GROWMARK Keeps IT Growing

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Cindy

As a multi-state agricultural co-operative system with over 6000 employees and numerous brands, information technology (IT) is a vital aspect of GROWMARK‘s ability to communicate on a number of levels.

GROWMARK was honored with the first CropLife America and AgGateway Information Technology Innovation Award for CropNAtion

That keeps GROWMARK Manager of Network Services Scott Bross busy keeping up with the latest on-line communications tools – from improved websites to blogs and all the various social networking platforms. Last year, Scott and his team launched the redesigned GROWMARK.com, with all new functionality. “We’re continuing to add new functionality as we go,” Scott said, noting that the Media Center was one of the most exciting to develop. “To be able to provide multi-media formats, to be able to do video and audio and bring in news releases in pdf and Spirit Magazine.”

The new design won GROWMARK first place in the Heartland region NAMA competition this year and GoFurtherWithFS.com won the Merit award in the same category. CropNAtion.com was selected by CropLife America (CLA) and AgGateway to receive the first annual CLA Information Technology Innovation Award. “It’s neat to be able bring these technologies together and then get recognition and positive feedback,” Scott said. “That’s really strong affirmation.”

CropNAtion has been a very ambitious project for GROWMARK to create a social media platform that serves as a 21st century “coffee shop” for today’s farmers. “It’s about what they want to talk about, not what someone else is putting in front of them to talk about,” he said.

Scott says they have new projects in the works, such as designing a new website platform for member cooperatives, but just staying on the cutting edge of communications technology keep them busy. “Technology and social media are moving so quickly these days that by the time you begin to evolve something there’s three other things out there,” he said. Tell us about it!

Listen to my interview with Scott here: Scott Bross Interview

Total Grain and Fertilizer on Track

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Cindy

Total Grain Marketing (TGM) handled 70 million bushels of grain at its 31 locations in Illinois last year and this year is likely to be even more.

During the recent GROWMARK media tour, we visited TGM and South Central FS in Casey (that’s pronounced Cay-zee) and learned about that facility in particular which was created when the two entities joined in 2010 as part of the GROWMARK and FS member companies partnership that was started in 2006.

“We have an 8 million bushel elevator, it is on the CSX railroad, we are a 90 car unit train express load shipper, and handle about 16 million bushels of grain a year,” South Central FS CEO Randy Handel said. That express loading process can rival a pit stop in the Indy Car Series. “We have 15 hours from when the train comes to load it, grade it and put the train back together and have it ready for the CSX to take,” he says, noting that they can load 1,000 bushels a minute – or 90 cars in six hours or less.

Randy says the venture between South Central and TGM has been very successful. “It’s been a win-win for our local grain producer in that it has helped enhance their margin, it’s been profitable for us as a company, but we’re a local cooperative so in turn it’s profitable for our owners and members,” he said. Most of the grain goes to the southeast to the poultry market and ADM and Bungee on the bean market.

We also got to visit the brand new GROWMARK-owned fertilizer facility on the same site. “It is a 25,000 ton dry fertilizer blend facility and a 10,000 ton solution facility and this is the first spring we are using it,” Randy said. The fertilizer facility also benefits from being right on the rail line. “It’s a very good location being on the CSX track and it’s good sharing the resources with our grain elevator and it’s a very strategic location.”

Listen to my interview with Randy Handel here: South Central FS CEO Randy Handel

See more photos from the TGM visit here: GROWMARK 2012 Media Day

Fast Stop General Store More than Convenience

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Cindy

If you want to fill up with E85, get your propane tank refilled, grab some food for your llama and new Muck boots for spring field work, satisfy your sweet tooth with bulk candy, pick up some locally produced noodles and Fluffy Burgers for dinner, enjoy some Champ’s chicken for lunch, order a new garage door, and maybe bring your truck around back to the diesel pump – then the Fast Stop General Store in Effingham, Illinois is the place for you.

Operated by South Central FS, the Fast Stop General Store has something for everyone, according to store manager Bryan Dahnke. “We’ve tried to make this a destination for people, because they can get gas anywhere, they can get a candy bar anywhere, you can’t Illinois homegrown products anywhere,” Bryan told me when we stopped by the store on a GROWMARK media tour last week.

It is definitely a destination stop. Over 100 locally produced products line the front wall of the store including jellies, jams, salsa, noodles, and candles, with more in the freezer like the Matoon, Illinois trademarked Fluffy Burgers and other local meats. In the feed section you can get food for every animal from dogs and cats, to hogs and cattle, to rabbits and llamas. Along the back wall is the garage door display. “As part of South Central, we own Altamont Overhead Garage Doors, and that’s a good business for us,” Bryan said. In addition, they have grain handling and diesel truck facilities in the back of the store.

Bryan says the general store concept has worked very well for them. “From year one to year two, we increased about 30-35% in inside sales and about 30% in fuel and this year we’re still running about another 15% on fuel sales and another 35% on inside sales,” he said.

Listen to an interview with Bryan here and watch a video of the store below: Interview with Bryan Dahnke

GROWMARK Legislative Priorities

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Cindy

GROWMARK government affairs director Chuck Spencer shared some of the agricultural cooperative’s top legislative priorities on both the state and national level during the media day tour this week.

Chuck and other GROWMARK representatives participated in the Ag Day event Wednesday at the Illinois state capitol to talk with legislators about some of those priorities. “Obviously everyone in Illinois is very concerned about budget, the cost of operations, consistency of policies, predictability of regulation in our business climate,” Chuck says. “We are seeing agriculture in the very fortunate position of being able to grow in this economy. We want to continue to do so.”

Chuck says a specific priority on the state level is the “Keep it for the Crop” (KIC) by 2025 campaign, a legislative initiative that has passed the Illinois House and is moving through the Senate. “What is important about that is that it’s going to provide additional research dollars for stewardship programs,” in watersheds, nutrient movement, and maximizing efficiency, productivity and profitability.

National priorities include the farm bill, of course, but also issues related to pesticide application permitting (HR872), transportation (limited exemption for hours of service for agriculture) and renewal of the Pesticide Registration and Improvement Act.

Listen to my interview with Chuck Spencer here: GROWMARK's Chuck Spencer

cropNAtion App Now Available

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Chuck

It has been a long time coming. Well, not really. It just seems like it. But the cropNAtion App is now available in the iTunes Store and Android Market. The “virtual coffeeshop” was introduced last fall.

I spoke with Heather Thompson during the GROWMARK Media Tour about the newly available app. She says that cropNAtion is a social network for farmers to share information, photos and more. Work has been going on for the app since the launch last fall. The app does pretty much everything that can be done on the website. It starts out with a map showing where you are and lets you see what others are saying around you or you can move the map to other locations. The app is free btw.

You can listen to my interview with Heather here: cropNAtion App Interview with Heather Thompson

GROWMARK 2012 Media Tour Photo Album

GROWMARK Media Day Tour

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Cindy

It was a beautiful day for a media tour in Illinois on Tuesday. About a dozen journalists joined representatives from GROWMARK to tour some of the unique facilities of South Central FS around Casey and Effingham.

Chuck and I both got to attend the event this year and we’ll be bringing you some of the highlights of our trip, including some interviews with GROWMARK and FS representatives and our visits to the Total Grain Marketing elevator at Casey, the newly-constructed GROWMARK fertilizer facility at Casey, and the FAST STOP General Store in Effingham. Thanks to GROWMARK’s Karen Jones for organizing the tour and being such a great host!

Check out the photos here – GROWMARK 2012 Media Tour

FS System Lubricants Keep Motors Running Smooth

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Cindy

From heavy-duty diesel engine oils and tractor hydraulic fluids to motor oils, industrial fluids and greases, GROWMARK is a leading manufacturer and supplier of lubricant products through the FS System.

GROWMARK’s lubricant marketing manager Tom Drew says the lubricants division includes a wide range of products and brands. “We also have Archer lubricants, United lubricants, we do private label and we provide products for original equipment manufacturers,” Tom told me at GROWMARK’s recent Dieselex Gold Rush. “We have introduced a new product, a synthetic blend 10W-30 that’s now part of our Suprex Gold ESP line.”

Because fuel has always been an integral part of the FS System, lubricants have been important as well. “The lubricants and the fuels go together very well because all the equipment out there take both,” Tom said.

The FS lubricants division manufactures a large variety of products for the agricultural, commercial, industrial and consumer sectors at its recently renovated lubricant manufacturing facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa. “For the past year we’ve been expanding and adding new processes so we can do more things in house that we would have other companies do for us before,” said Tom, noting that they can do custom blending at the plant. “If someone has a specific application, we can do a 2,000 gallon custom blend for them for that specific need.”

Listen to my interview with Tim Drew here: GROWMARK Lubricant Marketing Manager Tim Drew

See photos from the FS Dieselex Gold Rush event

GROWMARK Building Fertilizer Storage Facility in Iowa

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Cindy

GROWMARK is building a dry fertilizer storage facility at Stuart, Iowa that will have the capacity to hold 15,000 tons and will complement the acquisition of CF terminals made by GROWMARK in 2011.

Construction will begin in spring 2012 and completion is expected in fall 2012. The facility will have rail receiving capability from the Iowa Interstate Rail System which is looking forward to this new venture. “Our connections with all Class One rail carriers at multiple locations, along with access to the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, will help provide an enhanced alternative for transportation to this region,” said Carrie Evans, Iowa Interstate Railroad vice president of sales and marketing.

Local retailer AGRILAND FS, Inc. will conduct the day-to-day operational activities at the facility. “The location of the Stuart facility is a good fit for AGRILAND FS, and will save the cost of replacing a dry fertilizer building in Winterset,” added John Knobloch, AGRILAND FS general manager.

AGRILAND FS, Inc. is an agricultural based cooperative, headquartered in Winterset, Iowa. It provides ag-related inputs including feed, seed, plant food, crop protection, fuel, lubricants, and grain marketing services to farmers and rural residents in 38 southern Iowa counties.

Conversation with a Speaker

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Cindy

The 59th Speaker of the House spoke about leadership and the importance of the nation’s energy security during an appearance at the GROWMARK, FS System “Gold Rush” event in East Peoria, Illinois to introduce re-formulated Dieselex Gold.

Denny Hastert, who is an Illinois farm boy, says growing up on a farm taught him the responsibility and leadership that helped serve him well in public life. He spoke of how he became an “accidental Speaker” after Newt Gingrich retired in 1998, and then a “war-time Speaker” after 9/11. He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history.

I enjoyed getting the opportunity to interview the former speaker (appropriately with the gold microphone at the Gold Rush!) about his remarks, and about his thoughts on energy and farm policy. “I think you’ll see some of the subsidies that farmers have grown to rely on are going to be gone just because of the shortage in the budget,” Hastert said, noting that he has two farms himself. “What we need to do in the farm community is to make sure we keep those markets for our products that we have and can be independent of government subsidies.”

Listen to my interview with the Speaker of the House here: Dennis Hastert Interview

See photos from the FS Dieselex Gold Rush event

GROWMARK CEO Pleased with Pursuit of Maximum Yields

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Cindy

GROWMARK CEO Jeff Solberg is very pleased with response to the FS Green Plan Solutions program to help growers discover new methods that will help them attain maximum yields.

I had a chance to chat with Jeff as he attended the Pursuit of Maximum Yields (POMY) grower event last week in Collinsville, Illinois. He told me that the program is designed to help growers meet the challenges of feeding a growing world population. “We believe that the production that we have to have to feed the world is so important,” Jeff said. “The way that you go about it is through good, sustainable, environmentally-sound practices which allow us to farm with freedom, to do it in the right way, and to make sure that we get the yields to feed all the people we’ve got coming at us in the next 30 years.”

2012 is a big year for GROWMARK and for cooperatives throughout the entire world. “We have a double celebration this year,” Jeff says. “It’s the International Year of Cooperatives, but it’s also GROWMARK’s 85th anniversary. It’s a unique way of doing business and it’s also a really great way of doing business.”

Listen to my interview with Jeff Solberg here: GROWMARK CEO Jeff Solberg

Check out photos from the two Pursuit of Maximum Yields events held in Iowa and Illinois this month.

Photos from Illinois Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

Getting Social with NCGA and GROWMARK

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Cindy

ZimmCast 337 In this week’s ZimmCast you can hear about how GROWMARK is using social media to create a buzz and how the National Corn Growers Association is using social media for membership recruiting and grower services.

At the NCGA biennial Membership Symposium last week in Florida, Chuck talked with Director of Development Tim Brackman and Nebraska Corn Growers Association chairman Brandon Hunnicutt about the symposium program that featured a variety of topics, including use of social media. Brandon is pictured here on the left with Tim on the right.

Meanwhile, at the at the Pursuit of Maximum Yields event last week in Iowa, I interviewed GROWMARK Electronic Communications Specialist Heather (Miller) Thompson about how the GROWMARK system is using social media and smartphone tools, like Facebook, Twitter and QR codes. They are also promoting CropNAtion, a social site for agriculture introduced last year. “That’s still really in it’s infancy,” Heather said. “We’re trying to get word spread about it to get a base and also waiting for an iPhone and Android app that should be out any day now.”

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: ZimmCast with NCGA and GROWMARK

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

Lowell Catlett Sees Bright Future for Ag

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Cindy

Dr. Lowell Catlett, New Mexico State University economist and futurist, has been looking into the agricultural crystal ball for nearly 30 years. I remember seeing him speak back when Timbuk3 had their one-hit wonder “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” and Lowell used to gallop on stage to that tune wearing sunglasses.

That song was a hit back in 1986 and Lowell is just as funny, interesting and relevant as ever. I saw him at the Pursuit of Maximum Yields event organized by the GROWMARK system’s FS Green Plan Solutions in Bettendorf, Iowa Thursday and haven’t laughed so hard and learned so much in a long time.

One thing that makes him so entertaining is his facial expressions – that’s why I wanted to use several photos here. He makes his points without the aid of power points – he certainly doesn’t need them!

All of the 250 farmers at the event this week will certainly remember without the aid of a power point what Dr. Catlett called “The Crap Factor” – that is higher disposable income to buy more crap. “The quality of our life has gone up dramatically and the price to have (the necessities) relative to our income has gone down,” he says. That allows people to buy more extras, and in the case of developing countries, it means they have more income to buy more protein.

Lowell also talked about how smart phones are helping farmers. “You’ve got the ability to take that mobile technology and do plant diagnostics with it,” he said. In the future, he sees the use of open source hardware (not just software) and 3D assembly that could allow manufacturing to actually be done on site with local materials, like building tractors on farms in developing nations.

Listen to my interview with Lowell Catlett here: Lowell Catlett Interview

Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

GROWMARK Celebrating 2012 International Year of Cooperatives

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Chuck

During this year that the United Nations has declared the “International Year of Cooperatives,” GROWMARK has a number of projects going on to participate. To learn about them I spoke with Amy Bradford, Corporate Communications Manager.

Amy says GROWMARK has several programs underway. One of them works with their local cooperatives called, “You’re on the World Stage.” It allows them to pick ways that they would like to “recognize their own contribution to the socioeconomic world through the cooperative enterprise structure.” The basic level is doing local publicity in their community. A more unique program is helping local cooperatives select a “sister” cooperative in another part of the world to learn more about them and bring that information back into the community.

Learn more about what GROWMARK is doing during this historic year in my interview with Amy: Amy Bradford Interview

Dan Kelley, President of the GROWMARK Board of Directors, talks about the importance of cooperatives in the agriculture industry today and how the GROWMARK System ties into the cooperative form of business in this video created for this year’s celebration.

Mobile Technology Replacing Brochures At Trade Shows

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Chuck

Why pack cases of flyers or brochures to stack in your trade show booth when you can just bring along an iPad to display more information in a multi-media format?

Pioneer Hi-Bred used to bring along more than 50 different product brochures to trade shows. Now they bring an iPad with a company-branded app. Pioneer, along with GROWMARK, worked with Float Mobile on these projects. Here’s what they did with GROWMARK.

At the 2011 Farm Progress Show, GROWMARK used an interactive “Yield Maximizer” game to draw attendees to their booth and keep them there longer. It’s part of a larger trend that’s going on in agribusiness – using innovative mobile technology to showcase products and services in unique ways.

“The FS/GROWMARK System upped its technology ante at the 2011 Farm Progress Show. Our goal at the show is always to engage and share valuable information with the farmers and other interested parties who attend. Making use of iPad-powered games that attracted attention, entertained show-goers, and conveyed information about our strong and diverse product lines was very effective,” said Ann Kafer, GROWMARK’s director of communications and marketing services. “We also debuted cropNAtion.com at the show and signed up those wanting to participate in the new social media platform for information about crop production across the country — farmer to farmer.”

GROWMARK Launches History Website

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Cindy

GROWMARK is honoring 85 years of growth with a new history section on their website.

The Our History site is designed to be as easy to use for people who want a little information as for those who want to dig deeply into the rich history of the System. Users will find seven “eras,” chosen by significant events which impacted the cooperative as it grew from humble beginnings in the 1920s into today’s strong cooperative system. Each era includes a written narrative and a timeline. Video interviews with former chairmen of the board and chief executive officers are also included in relation to important events.

“A company’s future is rooted in its history. And for the GROWMARK System, 85 years of history communicate a clear mission for improving members’ profitability, working together with a strong sense of integrity, and always positioning this network of cooperatives for long-term success,” said Ann Kafer, GROWMARK director of corporate communications and marketing services. “Honoring that rich history with this website is fitting. I’m certain past, present and future employees, directors, and farm customers will learn much and come away proud of the legacy that’s been created by the GROWMARK System.”

The site is designed for the future, with the ability to add eras and events as needed. More videos and photographs will continue to be added in the coming months. The site can be found by clicking on the “Our History” tab on www.growmark.com

MyWay RTK Grows in 2011

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Cindy

2011 has been a phenomenal growth year for MyWay RTK.

myway rtk The service was launched in the fall of 2010 to bring subscription-based Real Time Kinematic positioning and wireless Internet access to the state of Illinois. That has been more than accomplished with coverage throughout the entire state and base stations being added almost daily in other states from Iowa to Idaho and Kansas to Mississippi.

growmark sid parks “It would be fair to say the number of people that are participating has exceeded early expectations,” says GROWMARK precision agriculture manager Sid Parks, who recognized the benefits of the service early on for FS member cooperatives. “We deal with lots of different venders, different colors of equipment, different brands, different service providers and we had a need to be brand neutral,” he said.

MyWay RTK was the perfect solution to provide high quality, cellular modem based RTK differential correction service with accuracy to the one inch range, an improvement from perhaps 3-6 inches often used and with better year to year consistency. “The RTK quality signal is delivered through the internet and cell towers rather than FM radio signal,” Sid said. One important benefit to that is improved repeatability from one base station to the next. “Any place I have cell phone access, I have the potential to deliver that signal via modem.” In the future, it will also give the capability to share files and maps back and forth between the field vehicle and the office.

Sid is quick to point out that neither he nor GROWMARK has any ownership in MyWay RTK, they just knew a good thing when they saw it. “When I first found out about it, I went around with a company representative to our FS companies to show how they could participate – whether they chose to be a member or not, participate in the sales of subscriptions or as a user,” he added.

You can listen to my interview with Sid about MyWay RTK here: Sid Parks Interview

MaxVisor Provides Personal Grain Market Consulting

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Cindy

growmark It’s that time of the year when many of us are looking back at the past year and ahead to the new year, especially when it comes to our finances. Farmers who are making a New Years resolution to consider options for managing risk should check out MaxVisor for consulting with a personal touch.

“It is sit down, one on one with that farmer and make recommendations that fit that producer’s risk tolerance, risk profile and needs at that time,” said Cory Winstead, Senior MaxVisor Representative.

MaxVisor is a service of AgriVisor, an agricultural advisory firm that is part of the GROWMARK family of companies. “We have multiple different silos, or bins, that are part of AgriVisor,” Cory says, from research and pricing strategies, to crop insurance and brokerages service relationships. MaxVisor specifically includes hedge accounting and professional services with timely and frequent communications updates by email, text and audio reports.

Cory says AgriVisor is owned 51% by GROWMARK and 49% by Illinois Farm Bureau, but anyone can take advantage of their services. “You don’t need to be a GROWMARK customer, or an FS customer – you don’t even need to be a Farm Bureau member to be a part of us. If you’re a farmer who has some needs or questions about the market – that’s what we’re here for.” Cory adds that they have customers from Ohio to Kansas, and Canada to Alabama.

To find out more about MaxVisor, Cory says there is a link on the side bar of the AgriVisor home page that takes you to a free trial sign up page – no risk, no obligation – just to check it out. What do you have to lose?

Find out more about MaxVisor in my interview with Cory here: Cory Winstead Interview