returned to Hennepin Coop Seed Exchange as the General Manager until 2010 when they merged with Waconia DAVE Farm Supply. After that, Dave was a sales agronomist for Hefty Seed in Winthrop, MN and then the agronomy manager for Farmers Coop of Hanska. Dave started at River Region on November 30th as an agronomy account manager. He is excited to be with us and he plans to stay with us until he can retire. Dave currently lives in New Ulm and when he has free time, he enjoys deer hunting and fishing.

NEW EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT 2

n As a Chicago native, Jim Conway spent time at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL pursuing Radio and TV Communications. Deciding against a career in communications, Jim got his CDL and hit the road as a commercial driver. He moved to Nashville, TN and started driving coach for various entertainers in the music entertainment business. After 24 years on the road, Jim wanted to put down a few roots and moved to the area in May of 2015 JIM where he currently resides in Morgan. Jim was hired in our agronomy department as a tender driver in September. When asked what he likes about being at River Region, Jim responds, “It's a great crew to work with!” Jim's hobbies include building and flying remote control helicopters and airplanes. n Sonya Hoffmann has been with River Region's feed department since September as our feed accounting specialist. Prior to starting with River Region, Sonya was an accountant at the Redwood County Auditor Treasurer's office. She is a Lucan native, a Wabasso high graduate and attended Southwest State University majoring in Business Accounting. Sonya currently resides in Springfield with her husband Tim. Sonya and Tim have 4 children, Shawna, SONYA 25; Shayla, 23; Kalley, 17 and Shane, 15. Sonya's hobbies include riding motorcycle, gardening, canning and spending time with her friends and family, especially her two grand-daughters, Sophia, 4 and Isabella, 2. Sonya is excited to be at River Region to learn about production agriculture and meet all of our customers. n Steve Schroepfer was hired in October as a tire service technician and mechanic for our maintenance shop. Steve is originally from Rochester, MN but moved to Sleepy Eye to be with the farming side of the family. He graduated from Sleepy Eye Public High School in 2012 and went on to study auto mechanics at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Jackson, MN where he became an ASE Certified Mechanic. Previously, Steve worked as STEVE a tire technician at Ed's Repair in Springfield. Steve is currently living in rural Sleepy Eye where he enjoys fixing his own cars.

n Holly Timgren was hired as our C-Store manager the week of Thanksgiving. She came to River Region with 18 years of retail experience from Casey's General Store. She started with Casey's in 1997 and became the assistant manager in 2008. Holly's goal while at River Region is to make our employee's work a little easier at the C-Store by streamlining operations wherever she can. Holly grew up in Wabasso and went to Mankato State University in Mankato. She and her husband Troy have been married for 17 years and live in Sleepy Eye. Holly enjoys sitting down for a good read in her free time.

HOLLY

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Protecting the soybean root system against early season diseases is one of the most important planned approaches to achieving high yielding soybeans.

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Planning your 2016 Approach to Success!

he planning process for 2016 is underway. The agronomy team at River Region wants to stress the different options and line ups we have to cover your seed needs. Credenz soybeans, brought to us by Bayer, are a new seed lineup that handles both Liberty and Roundup soybeans. We also carry the reliability and versatility of Croplan, Mycogen, NK, & Stine brands.

When thinking about seed options, you really have to ask, “Is Liberty right for me?” Year after year, we struggle with troublesome fields and changes need to be made to alleviate some of that struggle. Soybean herbicide programs need to start off right from the beginning. Full rate pre-plant herbicides need to be applied in the start of the season, along with a good post applied residual. With contact herbicides in Liberty, we cannot expect to go to these fields with just a two pass program, pre plant and post, because we have too many weeds germinating throughout the entire summer. Over lapping residuals, along with a Liberty program, will definitely add another tool in the toolbox. Regardless of what seed you end up going with, stacking

Pelzel from page 6t

to ensure your furnace is safe and operating efficiently. As far as the gasoline and diesel side of things, we are right in the middle of some serious cost downside for those products.

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I believe crude oil will trade in the $40 to $60 dollar range into 2016.

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As I write this, crude oil is currently hovering around the $38 to $40 range, which translates to the lowest priced fuel we have seen in about seven years. Can we ever lock in gas and diesel at the very bottom of the market? Probably not, but when we see prices where they are now, it is definitely time to consider taking a position in regard to your fuel needs. Unless

By Chase Bierman Seed Specialist

residuals for the right spectrum of weeds will be key! Tough situations go away, but tough people do not! We need to understand how much weed pressure we have in the field and go to battle correctly right out of the shoot! Remember, once you see the weeds from the road they're already too big to try and control. Seed treatments are one topic we really need to start taking more seriously! We plant earlier each season into cooler soils. Every year we see 10 to 15,000 more plants per acre on a treated acre. Protecting the soybean root system against early season diseases is one of the most important planned approaches to achieving high yielding soybeans. Not only do seed treatments in early planting pay off, but also where we have higher pH soils! When we treat, we are protecting our seed from Phytophthora, Pythium and Rhizoctonia. We also offer a product called Clariva Complete to manage the disease plus cyst treatment. 2016 will have plenty of agricultural issues to manage around, whether its weed control, diseases, or insects in both corn and soybeans. Talk to your account manager to help manage your farm!

OPEC decides to significantly cut production, and barring any major conflict in the world, I believe crude oil will trade in the $40 to $60 dollar range into 2016. If you have any questions or concerns regarding anything energy, please give us a call at 507-794-5831. Thanks again for the patronage, and Happy New Year!

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27875 County Rd 27 Sleepy Eye, MN 56085

riverregioncoop.com

Main Office & West Elevator East Elevator Cobden Elevator Agronomy & Energy BCA Products Cenex C-Store Feed Mill

No Time Like Present to Create Your Future POSITION OPEN

We have Ice Melt too! Are you making an extra trip to the hardware store to get ice melt? Our BCA division has multiple ice melters and traction grit available for purchase by the bag or by the pallet. Many sizes and packages to choose from with varying melting capabilities—all at great prices. When you are stopping in for your agronomy, energy or tire needs, save a trip and grab a couple bags of ice melt at our BCA location or Cenex C-Store in Sleepy Eye!

River Region Co-op 2016© Created with the services of Madsen Ink Co.

River Region Coop is seeking a

Full Time Tire and Shop Mechanic to work in our maintenance shop between Essig and Sleepy Eye. Duties include tire repair in our shop and on site, maintenance on pickups, semis, trailers, forklifts, and ag equipment. Class A license preferred but will train. River Region offers competitive wages and a full benefit package. For more information, contact Robyn at 507-794-5831, ext 203. For an application, stop by one of our locations or visit our website at www.riverregioncoop.com. Send resume/application to River Region Cooperative, PO Box 429, Sleepy Eye, MN 56085 or email to [email protected].

Join our growing cooperative!

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ongratulations to the 12 Brown County farm families who were recipients of the Century Farm designation at the 2015 Minnesota State Fair. Since the program began in 1976, nearly 10,000 farms in Minnesota (over 200 in Brown County) have been recognized as Century Farms. It is inspiring the level of sacrifice, hard work, dedication, management and planning it takes to keep a farm legacy alive for multiple generations. With today's high land prices and low commodity prices, careful succession and estate planning may be more important now than ever to ensure the farm survives the next generation. At a minimum, a strong succession plan should take into consideration: 1) Transfer of Ownership – often times the operation and land are separated, 2) Tax Considerations – minimizing estate and inheritance taxes,

Sleepy Eye &

LOCATIONS: 507-794-3031 507-794-4581 507-794-7390 507-794-5831 507-794-5411 507-794-3330 507-794-3001

Cobden

3) Legal Implications – eliminating probate and reducing settlement costs, 4) Income in Retirement – where will money for retirement living and expenses come from, 5) Estate Protection/Preservation Strategies – minimizing the risk of catastrophic long-term care expenses or other uncertainties depleting assets, and 6) Family Relationships and Feelings – the existence of a written and communicated farm transition plan may prevent families being torn apart as the farm passes from one generation to another. Just like your fences, an estate and succession plan should be “horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.” Often times this requires ongoing assistance from a team of experienced advisors to help identify and mend potential weaknesses or “holes” in a plan. Even the best plans may need to be modified over time. If your goal is to see future generations have the opportunity to continue the farming legacy, it may be time to evaluate your farm transition plan.

Prairie Plans has over 25 years of experience in helping farmers, businesses, and individuals transition assets to the next generation. For additional information on farm succession planning or if you have questions please contact Prairie Plans by phone at 723-4811 or 800-772-8809. Copyright © 2015 Prairie Plans, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Inside

• Cobden Upgrade Complete • Nine New Employees Join RCC • New Freightliner Truck Arrives • Department Columns

JANUARY 2016