AGRONOMY • GRAIN • ENERGY • LUMBER • HARDWARE • CONVENIENCE STORES • AUTO REPAIR • FEED News From the Manager’s Desk Happy New Year to all of you from the staff at Premier Cooperative! As I am writing this much of our area is being hit by our first real ice storm of the season. In addition, we are bracing for a potential large snowfall just ahead of the Christmas holiday. Coupled with the cold temperatures predicted next week, it will make for some difficult travel and delivery routes for our drivers and anyone traveling over the holidays. With that in mind, I would again like to thank all of you that take the extra time and effort to keep your driveways, farmyards, and paths to your feed bins and propane tanks free of ice and snow. The conditions have been brutal enough with dangerous snowy and icy roads, and the employees truly appreciate the work you put in to make their jobs a bit safer. Thanks to all of you that called in your orders well ahead of the holidays, and who continue to call in your orders in advance. It is so critical to the success of your company to be able to route our deliveries in an efficient manner. It allows our staff to plan labor and equipment needs and also allows them to get home to their families at night for dinner. I hope everyone was able to spend some quality time with friends and family over the holiday season. I’m sure the weather leading up to Christmas played a big factor in many of your plans. The drizzle, ice, snow, wind, and cold temperatures made it quite a challenge to travel over the hill and through the woods to Grandma’s house this year. Hopefully, everyone made it there and back safe and warm. One big advantage of hosting Christmas and Badger bowl game parties is that Mo and I don’t have to travel any further than the lower level of our house. A second is that carrying tables and chairs up and down the stairs for Mo’s 75 family members that attend helps burn off the pecan pie and stuffing. If you had a hard time getting to Grandma’s, or other destinations, you may want to call one of our auto/tire centers in Westby, Mt Horeb, or La Farge, and put a new set of tires on your “sleigh”. Winter is just getting started and there’s much more snow on the way. Also, don’t forget the roof rakes, ice melt, shovels, and more at your Do it Best and ACE stores. In the past year, Premier has invested more than $5.5 million in new fixed assets in our trade territory. We’ve invested to serve all of our members---sprayers, spreaders, feed trucks, LP trucks, shop equipment, grain storage, IT systems, and much more---in order to be our customer’s preferred supplier in our area. For fiscal 2014, your board of directors has approved investing well over $8 million in new assets to meet our member’s needs. The new grain assets in Westby and Mineral Point went on line this fall, a new 6,200 ton dry fertilizer plant is currently under construction at our Mazomanie location, two new Airflows, several high clearance sprayers/spreaders, and much more is ordered for the spring planting season, additional feed and grain trucks are on the way, and we are only a couple months into the new fiscal year. However, everything above would just be sitting idle if it weren’t for a dedicated staff of over 300 employees that work hard for our members every day. I’d like to thank each of our employees for their teamwork that helped make 2013 a successful year at your company. One result of the teamwork mentioned above is the recently announced winners of the National Corn Growers Association annual yield contest. Again this year Gene Steiger of Bloomington placed first in the National Corn Growers Association contest with a yield of 315.2 bu/acre on No till/ Strip till acres. Gene worked with Premier Agronomist Gary Mayne to place the right hybrid and Premier Gold Package+ crop plan in order to bring home the Gold. In what has to be the closest finish in years, Jeff Mezera of Bagley yielded 315 and 314.7 bu/acre to take home 2nd and 3rd place. Jeff works with Premier Agronomist Ryan Wehrle out of our Lancaster Ag Center. There’s nothing like some good friendly competition between neighbors and coworkers to help capture the top 3 spots in the entire nation. We are proud to partner with Gene and Jeff and to have them as member/owners of Premier. Never one to sit idly by, Betty Steiger placed first in the state of Wisconsin for conventional till with a yield of 322.7 bu/acre, beating Gene’s second place finish by 10 bu/acre. Congratulations to the winners and to the Premier agronomy team, from the agronomist working the crop plan, to the custom applicator applying the products, to the intern helping to scout the field and pull tissue tests, to the seasonal employee helping to get the product to the farm in a safe and timely manner. Best of luck in 2014 as planting is only a little over three months away. As we usher in a new year at Premier, I’d like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to all of you that have continued to support your company and its employees. At this year’s annual meeting, we will reflect on the record year that your support has provided, the big strides your company has made in the past year, and some of what we believe lies ahead for Premier. I’m looking forward to the future of Premier with great expectations, as your employee team continues to build upon the momentum that your support has provided. 2014 looks to be a challenging year for all of us, as the economy continues to try and rebound, commodities continue their volatile run, and homebuilding hopes to sustain some of the improvements it has had in the past many months. We hope that by continuing to provide our members with the quality products and services they need, together we will continue to ride out whatever challenges we meet. It has been, and remains our goal, to provide our members with the “Premier” company for you to own and do business with. Thank you for your continued support, and here’s to a prosperous and healthy 2014. Andy Fiene General Manager Agronomy News—Harvest Update and more News . . . Seven Wonders of Corn Yield With the recent success of three of our area growers in the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Yield Contest, many of you are asking yourself, “Can I do the same?” That cannot be a simple answer. I would like to begin to break apart the answer and refer to a gentlemen that we have had at our Answer Plot events a few years ago, Dr. Fred Below, Professor of Plant Physiology with the University of Illinois. He shared with us factors such as mineral nutrients, drainage, weed control and soil nutrition that are crucially important to farming but don’t necessarily directly add yield. He refers to them as the “prerequisites” to his Seven Wonders. If you recall the 7 Wonders of Corn Yield ranked by importance are; # 1 WEATHER - Weather can be a blessing, or a curse, making life easy, or decimating all your hard work. On its own, weather contributes 70 bushels or more per acre – 27% value of total yield! # 2 NITROGEN/FERTILITY - Used correctly, nitrogen (N) accounts for almost the same value as weather. Combined with weather, N accounts for more than half the crop yield. Weather dictates when N can be applied, its availability and its usability by the crop. # 3 HYBRID SELECTION - Because of advances in biotechnology with triple stack genetics, there are significant differences in yields and traits in each hybrid. Insect protection traits allow plants to realize their full growth potential by taking up more water and mineral nutrients. # 4 PREVIOUS CROP - Rotate for higher yields. Continuous cropping of corn costs yield. Residue from the previous year’s corn crop will cost more each year corn is grown. But on fields where corn has been rotated with soybeans, corn has better vigor and produces higher yields. # 5 PLANT POPULATIONS - Higher yields come from higher plant populations. Row arrangement is one way to increase plant population. Using a twin row system with plants arranged in 7-1/2”staggered rows eliminates plant-to-plant competition and provides a perfect place for nutrient and water management. # 6 TILLAGE - Reduce Tillage, Save Soil. While farmers consider tillage a major factor in yield, it only ranks #6 on the value scale. But it does play an important role in saving soil and retaining valuable moisture and nutrients. # 7 GROWTH REGULATORS - Growth regulators include those compounds that have a positive impact on plant growth. One piece is protection against foliar disease with a strobilurin fungicide and you’ll see greener leaves, healthier plants and improved yield performance. In the past most growers standard practices included no fungicide applications. As you review the list, the higher up on the Wonder List the more control that factor exerts over the next. When combined, ALL the factors contribute to big-yield gains. When we look over the list above, many of the factors take knowledge, training and experience to provide the benefit. That is where the Premier Cooperative Agronomy team would like to partner with you and be a factor. We’d like to be on your production team and help you put our “Gold Package Plus” to work on your farm, giving you a competitive advantage on all of your crops. If you would like to learn more about the products and services of the “Gold Package Plus” give your Premier Agronomist a call today. Winter Meeting Update This past month the Winter Answer Plot meetings were a great success! The over 320 attendees got an inside look at the data summary and results from last summer’s Answer Plots, as well as an inside look at: Rootworms and Trait-Insecticide Strategies, Gold Silver Results for 2013, New Products and Technology, Review of Precision Ag Offerings for 2014, Answer Plot Results for Hybrids, New BioStimulants, Crop Insurance Update and Inoculants. A few lucky attendees won some great prizes and our top winners won a Gold Package worth $2,000. Below are the winners of the Gold Package. Check out next month’s newsletter for our next Winter Answer Plot dates coming in February. You can also check out answerplot.com for some of the data that was discussed at the meetings. Congratulations to our Gold Package winners: Roxybury/Sauk City—Robert E Lee | Dodgeville—Jim Lepeska Richland Center—Sue Triggs | Viroqua—Joe Vesbach | Potosi—Matt Clark Date 2/18 2/18 2/19 2/21 Upcoming Answer Plot Dates Location Time Viroqua - Viking Inn 11:30 a - 2:30 p Sauk City - Dorf Haus 6:00 p - 9:00 p Potosi - Holiday Gardens 6:00 p - 9:00 p Richland Center - Phoenix Center 11:30 a - 2:30 p Bank CD Maturing ? Invest your extra cash with Premier and earn 2% APR. Premier Investment Program is available with a minimum deposit of $2,500. Money can be withdrawn anytime on 5 days notice. Call 1.888.723.7555 for more information. Winter Agronomy Checklist & January Reminders  Review Answer Plot yield data @ www.answerplot.com  Finalize remaining 2014 crop inputs     and crop plan with Premier Agronomist Nutrient management plans and updates Prepare field map of 2014 crop intentions Schedule winter maintenance and updates to corn planter Setup 2014 agronomic resolutions Feed and Forage Update . . . Inoculants-Engineered for Today’s Forages SiloSolve is Chr. Hansen’s new and innovative inoculant product line engineered to address specific on farm challenges. Each bacteria strain in SiloSolve has been screened, isolated and selected for its individual abilities to address on farm ensiling challenges such as aerobic stability, Clostridia inhibition, and enhanced fermentation. These products not only ensure silage of high quality and palatability, but also ensure a significant economic return to the producer. As dairy rations contain higher amounts of costly forages, it is critical to ensure that the forages are meeting the high demand of today’s dairy cow. Typically, silage inoculants have been formulated to enhance fermentation and offer little more. The game has changed with SiloSolve. As producers expect more from their forage quality it is time they expect more from their silage inoculant supplier. SiloSolve addresses the everyday challenges of harvesting, storing, and feeding today’s forages. Moving forward, talk with your Premier Co-op nutrition consultant about how to ensure forages free of mold, yeasts, and pathogens fed to your animals, allowing them to reach their highest production potential. Bacteria Strains ► Lactobacillus buchneri ·Superior aerobic stability ► Lactococcus lactis (two strains) ·Superior oxygen scavenging ability ·Increased dry matter recovery ·Reduced growth of clostridia ► Enterococcus faecium ·High optimum pH range and faster starter of fermentation ·Aids other lactic acid bacteria in fermentation ► Lactobacillus plantarum ®SiloSolve MC-Enhance Fermentation, Inhibit Clostridia, mold inhibition ·Best pH tolerance ®SiloSolve AS-Enhance Fermentation, Aerobic Stability, mold inhibition ·Aids in fermentation ®SiloSolve OS-Enhance Fermentation, Oxygen Scavenge, mold inhibition ·High lactic acid production O p e n A c c o u n t Pay m e n t T e r m s The credit terms for open charge accounts at your cooperative remain unchanged from prior years. For those who are new members, and as a refresher to all, open account balances are due in full no later than the last business day of the month after the charge occurred. For example, all charges in the month of December are due in full no later than January 31st. Any balance remaining on February 1st will be subject to a 1.5% finance charge (18% APR). Accounts that are not paid monthly and/or exceed their credit limit may be put on a cash only basis. Thank you for your help in keeping all of our charge accounts current. Notice of 121st Annual Meeting Of Premier Cooperative Notice is hereby given, that the 121st Annual Meeting of Premier Cooperative will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2014 at 11:30 am at the Quality Inn, Mineral Point, WI. The purpose of the meeting will be as follows: 1. To approve the minutes of the last annual meeting. 2. Review the audit report for the past fiscal year. 3. Review/approve bylaw amendments. 4. To discuss any and all matters properly brought before the meeting. 5. To elect three director positions. Dated: January 2, 2014 Premier Cooperative: Louie Kieler, Its Secretary Please RSVP for the meeting by calling our Mt Horeb office at 608-437-5536 (toll free at 1-888-723-7555) or return this letter to the Mt Horeb office for your dinner reservation NO LATER THAN Monday, January 20 th. It is very important that we have an accurate count for the dinner, as it is a catered meal. We hope to see you at the meeting. YES, I will be attending _____________________________________________ (Member Name—Please Print) # Attending: _____________ Energy Update . . . Justin Lee, RFD Sales Manager With a colder than normal fall behind us and winter in full force, I thought a quick reminder regarding propane protocol was appropriate. For some of you this may just be a nice refresher but for others it will be new information. First, if you call in your order please try to do so when the tank is near 30%. This gives us plenty of time to deliver the gas. Snow and ice storms can come rather quickly and it may be a few days before your driveway is safe for our trucks. Speaking of driveways, please make sure they are plowed, and if needed, salted and sanded after inclement weather. Our trucks are not four wheel drives and are much larger than passenger cars and pickups. If our driver does not feel safe, they will not attempt the driveway. Contracting diesel is always a coin flip. I think Shakespeare was misquoted. I believe he actually said “to contract or not to contract.” As I’ve mentioned before, and probably don’t need to mention again, commodity markets are more volatile now than ever. Gone are the days of watching supply and demand and here are the days of “what happened in Sudan yesterday?” If you’re interested in locking in some of your diesel for this coming season, please call one of our energy offices. Either Greg in Westby (608 634-7307), Carroll in Richland Center (608 647-6749) or myself (Justin) in Mt Horeb (608 437-5536) will be happy to help. Up to $15,000 in Scholarships to be Awarded at Annual Meeting in January Again, this year, Premier Cooperative is proud to be sponsoring scholarships for graduating high school seniors planning to pursue an Ag Short Course or any other 2+ year accredited degree program after high school. In order to qualify for one of the scholarships (up to $500 each) to be drawn at this year’s annual meeting, the student must: 1. Be a graduating high school senior in the class of 2014. 2. Be the child of an active, voting member of Premier Cooperative. Active voting members must have done over $1,500 of patronage business with Premier Co-op October 1, 2012, through September 30, 2013. This includes patronage business with Heartland Country Cooperative. 3. Either the senior student or a parent must be present at the annual meeting on January 25th. 4. At the annual meeting, the student (or parent on the student’s behalf) must submit a minimum 200 word essay on the role/ importance of cooperatives in rural America and include the school the student will be attending. In addition, please include a senior picture with the applicants name on the back. Five of the essays drawn will be read during the annual meeting. The number of winners will be determined by the board of directors at the annual meeting (not all who apply will necessarily win). Actual size and number of the scholarships may depend upon the number of entries/winners. JANUARY HOT BUYS 405 S. Main St, Westby, WI 608-634-7330 Mon ~ Fri 7am – 6pm  Sat: 7:30am - 5pm Sun: 9am - 4pm 89.99 red hot buy $ DeWalt® 18 Volt Cordless Drill red hot buy $ 19.99 REGULAR PRICE $119.99 2209617 Case/bag may vary $ 9.99 red hot buy 20 Lb. Black Oil Sunflower Seed REGULAR PRICE $19.99 81121 Squirrel Be-Gone Wild Bird Feeder REGULAR PRICE $37.99 Great Pricing SNOW THROWERS MOVE SNOW WITH LESS EFFORT Hurry in while supplies last