Every year there are dozens of grain bin accidents reported across the Corn Belt, with far too many ending in fatalities.
GROWMARK grain systems operations manager Randy Holthaus says the harvest season is an especially dangerous time on the farm around grain bins. “During the harvest, with the need to get it in and get it done, people get in a hurry and work long hours,” he said. “They’re running non-stop to get the crop out so fatigue plays in as well.”
Randy says they recommend that growers never enter a grain bin if at all possible, but realistically he knows there are times when it might be necessary. “Don’t get into the bin unless you lock out the power and make sure someone knows you are getting in to the bin,” he says, adding that the person on the outside should ideally be able to observe you getting in and out and have a rescue line tied to you.
The biggest hazards often occur when someone gets trapped in a bin and another person automatically tries to help. “The first reaction of family members or co-workers is to get in the bin to help,” which Randy says often results in making a bad situation worse by sending grain cascading on the victim and totally engulfing them. “Getting into the bin with a victim is twice as bad because you are not only endangering yourself but you may be creating a bigger problem for the person in the bin.”
The buddy on the outside should instead make sure the power is shut off, call 911 and possibly try to get a line thrown to the victim if that can be done safely. “The main thing is, you need professional help,” he stresses.
Bottom line – be alert, be aware and just be careful out there!
First off, the division will have a new VP as of November 1. Brent Ericson has been named Vice President, Grain, replacing Davis Anderson, who retired in September.
As VP, Grain, Ericson will be responsible for the overall management, oversight, support and growth of GROWMARK’s grain business, which includes 80 grain members and companies inIllinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Combined, the 80 companies market approximately 1 billion bushels of grain and oilseed annually into river, rail, and processor markets.
The grain division has also announced a new venture.
Heritage FS, Gilman, has partnered with GROWMARK to create EASTERN GRAIN MARKETING, LLC. (EGM). The company’s main office is located in Gilman.
Dana Robinson, EGM General Manager, said the venture will strengthen the package of grain services offered to farmers in eastern Illinois. ‘EGM combines our local knowledge and expertise with sufficient resources to expand grain marketing alternatives and grain handling services for the growers in eastern Illinois. This adds value to the crops grown in eastern Illinois and that added value will be realized by the growers through higher payments for their crop.’
Growers will have greater access to grain markets via a rail shuttle loader EGM will construct in western Kankakee County. Approximately two million bushels of storage space, which EGM will construct, will be located at the shuttle location.
EGM is the fourth regional grain marketing venture formed in Illinois between FS member cooperatives and GROWMARK. Total Grain Marketing, LLC was launched in 2006, WESTERN GRAIN MARKETING, LLC was formed in 2007; and NORTHERN GRAIN MARKETING, LLC was formed in 2009.
Grain bin accidents and fatalities on the farm have been on the increase in recent years, but more attention to some simple safety rules could reverse that trend.
The two organizations teamed up in November to develop the video in response to an increase in U.S. fatalities and injuries associated with entry into grain bins.
“In 2010 we saw a record number of farmers becoming engulfed in grain bins and we decided it was time to have a proactive role in creating awareness about the serious nature of this issue,” NCGA President Bart Schott, a grower from Kulm, N.D., said. “We hope that this video makes farmers stop and think twice before the next time they put themselves in danger.”
The new video, shot on location in several states, provides a wide range of information from prevention tips and background data on grain bin accidents. The project also involved interviews with professionals in the fields of grain bin safety research and rescue to provide as much information to viewers as possible.
The video is available at NCGA.com and on NCGA’s YouTube channel and is also being distributed by NCGA to affiliated farm organizations. The NGFA also has made the video available on its website at www.ngfa.org, and will be encouraging its grain elevator members to distribute it to farmer-customers.
GROWMARK is a multi-layered cooperative with five wholly or partially-owned subsidiaries, six retail subsidiary divisions, and controlling interests in several related endeavors – all aimed at improving the profitability of its member-owners. As part of our series on getting to know GROWMARK, we’re getting to know not just the company, but the people who make it all happen.
MID-CO COMMODITIES is a GROWMARK subsidiary that offers professional price-risk management services for all agricultural commodities, including market information analyzed by experienced commodity risk consultants, as well as providing futures and options execution on major exchanges.
Bryce Stremming is one of MID-CO’s Commodity Risk Consultants. “What MID-CO keys on is basis trading within the grain industry and as the market moves up and down, you have different opportunities with the basis on whether it is improving or not,” Bryce told Agwired during a recent interview.
Bryce says what is most important to him is what his customers want and need at any particular point in time. “What is their risk tolerance, what are they looking for, and making sure that we tailor our recommendations to what their comfort level is,” he says. “MID-CO views each customer as an individual and we always do what is in the best interest of the customer.”
Get to know MID-CO, GROWMARK and Bryce a little better by listening to Chuck’s interview here: Bryce Stremming Interview
The U.S. Grains Council is coordinating an industry-wide registration process for interested U.S. companies in response to China’s recently announced anti-dumping charges against imports of U.S. distiller’s dried grains. The deadline for registration is extremely short, a process further complicated by the need to translate all registrations into Chinese.
U.S. companies that wish to participate in this industry effort should e-mail the Council at grains@grains.org with contact information by COB Friday, Jan. 7, 2011. From there, legal counsel will contact each participant, provide the necessary registration form and instructions. The registration form must be completed and returned to the law firm by COB Monday, Jan. 10. From there, the law firm will assume responsibility for translation and submission to China’s Ministry of Commerce by its Jan. 17 Beijing deadline.
More information can be found on the Council’s website, www.grains.org.
Both corn and soybean production for this year were cut in this month’s crop report out this morning from USDA. Corn production is forecast at 12.7 billion bushels, down 4 percent from the September forecast and down 3 percent from last year’s record production of 13.1 billion bushels. Soybean production is forecast at a record high 3.41 billion bushels, down 2 percent from September but 1 percent above last year.
The industry was expecting the corn forecast to be lowered, but it was the amount of the decrease that caught the industry by surprise, according to John Anderson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation.
“This is a pretty sizable drop in production,” Anderson said. “We saw a really big drop in USDA’s forecasted average yield for corn because of adverse weather in the big corn states of Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. USDA is forecasting a national average yield of 155.8 bushels per acre, compared to 162.5 bushels per acre in September’s report. A 6.7 bushel drop in yield is pretty significant.”
On the Minneapolis Grain Exchange monthly conference call featuring commentary on the USDA report, Peter Georgantones from ITS also expressed surprise at the new forecast, predicting it will lead to $6.00/bu corn, “pretty easily now.” Market reaction was definitely higher on Friday with December corn closing up 30 cents at $5.28 a bushel, the highest in over two years.
The latest supply-demand numbers reflecting the new forecast show a decrease in stocks, increase in feed use, decrease in exports and ethanol about the same. At a seminar in Chicago promoting exports of the ethanol by-product distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Dorr was not too concerned about the report. “I’ve been a farmer most of my life and the thing that I know is that farmers more often than not, swim in surpluses, they love dealing with shortfalls and they’ll produce our way out of this very quickly,” Dorr said.
Increased use of corn for ethanol has created more than 30 million metric tons of DDGS, a high-value feed product for domestic and international livestock producers. Initial 2010 export projections of 6.2 million tons of DDGS will be surpassed this calendar year as the United States gears up to export approximately 8 million tons.
Listen to or download an interview that Chuck did with Dorr reacting to the report today: Tom Dorr Interview
One of my upcoming stops on the agriblogging highway will be the U.S. Grains Council and Renewable Fuels Assocation, Export Exchange. The event is taking place October 6-8 in Chicago, IL. If you’re in the grains business, especially dealing with DDGS then this is the place to meet with international buyers. I spoke with USGC CEO Tom Dorr about the event. He says that there will be more than 150 international buyers networking with over 300 U.S. producers and others involved in the industry. He says it’s a continuation of a series of programs that began about four years ago.
The program is designed to allow people to make connections and better understand the product. This is the first time the Grains Council has had a sponsor like the RFA. Another new thing this year is a focus on the coarse grains markets due to the global demand growth which has stimulated DDGS exports. Tom says those exports have grown from near zero in 2004 to over 6 million tons for 2009 and they’re growing.
You can listen to my interview with Tom here: Tom Dorr Interview
The Export Exchange 2010 is uniquely focused on connecting international buyers of DDGS and coarse grains with the U.S. market. The Council is providing sponsorship for the attendance of targeted international trade teams from more than 25 countries. These participants represent nearly 80 percent of the global export market for DDGS and coarse grains. The conference will address critical issues facing U.S. exports and seek to educate and build awareness of U.S. DDGS and coarse grains among international buyers.
Registration is now open for the Export Exchange 2010, an international trade conference focused around the export of U.S. coarse grains and the ethanol co-product distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS).
The event is co-sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association and the U.S. Grains Council and will bring together more than 150 international buyers of U.S. DDGS and coarse grains with more than 300 U.S. producers and agribusinesses. “We are excited to have the Renewable Fuels Association co-sponsor the Export Exchange 2010,” said USGC President and CEO Thomas C. Dorr. “The burgeoning world population is demanding more meat, milk and eggs. U.S. DDGS and coarse grains continue to play an important role in livestock and poultry feed rations globally. We have to educate and connect our buyers and sellers to continue to grow vital markets for the United States.”
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is moving into its second half century with a brand new slate of officers and directors.
At the U.S. Grains Council’s 50th Annual Board of Delegates meeting in Boston this week, Terry Vinduska, a corn farmer representing the Kansas Corn Commission, was elected chairman for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
Other officers elected include Wendell Shauman, representing Illinois Corn Marketing Board, as vice chairman; Don Fast, representing Montana Wheat & Barley Committee, as treasurer; and Julius Schaaf, representing Iowa Corn Promotion Board, as secretary.
Alan Tiemann, of the Nebraska Corn Board, was re-elected to the Council’s Board of Directors. Newly elected Board members include James Tobin of Monsanto; Bill Kubecka of United Sorghum Checkoff Program; and Jere White of Kansas Corn Commission.
Thomas C. Dorr, USGC president and CEO, said, “As the U.S. Grains Council begins its 51st year, we are fortunate to have strong, active leadership in place. Our new chairman, Mr. Vinduska, the Board of Directors, Board of Delegates, A-Team leaders and state liaisons provide excellent insight into the challenges and opportunities in the international market arena. The Council’s success over its first five decades is attributable to a long tradition of farmer and agribusiness leadership that’s determined to see the Council succeed.”
Many representatives from the National Corn Growers Association attended the meeting this week to congratulate the Council for 50 years of helping to increase export opportunities for U.S. grain producers. “We’re proud of the work the Grains Council has accomplished in its history, and we are proud to share several common founding members,” said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen. “We are working to build on our half-century history of collaboration so that we can continue to serve the country’s corn farmers to the best of our abilities.”
NCGA is a founding member of USGC and works cooperatively with their export promotion efforts.
Attendees to the 2010 Agricultural Relations Council in Memphis, TN, toured a local ADM barge and elevator loading operation. Here’s a short segment of Q&A with the group during our tour. It was very well done and I think we learned a lot. For example, the tour guide said they were unloading up to 300 trucks per day during last season.
The new U.S. Grains Council senior vice president of operations and industry relations is Keith Heffernan, pictured in the middle here. He was chief of staff for the Farm Credit Administration. Keith was also the first executive director for the Iowa Corn Growers Association; director of public affairs for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; assistant director for the Center of Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University; and chief of staff for USDA’s Rural Development. In other words, he’s got a lot of qualifications to work in this new position.
I spoke with Keith here at the International Marketing Conference. He says participation is good and there’s a lot of excitement about exports. Looking forward he says there will be more attention and need for attention on exports.
Here at the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference n this morning’s general session we had a panel discussion on trade with Mexico. In the discussion attendees were able to ask questions and answers. In fact, it was mostly a Q&A session. Allan Mustard, Minister Counselor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, Mexico City, introduced our panel.
Our panelists and their specialties included:
Enrique Dominguez (Director – pork producers confederation)
Discussion topic
-Excessive exports of pork into Mexico (why and what is causing in terms of jobs and capital loss)
-How long will that tendency last and what effects will result (everybody is asking this question)
-What can be done from a regional point of view (north America, NAFTA to correct this issue)
Ricardo Calderon (Executive Director APPAMEX – grain traders association)
Discussion topic
-Integration of the market MEX-USA, trends and role of different actors.
-Obstacles that can disrupt trade (which ones can be prevented)
-Future of grain trade MEX-USA
-How to keep free flow of feed grains
Carlos Lopez Coello (Scientist UNAM – National University of Mexico poultry specialist)
Discussion topic
There are 5 areas in developed countries where commercial poultry has received special attention, attributed in large part by consumer demand
1. Animal Welfare.
2. Environment Conservation.
3. Food Safety.
4. Traceability.
5. Animal and Human Health.
You can watch or listen to the Mexican trade panel. I recorded our live feed.
We’re going to be broadcasting the final general session from the U.S. Grains Council Marketing Conference.
Post Update We were live. Now we’re recorded.
The Chairman for the U.S. Grains Council is Rick Fruth. Rich took the stage today to speak to attendees of the International Marketing Conference and Membership Meeting. I have recorded his comments for you in video and audio. I also spoke with him during a break to see what he considers the challenges and opportunities for the U.S. Grains Council.
One of the founding members of the U.S. Grains Council is the National Corn Growers Association. Attending the USGC International Marketing Conference is NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, seen here addressing one of the meetings.
Rick, who worked for USGC for many years, says that NCGA considers the Grains Council their international trade partner. The two organizations have a very strong working relationship. He says one of the things he’s really happy to hear discussed here at this meeting is how well exports of DDGS have been due to the efforts of the Grains Council. That’s good news for corn growers for whom the production of ethanol is so important right now. He says that the Grains Council is looking at other value added products they can promote for export too.
Here at the International Marketing Conference and Membership Meeting of the U.S. Grains Council we received an international program overview which consisted of presentations from various country directors. Seen here is Dr. Hussein Soliman, Egypt Director.
Each presenter gave an overview of their region, the projects they’re working on and the outlook for the future.
I have recorded their presentations for you so that you may listen to them or download.
The Hon. Carole L. Brookins, Managing Director of Public Capital Advisors, LLC, gave the keynote speech at 7th International Marketing Conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Her presentation is filled with facts, figures and her personal outlook on the future. She brought the group a unique perspective about how we may not agree with a lot of what is happening on issues like climate change but there are considerations that we should be making that include ways to profit in spite of them.
She summarizes challenges facing the industry that include energy security movements, groups pushing consumers to a vegetarian diet, consumer perception that food is bad and more. So from one of her slides she offered the following:
Where Do We Go From Here?
• Re‐balancing the global axis of power and markets
• Re‐inventing energy and technology that Runs our world
• Restructuring production and markets for the food we eat, where we produce it, who controls it and how it is traded.
Both Your Risk and Reward will be Multiplied. Your Complexity of Choices and Competition will be Magnified.
We’re celebrating 50 years at the U.S. Grains Council. I’m in Puerto Vallarta for the 7th USGC International Marketing Conference and 50th Annual Membership Meeting. Tomorrow morning I’ll be going AgWired Live TV with the opening general session starting at 8am, central. So tune if you’d like. I’ll also be recording the session too. If you’re an ag journalist please feel free to utilize any of the pics or audio I’ll be posting over the next several days here and on The Grain Board.
So we’ve got AgWired On The Beach which sounds like a very good adult beverage. Actually it really is AgWired on the Beach. I was sweating and swatting mosquitos while it’s supposed to be snowing at home. It’s a tough job but . . .
To give us a preview of what this conference is all about and what the issues are I spoke with USGC CEO and President, Tom Dorr. He had been in meetings all day today but still looked fresh and ready to go. He says that this is a combined membership meeting and meeting to create their Unified Export Strategy. They bring all their country directors in along with their advisory teams and delegate members. They analyze market opportunities and challenges and put it all together into a report for the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service which helps facilitate their ability to do international market development work. In my interview with Tom you’ll hear him point out some of the challenges in the current international marketplace.
The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team is home safe and sound. It was a very interesting 2 weeks of visits with American grain customers and others in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. You might expect these countries to be “all the same.” However, each country has a very distinct culture and that includes everything from food to how they drive.
A consistent theme was the growth potential in these markets. That’s why the USGC has people on the ground working to develop new business opportunities for American farmers. After our team’s final dinner I spoke with them as a group to get their final thoughts on what they’d like farmers back home to know about their experience. We just went around the table starting with the corn grower members. Here are some of their final thoughts:
The main thing is the relationship the USGC staff has with people in all these countries. They appreciate what the USGC does.
I got to see what the USGC does on a personal level. These ddgs programs are working well. I hope they’ll buy more.
I sure learned a lot about the legwork that goes on on the ground here for these guys. There’s still some work to be done.
We spent our time well and did something that will benefit everyone back home. The USGC work has been an important part of keeping our exports going.
I think the potential for increased sales is there. The network is in place and working well.
Demand looks strong and will continue for a long time to come.
Shannon Schaffer, the USGC staff representative on our trip added these thoughts:
These guys worked really hard on this trip. Lots of time spent on the road and with the customers we service. They served as ambassadors for the USGC and corn growers specifically.
For my part I want to thank the USGC for allowing me the opportunity to go on this trip and provide documentation of the trip. Besides the stories here on AgWired I have also been posting onto The Grain Board. It looks like I produced a little less than 3,000 photos, and a combination of 50 audio/video interviews and clips. Hopefully it has provided you with a better understanding of the international development work of the U.S. Grains Council and these markets in particular.
You can listen to my final interview with the Corn Mission Team below:
When the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team visited a feed mill this morning owned by the Hamoudeh Group they saw some state of the art grain testing. The company has infrared grain testing equipment which quickly analyzes a sample and provides a printout of a number of the qualities most important to them.
You can see a sample being analyzed in this video clip:
Our team will be meeting with some representatives from Iraq this evening at dinner but I probably won’t have time to post again until getting home this weekend. Until then . . .
The USDA Ag Specialist on the ground in Jordan is Mohamed N. Khraishy. He took time to meet with our Corn Mission team after we arrived this afternoon. He says that he acts mainly as a facilitator on our behalf or as he puts it, “See me as the grease between the wheels.”
I recorded part of our discussion with Mohamed for you to listen to. He says that quality doesn’t seem to be much of an issue for feed grain imports but that price does matter. The global economic recession has had an impact even here. He’s afraid that we might see a short term decline in American grain imports. To avoid fluctuations in the market he sees a real need for more storage facilities. He fields lots of questions about finding an American company that may want to invest in storage here in Jordan.
You can listen to part of our discussion with Mohamed below:
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
Chuck and Mike often wind up at the same events all over the country so it seemed like a good idea to do a little AgriTalking about the changes they've seen in the ag media landscape.
Every year there are dozens of grain bin accidents reported across the Corn Belt, with far too many ending in fatalities. 
Randy says they recommend that growers never enter a grain bin if at all possible, but realistically he knows there are times when it might be necessary. “Don’t get into the bin unless you lock out the power and make sure someone knows you are getting in to the bin,” he says, adding that the person on the outside should ideally be able to observe you getting in and out and have a rescue line tied to you.
As VP, Grain, Ericson will be responsible for the overall management, oversight, support and growth of GROWMARK’s grain business, which includes 80 grain members and companies inIllinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Combined, the 80 companies market approximately 1 billion bushels of grain and oilseed annually into river, rail, and processor markets.
Bryce Stremming is one of MID-CO’s Commodity Risk Consultants. “What MID-CO keys on is basis trading within the grain industry and as the market moves up and down, you have different opportunities with the basis on whether it is improving or not,” Bryce told Agwired during a recent interview.
Both corn and soybean production for this year were cut in 
The latest 
One of my upcoming stops on the agriblogging highway will be the U.S. Grains Council and Renewable Fuels Assocation, 
At the U.S. Grains Council’s 50th Annual Board of Delegates meeting in Boston this week, Terry Vinduska, a corn farmer representing the Kansas Corn Commission, was elected chairman for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. 
The new U.S. Grains Council senior vice president of operations and industry relations is Keith Heffernan, pictured in the middle here. He was chief of staff for the Farm Credit Administration. Keith was also the first executive director for the Iowa Corn Growers Association; director of public affairs for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; assistant director for the Center of Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University; and chief of staff for USDA’s Rural Development. In other words, he’s got a lot of qualifications to work in this new position.
Here at the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference n this morning’s general session we had a panel discussion on trade with Mexico. In the discussion attendees were able to ask questions and answers. In fact, it was mostly a Q&A session. Allan Mustard, Minister Counselor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, Mexico City, introduced our panel.
One of the founding members of the U.S. Grains Council is the National Corn Growers Association. Attending the USGC International Marketing Conference is NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, seen here addressing one of the meetings.
Here at the International Marketing Conference and Membership Meeting of the U.S. Grains Council we received an international program overview which consisted of presentations from various country directors. Seen here is Dr. Hussein Soliman, Egypt Director.
The Hon. Carole L. Brookins, Managing Director of Public Capital Advisors, LLC, gave the keynote speech at 7th International Marketing Conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Her presentation is filled with facts, figures and her personal outlook on the future. She brought the group a unique perspective about how we may not agree with a lot of what is happening on issues like climate change but there are considerations that we should be making that include ways to profit in spite of them.
We’re celebrating 50 years at the U.S. Grains Council. I’m in Puerto Vallarta for the 7th USGC International Marketing Conference and 50th Annual Membership Meeting. Tomorrow morning I’ll be going 
The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team is home safe and sound. It was a very interesting 2 weeks of visits with American grain customers and others in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. You might expect these countries to be “all the same.” However, each country has a very distinct culture and that includes everything from food to how they drive.
The USDA Ag Specialist on the ground in Jordan is Mohamed N. Khraishy. He took time to meet with our Corn Mission team after we arrived this afternoon. He says that he acts mainly as a facilitator on our behalf or as he puts it, “See me as the grease between the wheels.”
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
