A friend of mine can quote just about every line from “It’s a Wonderful Life” and, I think, give a full description of at least four versions of “A Christmas Carol.” While I can’t do that, I have to admit, I do enjoy this time of year.
Yes, we’re tying up all the loose ends of one fiscal year and plunging ahead into the next. And we probably all look at our budget numbers, hoping that hard work, sweat, intelligence and a bit of fresh thinking make them achievable. But growing up on a farm, with all of the things that can and did go wrong, I always tried to look at the bright spots and always tried to figure out what the tough times taught us.
One of the things I learned, after watching Mom and Dad work so hard for all those years only to see the farm fade away, is that it’s important to step back, take a breath and enjoy the moment.
I do reflect on our business and what we did right and what we did wrong, what we must learn to do better, and what we should learn to never do again.
In talking with my boss, my peers and my team, I try to make sure I stay open-minded. No, it’s not easy. But the energy of fresh ideas, of smart people trying to uncover new concepts or ways of doing things, is important. And it ought to become infectious.
Soon, though, all the kids will be here. I’ll make time for my neighbors, my friends, my family. We’ll bake cookies, we’ll watch the Packers, we’ll play cards, we’ll talk smart and tell stories, and we’ll laugh. It’s the break we need to help us put things in perspective. It’s the pause that lets us put our minds into something other than full work mode.
Even if it’s just for a moment, I hope you can make the time to do that this holiday season. There are challenges and successes ahead. It’s what keeps us sharp and active. Taking a break is what keeps us fresh and energized.
Best wishes for a wonderful New Year!
Solution removes confusion, frustration and long hours spent invoicing clients
Basis came under pressure along much of the Midwest river system this week as terminals north of St. Louis slowed grain buying amid looming draft restrictions on the river due to low water levels. Basis levels for soybeans were off 4 cents on average along major river terminals this week, while corn river markets slipped half a cent for the week.
However, corn basis was higher in the upper Midwest and Northern Plains as ethanol plants pushed basis levels higher by 1.5 cents a bushel on average for the week. Further to the South, river terminals from Memphis running to the Gulf were higher thanks to a 5-cent increase in basis at the Gulf export market this week.
For soybeans, basis levels around the country average a 0.3 cent decline. Lower bids from river terminals in the Midwest helped ease competition for beans, and soybean crushing plants lowered their bids by 4.5 cents for the week. At the Gulf, export basis climbed 5 cents a bushel.
Continue to expect ongoing threats of closures along the river to hamper basis strength. While Gulf bids continue to be strong to encourage grain movement, there is a clear risk that the River may close or at least limit barge capacity around St Louis, MO in early December which will keep grain buyers in these areas defensive.
Last June at the IDEAg Interconnectivity Conference, I had the opportunity to hearDr. Michael Boehlje, a well-known and well-respected ag economist from Purdue University. Dr. Boehlje, while well aware of today’s production agriculture, also looks into the future, focusing his work on strategic planning and thinking, particularly given the dynamic (turbulent?) business climate we all live and work in today.
This month, I attended the Equipment Manufacturers Conference (EMC) in San Diego, CA, pulled together by theAmerican Feed Industry Association．This group (which includes many of my customers — those who advertise to supportFeed & Grain的媒体属性)代表的利益quipment manufacturers who are AFIA members. They track regulatory issues, are particularly involved in all-important safety aspects surrounding equipment and its use and maintenance, but also must consider the future needs of their customers — those of you working in the feed, grain, pet food and ingredient side of the business.
I’ve attended many of the EMC meetings and always have been impressed with their focus on the future. And, in particular, the demands that will be placed on the grain and feed industry in the years ahead.
This ties in quite well with one of Dr. Boehlje’s discussion points: recognizing the management practices of today’s most progressive commercial producers. One of the main elements of this presentation was that top producers are recognizing that they don’t farm. Instead, they realize that they are part of a biological manufacturing system. They have inputs, produce a product and must be involved (in today’s world) in seeing that product all the way through the food chain, right to the dinner table.
So what do these forward-thinking, progressive agribusinesses do? Though Dr. Boehlje had a more extensive list, these stood out at me:
Having worked with so many of the EMC members over the years, and meeting and talking with so many grain elevator operators and feed mill managers during that same time, I had to start wondering about what each group is doing to support each other and contribute to mutual success — as part of a biological manufacturing system.
So, if the five points above highlight what your most progressive customers or potential customers are doing, what are you putting in place in your business to better meet their needs? And what are you doing to establish some of these same business practices into your operation? Adapt quickly, leverage new technologies, recognize that you must work in partnership with your producers and with your buyers... these are key points.
In talking with so many equipment manufacturers, millwrights and design/build firms, I wonder about the same issue: Are these businesses partnering with feed, grain, flour, pet food, biofuel and other businesses, focusing on mutual success.
I’d certainly like to think so. But Dr. Boehlje, in painting the picture of our industry as a complex biological manufacturing system, made me think about the future. And not just about you — but aboutFeed & Grain’s role as an information hub in this vital industry.
Let me know what you think!
In the last week we observed a firm increase in national corn and soybeans basis in the cash market. On average across the nation we watched spot corn basis rise 2 cents, while beans added nearly 3 cents.
The river accounted for large basis increases this week with corn increasing on average 10 ½ cents and soybeans adding another 8 ¾ cents. The gulf bid moved sharply higher this week driven by demand for corn and soybeans delivered before any restrictions can be placed on barges. The continued dryness in the Midwest is still impacting the Mississippi river and if rain is not received within the next few weeks, there is a good chance we may see restrictions placed on the tow size and drafts of barges between St. Louis and Cairo, IL. Some anticipate restrictions as soon as December 10th．
Ethanol plants improved their basis for corn by 1 ¾ however, the river continues is rapidly approach in terms of basis competitiveness. When comparing the four year average basis for both river terminals and ethanol facilities, we observe that river terminals average basis crosses over average ethanol basis around November 9th．Due to the lackluster export demand this year and in spite of the early harvest we are observing average river basis becoming more competitive than ethanol a week later than normal. I would expect this to have an impact on the EIA ethanol production numbers in the weeks to come.
Basis also improved strongly throughout domestic soybean plants with average gains by 6 ¾ cents. Despite the bearish November USDA Supply and Demand report, which boosted soybean production and ending stocks higher than the market expected, we still see strong demand for soybeans both domestically and abroad. This week NOPA crush numbers were reported at 153.5 million bushels which beat even the highest analyst expectations and export sales bookings continue to run well ahead of the pace needed to meet the USDA’s expectations. With the decline in soybean prices, I expect crushing plants to continue reacting quickly and competitively to any basis increases along the river.
Soybean basis was up 3 cents for the week as strong export business continues to lift interior basis levels. Robust business to China and others has helped fuel cash movement to Gulf ports. Year-to-date export shipments for soybeans are 57% higher than this time last year, and up 44% compared to the 5-year average pace of shipments at this time of year.
At the Gulf, soybean basis bids were up 4 cents for the week, but many river markets got an added lift as barge rates backed off from their recent rally. For the week, river terminals across the U.S. posted an average 10-cent gain in basis levels. There were, however, areas of weakness in the East Coast as harvest continues in the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic. Also, Iowa had key soybean plants also backing off on basis which caused some weakness in Eastern Iowa.
For corn, the lack of export business has kept basis levels tied to domestic user needs. This week New Energy Corp ethanol in Northern Indiana reported that it would layoff 40 employees and idle production until economic conditions improve. With high corn prices and relatively weak ethanol, margin levels for ethanol plants continue to be slim, posting a 60% loss compared to this time last year.
Across the U.S., average corn basis levels posted a modest half-cent increase. However, ethanol plants backed off their basis by a half-cent over the past week. River markets and Gulf export bids were higher this week, suggesting export business may begin picking up. Indeed, a sale of 500,000 MT to Japan was announced this morning, a nice change from recent weeks of dismal corn business.
I’ll say it right up front: If we lose your attention — we’re toast.
No, I don’t think that’s likely, particularly sinceFeed & Grainhas spent more than 50 years working to keep your attention, but if we don’t worry about losing you, then we’re not doing our job. And our job is to deliver information you need, want and value. That’s how we earn your attention.
In today’s digital world, earning your attention becomes more and more complex — in a good way. Digital technology gives us the opportunity to help you save time and help us provide more value. We can target to you the information you need, delivered consistently or readily accessible. Less clutter and more value.
There are some technologies that help us do this; for example, we know what articles are most read, what products are most searched and other key areas of activity on our website and with our e-newsletter. That’s important, but we still want to hear from you. Which is why I am asking you to do us a favor: Help us continue to learn more about your information needs and how to meet them.
Click hereto go to directly our registration page. Please provide your information, sign up for the e-newsletters and email notifications that you’d like to receive, and tell us more about your job, your responsibilities and your information needs.
With all of the options you have for finding information, we want to make sureFeed & Grainstays at the top of your list. We appreciate your help in doing so! If I am missing something or if you have questions for me, please send me an email:[email protected]
Thank you for investing your time. We will continue working to help you save time and find more value with the content we deliver to you.
My son is in Cub Scouts and loves to take part in the annual popcorn sales fund raising program. He has always done well but I felt could have done better if we had a way to accept credit cards, so this year we down loaded the Square Credit Card App on my iPhone and improved his sales by 20% which is roughly the amount of revenue we brought in by credit cards.
Square is an amazing service that works with your mobile phone, you simply down load the free app onto your phone, signup, and plug in the free card reader. There is a 2.75% fee when you do a transaction, so for every $100 you bring in there is a $2.75 fee. This is very low fee compared to most traditional credit card processing companies. For companies that have large transactions there is a fixed fee program which is $275/month for unlimited usage.
Here is how I envision an ag Business using the Square technology: Imagine your employee going out to the field to deliver some lubricants at harvest time, the farmer hands the employee the credit card, who swipes it through the reader plugged into his phone, an amount is entered along with any optional details, the farmer signs the phone screen for confirmation and a receipt of the transaction is forwarded via email or text. The funds are then deposited from Square to the ag businesses local bank account.
If you let your imagination go you can come up with many ideas of how this type of technology may be used by ag businesses in the future. Someday your employees may walk around with a phone capable of taking payments while you monitor the sales in real time via your office computer. You may even be able to see that a salesperson has just received a payment at the end of a field via Google Maps.
To learn more visitwww.squareup.com
Finally, after two weeks of barge rate increases, we observed a sharp decline across the river system. The St. Louis rate declined 19% last week giving soybean basis along the river space to improve 11 ¼ cents between Oct. 25thand Oct. 31st．Movement of soybeans through Mississippi river Lock 27 tapered off sharply, declining from a whopping 414 thousand tons (64% above the three year average) to only 147 thousand tons by Oct. 27th．However, despite the minor lull in Soybean movement down the river, the Gulf bid should continue pulling soybeans at an above average pace. In the last week the soybean bid out of the Gulf increased 7 cents.
Soybean Basis throughout the Eastern US continued to see harvest pressure. For the states of NC, KY, VA, MD, DE and SC only about 47% of estimated soybean production has been harvested. Because the eastern states are in the peak of soybean harvest, we expect to see downward basis pressure in the weeks to come.
Harvest for corn is 91% complete, allowing basis to creep about a penny higher this week on average across the US. Despite cheaper transportation to the gulf, declining barge rates had little impact on corn basis at river terminals, which improved a cent over last week. Corn basis at the river is not responding to cheaper barge rates simply because export demand is very weak. Total amount of corn which has passed through Mississippi River Lock 27 is a little over half the volume we observed in 2011 and 47% of the three year average. Unfortunately, the export picture doesn’t look to improve as sales continue to come in below the pace necessary to meet the USDA’s forecast. We will continue to follow export sales for any indications of improving demand.
Increases of 10 to 20 cents a bushel in barge rates the past week put significant pressure on river terminal basis. Thanks to strong demand for soybean barging, rates have begun to move higher which pressured river basis levels, with losses of 10 to 20 cents a bushel fairly common along the river system this week.
For the week ending October 25, corn and soybean basis levels were up 1 cent a bushel on average across the country.
In the corn market, Western Cornbelt ethanol plants continue to push hard on basis to meet their needs where +40 basis levels are fairly common by key buyers. In comparison, this time of year those same plants are generally paying -20 on basis. However, other ethanol plants around the country were more moderated, leading to al ethanol plants being up only 0.8 cents for the week. At the Gulf, basis levels were up 2 cents for the week.
For the soybean market, basis levels were also substantially lower along the river with a loss of 10-cents per bushel reported by river terminals this past week even though the Gulf was up 4 cents. Weakness continues through the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic as double-crop beans continue be harvested in full force. However, soybean crushing plants were up 3.5 cents a bushel this week and gains in the Western Cornbelt were fairly typical as harvest finishes up.
The basis lows were printed in the last week of September for both corn and soybeans on average throughout the nation. In just the last week, the national average basis for soybeans improved nearly a cent while corn basis continued climbing, up another 1 1/3 cents on the week. Despite the steady basis improvements observed since the harvest low, soybeans has not experienced the violent snapback in basis that it enjoyed during the same period last year. In 2011 the national soybean basis average improved 14 cents in the two weeks following the harvest low. This year, soybeans have improved a lackluster 3 ½ cents during the same period.
Across the United States
缓慢的基础上改善大豆year could be caused by a number of abnormal events. First, going into harvest we had exceptional backwardation in the futures market. At one point there was almost a two dollar discount for soybeans delivered in July 2013 compared to soybeans delivered this November 2012. This sort of futures market structure gives farmers incentive to sell beans directly off the combine, and probably played a role in amplifying bean sales during this year’s harvest. However, since the height of the backwardation the cash market has adjusted and now provides, on average, a 7 cent carry from spot to Nov, a 5 1/3 cent carry from Nov to Dec and a 2 cent carry from Dec to Jan. The current cash structure should help support further spot basis improvement. Secondly, there is a chance that the soybean basis recovery has been muted as a result of improving yield expectations during this year’s harvest. Recently, we have seen multiple private analysts increase their soybean yield forecasts, and on October 11thwe saw confirmation when the USDA raised their official soybean yield forecast from 35.3 to 37.8 bushels per acre.
Soybean basis seemed mixed across the different facility types last week with soybean plants improving their basis by 1 ½ cents, while basis along the river dropped 2 1/8thcents. The gulf remained unchanged.
The increase we observed in corn basis was supported by a one cent increase out of both ethanol plants and the gulf. Despite the slight improvement in corn basis out of the gulf, river terminals remained unchanged as a result of slightly stronger barge rates. Since harvest lows corn has increased 3 ¾ cents, on par with the rate of improvement we observed last year during the same time period.
We see spot soybean basis improving this week with the peak of harvest well behind us. North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota have been over 90% complete for more than a week giving reason for merchandisers to bump up the bid to start attracting more grain. The Dakotas were about 10% ahead of last year’s pace for the week of October 14th. We see weaker basis in the eastern part of the US, caused by double crop harvest pressure. Kentucky's harvested beans went from 34% to 42% last week, Missouri from 20% to 36%, and Tennessee from 24% to 33%. Harvest in these eastern states is moving along at an average pace and should continue to see basis pressure through next week.
如果你眨了眨眼睛,你可能错过了今年。The usual drop in basis levels seen around harvest has been mostly non-existent this year, except for a few parts of the country with better supply prospects. Since September 1, corn basis has fallen only 5 cents while beans posted a more typical 20-cent loss. This year’s exceptionally tight stocks and production prospects continue to prop up basis levels for much of the country.
For the week ending October 11, corn and soybean basis levels were up 2 cents a bushel on average across the country. Continued declines in barge rates coupled with harvest wrapping up in key grain producing areas is help giving a lift to basis through much of the Midwest.
In the corn market, river terminals were driven higher thanks to a 5 to 10-cent a bushel drop in barge rates in the past week. However, the prospect of strong export demand stimulus this year seems unlikely as export sales continue to be lackluster. For the week, Gulf export basis bids were unchanged. Domestically, U.S. ethanol producers were up 2 cents on basis which was on par for the U.S average gains. Areas of weakness were noted in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest where production has been more favorable.
For the soybean market, basis levels were substantially higher along the river this week thanks to sliding barge costs, but Gulf basis was 1 cent lower. Weakness was hitting the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic as double-crop beans start to be harvested in full force.
Basis levels should continue to firm as we finish up the short harvest this year. But, the prospect of sharp rallies in basis seems dim. Already lofty basis levels, especially in corn, combined with slow export business should keep basis levels tied to domestic users like ethanol and feeders, where profitability is already being squeezed.
Watch GrainTV coveragehere．
An early grain harvest this year has meant an earlier peak in barge rates. Over the past few days barge rates have begun to fall suggesting that the trend may be set for barge rates to continue the post-harvest harvest seasonal slide. Although average corn and soybean basis this week was up only modestly, areas around the River system posted solid gains thanks to 5 to 10 cent a bushel declines in barge rates.
For corn, basis levels were mostly unchanged through the heart of the Cornbelt, but Eastern areas saw more weakness as harvest hits full swing. Areas along the River system saw higher basis with average corn basis at river terminals jumping 4 cents for the week even though the Gulf basis was off 1 cent. At ethanol plants, basis levels were up 1 cent on average across the country with large gains noted at key plants in the Western Cornbelt.
在大豆市场,基础水平平均回答e modestly higher but showed more weakness in the Eastern Cornbelt with losses of 5 to 10 cents fairly common. However, strength out of the Gulf and lower barge rates helped lift interior river terminal basis by 5 cents for the week while soy crushing facilities were mostly unchanged for the week.
With harvest now surpassing the half way point, it will be interesting to see if basis levels will start to climb higher. The short-crop this year has definitely limited the usual pressure on basis and kept spot bids fairly strong through the harvest season. Adding to the upside potential for basis will be the likely erosion in barge rates over the next few months. Forward barge rates are 15 to 20 cents lower than current barge rates -- which means river terminals should start to be more competitive in the market place in coming weeks.
Clickhereto watch the latest episode of GrainTV.
Ten years ago I switch our home phone service that Qwest provided to a VOIP service, which stands for “Voice Over Internet Protocol.” The VOIP service works the same as the old-fashion phone except it used high speed internet to carry the conversations vs. the traditional phone line. Five years ago I was so pleased with how the home phone VOIP service was working that I subscribed to the service in our offices. This new technology costs a fraction of what traditional phone services cost and comes with many amazing options to help you’re ag business communicate with clients and employees.
One of my favorite features are Answering ruleswhich route calls based on the time called, caller ID or the number called. Imagine having a system that routed calls based on the caller ID, let’s say your company has a grain broker that you communicate with often and when he calls, the system automatically routes his call to your desk and cellphone at the same time, this potentially saves your broker, the secretary and yourself time and money. How about that important farm client that you want routed directly to you; they would really be impressed?
Another feature that is very useful is the “find-me” tool. Let’s say you have an office phone, cell phone, shop phone & home phone and you don’t want to make your clients call all your phones. Your client simply calls one phone and based on your phone settings will call each phone separately in the order you wish.
One last feature I will mention is the ability to setup custom extensions and recorded messages. Imagine setting up an extension called “daily grain bids”, when the client goes to that extension they are played a recording of the closing cash bids and then given a choice to press the #1 to speak to a grain merchandiser, once again another happy client.
I subscribe to Ringcentral.com and pay around $40 monthly, this includes unlimited long distance, an 800 number and all the wonderful features of the system. There are many other service providers to choose from such as 8x8.com, nextiva.com and getjive.com.
Grain harvestcontinued its quick progression this week, but some areas of the country saw unusually strong upside basis moves. Overall, however, the US average corn basis was mostly unchanged while soybeans were off 1 cent over the past week.
Impressive gains at some key end users were noted for corn this week in NE, IA & IL, but overall ethanol plants as a group were off -0.7 cents for the week. River terminals were mostly higher propelled by strength out of the Gulf and a modest decline in barge rates on the Southern Mississippi River region, although more northern areas of the Mississippi and Ohio saw stronger barge rates and weakening basis.
In the bean market, basis levels continued to fall overall but pockets of strength and weakness were apparent this week. In the Upper Midwest and Eastern Cornbelt, basis levels saw losses of 5 or more cents but areas along the river were mostly unchanged thanks to a 6 cent gain out of the Gulf. Soybean processing plants, however, were weaker with a 3 cent loss on average for the week.
Reports from the cash market indicate farmer selling has been limited by the recent drop in futures. As a result, producer deliveries have mostly been filling existing contracts and not much spot-only delivery. While this has lead to basis strength in some areas around end users, some feedlots in the Plains are reporting they have all their feed needs priced for the next six months which may be signs of demand destruction. Further, export business has been anemic of late, with the latest weekly sales figures showing a dismal400 MT of corn sold, when normally we are selling 400,000 to 1 million MT a week.
Watch GrainTV coverage">here．
During my two-hour drive from Birmingham and Auburn to write this issue's cover story, "Auburn's New Feed Mill Comes to Roost," I tried to mentally prepare my questions for Dr. Don Conner, the head of the university's poultry science department, and Mitchell Pate, director of the poultry research unit, but my mind began to wander. I began to think about how excited the student's must be to kick off the Fall 2012 semester in an immaculate, brand-new, state-of-the-art feed mill. The purchase of school supplies was enough to get me motivated for the new school year, but imagine the message this new facility sends to these students: "The poultry industry needs you and this faciltiy represents its investment in you."
In this month's Manager's Notebook (pg. 36), "How to Recruit Tomorrow's Managers," Drs. Jay Akridge and John Foltz cite that by 2015 there will be 54,400 jobs annually for individuals in the agricultural sciences. (USDA report)
In a time when the majority of graduates in many disciplines are simply hoping to find anything in their chosen field, the kids in Auburn's gradate and undergraduate program know they are in high demand in the Southeast with the erection of the Poultry & Animal Nutrition Center. To date, the department has raised 40% of the cost of the mill with industry and stakeholder donations; it hopes to raise the addition 60% over the next four years. Within the modular feed mill, the industry's suppliers alone donated $750,000-worth of equipment. Impressive numbers by anyone's estimation.
According to Dr. Conner, the demand for skilled employees in the Southeast is high — and rising. Behind Georgia and Arkansas, Alabama ranks third in poultry production; Auburn University is located in the heart of the "Broiler Belt." The thing is, the demand Auburn seeks to meet it's just about "growing the industry's future CEOs and VPs," as it was explained to me, "at the end of the day, it's all about education," the university hope to utilize the mill for continuing education and training programs for individuals already working in the field.
In addition, the university's world-class research laboratories can provide endless opportunities for proprietary poultry-related research to aid in the stregthening the yields of poultry producers at all levels. Dr. Conner and his department urge anyone interested in feed mill stop in for a tour, stressing this isn't Auburn's feed mill, it belongs to the collective industry as they plan for a profitable future.
Spot corn and soybean basis has made slight gains so far this month. Spot corn moved up half a cent while spot soybeans increased a penny. The Gulf has done little to support both markets as corn basis gained one cent and soybean basis actually lost four cents. Barge rates also hampered the cash market as prices along the Illinois and Ohio Rivers have gone up couple cents in the last nine days. Rates on the Ohio River are currently sitting four cents above their five year average.
Taking a look at the carry in the cash market, storage for both corn and soybeans looks unfavorable. The average cash forward contract carry in the corn and soybean markets is 9 cents per bushel for five months of storage.
This compares to a nearly 22 cent carry in the corn market recorded at this time during the last two
years. The soybean cash forward carry is looking similar to the situation in 2010 when the carry was 10 cents storing until July. Last year the soybean market provided a 25 cent carry with five months of storage.
TODAY'S AGENDA
Does this type of schedule look familiar to you? It’s hard to get much done in a day when you are running all over the country. Today, you can become more efficient if you utilize the new communication technologies that provide web meeting services.
A Web meeting will work great to conduct your meeting with John Doe, discuss his existing grain contracts by sharing the screen on your computer with him or let him take control and share his screen with you. If you really want to add the personal touch you can even activate the camera on your computer and show your face.
What is needed to do a web meeting?
To start all you need to do is log into your account; in this case I’m usingwww.gomeeting.com,
Then click on host a meeting and a screen will be presented to enter the meeting information. A meeting email is then automatically formatted for you to send to the recipients.
The recipient then clicks on the link in the email at the scheduled meeting time and everything begins to appear on their screen in a few short minutes.
The monthly service fee starts at around $50 per month for unlimited meetings. This fee can easily be justified by eliminating one or two drives to a meeting. The monthly subscription is only charged to the business hosting the meeting; guests do not pay any fees to utilize the service.
I believe this is a must have service for today’s agribusinesses.
A few web meeting service providers are:
Today agricultural professionals spend more time than ever before on the computer reading email, searching the internet, working with software applications and entertaining themselves. Keeping your digital life organized continues to be a challenge with emails you want to keep, web pages you want to save and documents that need filed.
EVERNOTE是一个软件应用程序,使得我ts way to the top of the digital organization industry. EVERNOTE can be installed on your smart phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Once installed you have access to all the digital information you have organized in one convenient place no matter what device you are using.
So when you get to work in the morning and you receive an email with a detailed quote for a new grain bin you want to build, all you need to do is “forward” the email to your private EVERNOTE account[email protected]and then you have access to the email on all of your computer devices, this comes in very handy if you are out of the office and need to have a copy of the email.
Now imagine you are visiting theFeed and Grainwebsite and you find an article you would really like to keep, all you need to do is click on the EVERNOTE Elephant button in the upper right hand corner of your web browser and file the article to your EVERNOTE account.
EVERNOTE can be found incorporated into many of the browsers you are currently using such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox & Safari. Just look for the “elephant” and you will find EVERNOTE.
Finally, imagine you are visiting some local farmers and taking pictures of fields, bin sites, etc., and you want to file the pictures for futures use; simply send the picture via email to your EVERNOTE account.
We all struggle with how the manage the endless amounts of information, EVERNOTE is a great option to help tackle the the challenge. You can give the service a free try by going towww.evernote.com．
In January, during my visit to Two Rivers Cooperative, general manager Tracy Gatham described the cooperative
生产和畜牧业生产者可能may not be shocked to discover that its organic brethren is also frequently subjected to the wrath of critics — and, often, based on similar accusations. Agvocates of all sorts can learn a thing or two from the crisis communications strategies ofOrganic Valley(OV).
Two marketing representatives from the La Farge, WI-based organic farm cooperative discussed their proactive approach to social media and engagement management at aSocial Media Breakfastevent held in Madison, WI. While Leslie Kruempel, OV’s social media specialist, focused on the creative business-to-consumer programs it uses Facebook and Twitter to promote, the frank discussion of the cooperative’s struggle with three social-media-fueled PR crises proved especially interesting.
Greg Brickl, OV’s marketing communications director, explained that compared to its primary competition, a publically traded company who sources some of its organic products from factory farms (a faux pas within the organic community), OV’s dedication to organic ideology and its commitment to small family farms made the decision to enter the social sphere “a no brainer.” Today, the company has more than15,000 Twitter followersand206,000 Facebook “likes,” a fan base primarily comprised of the mothers of young children.
According to Brickl, community engagement in its social space breaks into two factions: “98% Love vs. 2% Something Else.” His presentation focused on the later, highlighting three recent incidents that incited public outcry across its social media channels and how the cooperative managed the discourse.
The “Three Meltdown – 10 Months” break down as such:
“We learned very quickly that we needed to establish a plan,” Brickl said. He suggests that companies have a social media crisis communications plan in place prior to an incident. Here are the actions OV took to manage the various issues it has faced:
One tactful way to address individuals determined to derail productive engagement is to develop andpost etiquette guidelines on the siteas you “can’t ban someone unless you’ve given them the rules.” Brickl advises page administrators not block or delete the comments of its critics; however, should it need to block unruly commentators, these guidelines will support that action without reeking of censorship.
最后,所有产生的责任rs — organic or not — to educate consumers about the truths of farming and agribusiness rather than allow misinformed detractors to control perceptions. Social media offers the direct messaging opportunities and instant feedback unrivaled by traditional advertising and public relations campaigns.
Additional take-a-ways from the presentation:
To view a photo gallery from the event, visit Social Media Breakfast Madison’sFacebook album．
Have you ever found yourself needing access to a particular document you had stored on a jump drive or work computer? If you use multiple computers and mobile devices such as phones or tablets there is no doubt this has happened to you.
Dropbox is brilliant technology that gives you secure access to all your work documents such as client invoices, grain contracts, pictures, marketing pieces and any other documents. These files can be accessed by any computer or mobile device and can be setup to automatically synchronize whenever an internet connection is detected.
Sharing files with employees or customers is as simple as sending an email invitation to the individual. Once the invitation is accepted they have access to only the file you chose to share with them. Grain elevators or other ag businesses can use Dropbox to give clients access to private files and documents such as grain contracts, cash grain bids, invoices or other data you wish to share with one or multiple clients. When you update a document, the client will also have access to the updated file. Below you will see “ABC Grain Elevator” and then three subfolders “Carlson Farms,” “Frank Farms” and “Grain Bids.” The two client subfolders will be used to share client specific grain contracts or other private data. The “Grain Bids” file will be used to share daily grain bids with all clients.
Documents too large? Have you ever tried to attach a large document to an email only to have it be rejected by the email provider? Dropbox is a quick fix for those large documents, simply store the file on Dropbox and share it with the intended recipients; it’s that easy.
The best news is that you get two gigabytes of space for free, that is a lot of space if all you’re saving is text files such as grain contracts or cash grain bids. If you choose to store all your files on dropbox it will only run you around $10/month for up to 50 gigabytes.
Link to Dropbox:https://www.dropbox.com/
Edit note: Mark Frank’s blog posts will focus on how agribusinesses can use new technology to improve daily operations.
The 117th edition of theNational Grain and Feed Association’s (NGFA)Annual Convention, held in San Francisco in mid-March, drove this sentiment home in its general sessions: While agriculture is one of the greatest growth industries, the coming years will be filled with the unique challenge of restoring the public’s trust in the food system. For those working and living agriculture, it should come as no surprise that much of the content presented by the event’s diverse set of speakers focused on the anti-biotechnology battle being waged in this country — specifically the one against genetically modified (GM) grains and food stuffs.
GMOLargely driven by emotion and misinformation, the vitriolic arguments presented by biotech’s opponents run contrary to the extensive scientific research backing the legitimacy and safety of GM foods. Why then does this movement have such momentum? According to Chris Policinski,Land O’Lakespresident and CEO, agriculture has failed to manage the public’s opinions on the food supply by not effectively telling its productivity story, the one only made possible through the use of biotechnology.
Let’s face it, the public has been conditioned to be suspicious of big business (often rightfully so) — and agriculture surely is not exempt from this scrutiny. Big is bad — and consumers intrinsically question whether or not greed-driven corporations (and politicians) have their interests and well-being in mind.
California’s Proposition 37(also known as “The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act”) highlights this movement. The statute would have called for the mandatory labeling of genetically modified consumer food products. While Prop 37 was defeated during the 2012 election by a narrow margin, the push certainly didn’t end in California. In fact, a number of U.S. states have proposed legislation and pending ballot initiatives in motion.
Do consumers deserve to know where their food comes from and how it is sourced? Absolutely. Should the industry be more transparent? I think so. The tide has shifted, perhaps it’s time the industry takes the initiative and addresses the matter on its own terms.
Earlier this month, Whole Foods became the first major retailer requiring products containing转基因生物(GMO)to be labeled by 2018 — and, in time, other major retailers are likely to follow suit. Not knowing where the consumer’s interest in the supply chain will end, grain handling and feed manufacturing industries should keep a keen eye on this issue because we are, after all, ultimately one industry.
Policinski urges individuals and agribusinesses to actively engage with the public in real time via social media and that they reach out to their local and state politicians to tell the story about an industry revving up to feed a growing global population.
What are you doing to tell our story?
Last yearFeed & Grain's parent company, Cygnus Business Media, adopted the tagline: “Because the world is changing very fast.” Fitting for a publishing company considering the last decade has delivered the most extraordinary changes in information consumption and delivery for print media since the advent of the printing press. OK, maybe the widespread adoption of the the PC draws a better comparison — but, regardless, everything has changed.
Game changer #1: The smart phones, for example, has not only changes the way we receive news, it’s altered the way we communicate with the world. I’m not just talking about the nonsense abbreviations (LOL, BRB, OMG), I mean texting, social media access — even the inclination to drop land lines all together. I, for one, have not had a “home phone number” in a decade. Yes, a decade.
According toPew Research’s Internet & American Life Project, in February of 2012 nearly half (46%) of American adults are smartphone users — a statistic that falls very closely in line with the number identified in a recentFeed & Grainsmart technology reader survey (56%).
Game changer #2: Tablets have seen a similar surge in the adoption rate. The iPad, for example, has earned the title of “fastest selling electronic device in history,” selling three million units in the first 80 days after its release. According toMediaBistro.com, iPads capture 50% of newspaper and magazine readers who consume the media on the tablet. (Good for advertisers too since they cite increased receptivity to advertisements.)
Of the 350 survey respondees, 1/3 said they own a tablet (either an iPad or something similar) and those who did not, well, 14% said they planned to purchase one in the next 12 months. Most of the participants with tablets use them for news consumption and magazines subscriptions — statistics that also align with MediaBistro's findings.
I must confess, though I love the tangible crispness of a new print edition, I'm a sucker for reading my magazine subscriptions on my iPad. The draw: Rich media enhancements that can't be delivered in print or displayed properly online. One example, the360-degree image rotation．不是最好的例子,但想象查看旧t artifacts or the Titanic in 3-D — complete with zoom capabilities — it makes for a seriously interesting user experience. Thank you,National Geographic．
Anyway, as the world changes ever faster, it makes you wonder what innovations await media dissemination in the next decade. Long live print!
I recently readan article in the Janesville Gazettewhere a high school ag instructor was conducting a FFA farm safety class for her ag students. She had the local firefighters and EMTs, a local grain and feed elevator along with a helicopter company to demonstrate and train for farm accident rescues such as a grain bin extraction, auger entrapment an anhydrous ammonia leak and a tractor rollover. What a great idea — farm safety in the classroom!
当我读这篇文章时,我还发现它有趣that the FFA President was the son of the local grain company. This young man plans on majoring in agriculture management and business law at UW-Madison, and will eventually work in the family business. He has a special appreciation for the welfare of ag workers, as his family has always taken extra precautions when it comes to the safety of its employees and customers. This young man is dedicated to coming back from his secondary education and bringing his safety training with him.
Why do I mention this? Today, there are fewer kids on the farm, which translates fewer kids who know the inherent dangers of ag equipment both at home and at the elevator/mill. This story exemplifies the opportunity agribusinesses have to partner with the rural community leaders and/or the local Vocational Agriculture Technical schools to teach these young kids the dangers of working in the agriculture field.
不熟练工人必须来自某处,和马ny of these young kids will come from the city. They will need to be trained sometime, so why not start in the ag classrooms? Who knows, they may be your next feed mill manger or grain elevator manager or even your fertilizer/petroleum manager. Plus, it's great PR opportunity.
So place a call to your local high school’s ag department. Inquire if they have any type of safety related classes. If not, here is a great opportunity to take the lead and put together a couple of hours of ag safety in the classroom. Being in business in a community means you owe the community a safe, clean facility. If the public knew the potential hazards that lurk at many of these facilities, they would not take this information lightly. Again, here is another opportunity to educate not only the students but perhaps their parents. Safety training makes good sense and keeps them in good neighbor status for years to come.
By chance, if your local high school is already doing this — that’s great — but as a business manager, take time to make a difference in a kid’s life — and perhaps save a life as well.
Go ahead and make the call.
Popularized in by the misspeak of former president George W. Bush, we're all familiar the following idiom, though I ask that you allow me to take liberties with it for the purposes of this column:
Occasionally, I find myself in a conversation with a stranger or an acquaintance, cringing as I catch myself mindlessly talking about the weather. Dicussion of the weather, for me, is thoughtless go-to filler for awkward silences or a transition into friendly chit chat. This being said, sitting at my desk in Fort Atkinson, WI, today, writing my column on January 31, I am compelled to talk about the weather. Outside, the sun is shining and it is 50 degrees. Clarifying, as not to make assumptions about the reader's understanding of an upper Midwestern winter, this is highly abnormal.
Trust me, I'm not complaining — and I must mention I don’t have strong feelings on the subject one way or another — but I can see where proponents of the global warming theory are drawing convincing empirical data. The Internet was a buzz this week surrounding theWall Street Journalarticle, “No Need to Panic About Global Warming,” complimented by a subhead reading, “There's no compelling scientific argument for drastic action to 'decarbonize' the world's economy.”
看来,“签署”by 16 scientists, argues the world does not need any wide-sweeping regulations, i.e. “drastic actions,” to combat global warming. Citing what is referred to as the “Climategate” email from climate scientist Kevin Trenberth: "The fact is that we can't account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can't."
The cyclical, predictable nature of climate ebbs and flows is at the core of the life’s work of Elwynn Taylor, professor of ag meteorology at Iowa State University in Ames, IA. In his presentation at NGFA’s Annual Country Elevator Conference, Taylor today’s seemingly extraordinary temperatures are nothing more than typical extremes of compared with the temperatures of other La Niña years during the 1950s and 1970s.
“It may suddenly shift again when its influence by El Nino,” Taylor says, referring to the patterns of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), that in conjunction with El Niño or La Niña, is responsible 50% of climate variability on the Earth (source: NASA Earth Observatory).
Thanks to this presentation, I can drop a little scientific data into my weather-centric banter.
If you’re curious about the work of Elwynn Taylor and his observations about how the weather is impacting agriculture and yields, follow him on Twitter @ElwynnTaylor.
After MF Global's bankruptcy and the subsequent revelation it had misused customers funds, the grain industry was left reeling from frozen accounts and the lost confidence of its customers during the last quarter of 2011. With Senate hearings underway at the moment and the near-certain uncovering of additional information on the case, who knows what will transpire in the near future, much less in the months to come.
我写这篇专栏文章后一天全国Grain & Feed Association's 40th Annual Country Elevator Conference, and while it may no longer be timely when this issue mails, I feel it necessary to mention CME Group COO Bryan Durkin's presentation, "Meeting the Challenge of the MF Global Bankruptcy." A sympathetic Durkin addressed the crowd of nearly 700 attendees with this message: The CME Group stands with the grain industry, and is doing everything in its power to right the wrongs of MF Global’s nefarious blunder.
Naturally, as the largest futures exchange operator and former MF Global regulator, the CME Group has weathered the brunt of the fallout, but he was careful not minimize the suffering of customers“awaiting the return of funds they thought were safe.”
Account segregation system did not fail, he notes, this unprecedented event was caused by the failure of a firm that broke the rules and not of any clearinghouse.
“At CME Group, we met all of our obligations to our clearing member firms and to the customers,” Durkin explains. “MF Global’s transfer of segregated funds out of the appropriate accounts constitutes serious violations of our rules and of the Commodity Exchange Act."
As the impact of “industry-wide blow to the heart of commodities markets” became apparent,the CME Group was quick to act by offering a $550 million guaranty to the SIPA trustee to free-up frozen client funds; it also provided $50 million in capital to cover its customer’s losses.
“We offered these guaranties not because a rule says we have to, but because we are in uncharted territory here and we felt an inherent responsibility to help our customers to help them receive distributions as quickly as possible,” Durkin says.
Despite the possibility all losses may not be returned, Durkin assured the audience that the CME Group continues to lobby the trustee to release additional funds as soon as possible. To date, customers have been granted access to two-thirds of their balances, but Durkin insists the organization will not stop there: "We believe that all customers affected should have their full balances and property returned by MF Global, and, until then, we don’t feel the process is complete."
Time will tell how things pan out, but take solace in having a powerful advocate on your side.
In the February/March issue, Diana Klemme's Merchandisers' Corner article will provide a full recap of her experiences in the trenches of the MF Global scandal and its impact on agribusiness. The issue will also include a full recap of the NGFA Country Elevator conference.
Happy New Year! Cheers to a productive and profitable 2012.
By the time this issue hits the streets, the 2011 harvest will be in full swing. Elevators in some areas will take in record volumes; others, however, will experience the diminished returns resulting from Mother Nature's bipolar regional spring and summer weather. With the numbers from the USDA's questionably optimistic June Crop Report dramatically dropping from its original estimates, the commodity market has mirrored this uncertainty.
By today's estimate, the national average corn yield is forecast to be 148.1 bushels per acre, 16.3 bushels below the 2009/2010 crop year and the lowest since 2005/06.
While yields may not break any records, corn prices over $6/bushel, and soybean pushing past $12/bushel, the lucky producers who experienced the best conditions are looking forward to a big pay day. In Iowa, according to theDes Moines Register, producers are poised to pull in more than $20 billion — the largest cash harvest in the state's history.
In contrast, farmers in the Southwest are preparing for a weak second harvest after heat and drought diminished the wheat harvest this spring. For the crops that grew, the corn didn't produce head, and the soybeans without pods — many abandoned the fields altogether. In these cases, reliance on federal crop insurance will ease the burden, but will not replace expected profit.
U.S. exports in the coming year will also suffer. The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, USDA projected wheat, corn, and soybean total exports in the coming crop year (2011/12) to be 4.09 billion bushels, 12% lower than the 2010/11 crop year. The organization's production projections for the new crop of wheat, corn, and soybeans are 17.7 billion bushels, a 2% reduction from last year.
Utlimately we will all have to wait to see the end results of what was a prosperous year for some, and a devasting year for others. Please feel free to contact me at[email protected]to report your harvest experience this year and how it has impacted your business and the business of your producer customers.
Tornado outbreaks and epic flooding, the spring of 2011 will be remember as one of the most destructive and deadly in recent history. Add less-than-ideal temperatures, and agriculture is sent reeling, trying to navigate the unpredictable and attempting to catch-up with delayed planting. The Northeast and central United States have endured their wettest late winter and early spring on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. As of mid-May, 63% of the nation's corn was planted compared with a five-year average of 75%; wheat is also suffering as fields have been too wet to sow.
Unfortunately, as Diana Klemme, vice president of Grain Service Corporation, reports, the United States needs record corn acreage and yields to begin to rebuild depleted stocks; however, the flooding and rain-saturated soil may jepordized up to 3 million of those acres from North Dakota to Arkansas.
"Losing 3 million corn acres could mean losing 400 million bushels of much-needed corn production this year, potentially cutting ending stocks for September 2012 dangerously low again," Klemme says.
Meanwhile, the poor weather has sent futures prices surging. The Financial Times reports USDA predictions stating that farmers will enjoy record prices for corn and wheat — stoking inflation and straining poor countries — as well as projecting record production for rice, oilseeds and course grains. Corn futures rose 4.2%, but still remain below record highs set in April.
Waterway transportation has also been compromised. The Mississippi, the lifeline of agricultural commerce, moving nearly 35 million tons of major grains and soybeans south to New Orleans in 2010, more than 28% of the crop year’s total exports from all ports, Klemme notes. She reports high waters will disrupt operations of countless barge stations causing some to lose months of capacity.
Writing this the day after the Joplin, MO tornado, one wonders what Mother Nature has in store for us this summer and into the harvest. Let's hope for the best.
Make sure to read Klemme's commentary on how the flooding will effect agriculture on page 44.
Stay safe and keep dry,
US Corn Price Idx:ZCPAUS.CM
open: 7.6767
high: 7.7342
low: 7.619
close: 7.7163
US Soybean Price Idx:ZSPAUS.CM
open: 16.7569
high: 16.8453
low: 16.5263
close: 16.5263
US Hard Red Winter Wheat Price Idx:KEPAUS.CM
open: 11.054
high: 11.127
low: 10.9439
close: 10.968
US Soft Red Winter Wheat Price Idx:ZWPAUS.CM
open: 10.0141
high: 10.0716
low: 9.886
close: 9.9274
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