Fall harvest is underway for many farmers in our area. The change of season is a busy time for most, and there are things we can do to ensure we go through this time without incidents.
Watch for signs of fatigue. When we are tired, we make mistakes. It may cost some time to take a break, but, in the long run, you may save your own life, or someone else’s.
Take care with equipment. Technology has allowed equipment to get bigger and more powerful. Take time to walk around equipment to look for safety issues. Be familiar with the equipment you are operating and stay aware of how much space you need to operate safely.
Safety on roadways. It is essential to pay attention when you’re moving equipment and to understand other drivers on the road might not know the rules regarding what you are doing. Make sure hazard lights are on, if appropriate, and all the proper signs and markings are displayed.
Take time for safety. While safety precautions can take time, it is time well spent. Most of us have taken shortcuts and not gotten hurt, but is the benefit of saving a few minutes worth the risk of a serious incident?
From all of us at CHS, we wish you a safe and successful harvest season.
Tips courtesy of Country Operations EHS Excellence Under Pressure Newsletter
November 16: Due to the increase of COVID-19 cases in our area, CHS has locked our office doors to customers and outside traffic beginning Tuesday, November 17.
Any changes to location accessibility will be updated on this page; please check back for additional information. Questions can be directed to your local CHS office.
In 2007, Jerry Bryson sold 50 acres of land in Herman, Minnesota to CHS.
Today, this land is home to a new, state of the art elevator complex, which began receiving grain October 13, 2020. In the photo gallery below, Bryson is pictured delivering the first load of grain into the new elevator. This is Bryson’s last harvest, as he plans to retire from farming after this fall.
The new elevator complex has an RFID card reader system for swift delivery and includes three 25,000 bushel/hour receiving pits. At 132 feet tall, 8 main silos along with additional smaller bins offer 1.45 million bushels of upright storage space.
Aerial view of the new elevator
Jerry Bryson, unloading first delivery of grain
Jerry Bryson delivering the first load of grain to the elevator
Mike LeClair, longtime Herman elevator manager, in front of the first delivery in the new elevator
Aerial view of the new elevator
View over the train tracks at the new elevator, looking back toward Herman. The existing elevator can be seen in the background.
Jerry Kramer, general manager, sharing elevator construction information
Aerial view of the new elevator
Internal view of the elevator
Grain truck in front of elevator
Elevator, train and loading system
Bryson truck during ceremonial delivery
Area farmers have already begun delivering to the new elevator. Take a quick watch of this video taken during construction, which gives an idea of the traffic pattern new grain deliveries will be taking to enter the elevator.
Please contact a member of our grain team with any delivery questions regarding the new elevator through harvest.
The safest way to mount and dismount vehicles, equipment, and ladders is to maintain three points of constant contact. That means one hand and two feet, or two hands and one foot – always. Anything less and you’re risking a fall.
Tips for Using the THREE-POINT System
• Always face towards the equipment.
• Get a firm grip on the rails or handles.
• Look for obstacles on the ground before exiting.
• Mount and dismount when the equipment is stopped.
• Break the three-point contact only when you reach the ground, cab, or platform.
• Slow down and take extra care in wet, snowy, or icy weather.
• Avoid wearing loose or torn clothing that can catch on the equipment.
• Wear shoes with good support.
Common Mistakes to Avoid:
• Never jump – you may land off balance or on an uneven surface and fall
• Don’t climb down with something in your free hand – put it on the vehicle floor and reach up for it when you get to the ground.
• Don’t use tires or wheel hubs as a step surface.
• Don’t use the door frame or door edge as a handhold.
CHS Level Best® is an innovative product that dramatically improves post-emergence herbicide effectiveness. A top performing nonionic surfactant, this product helps your herbicide perform at its “Level Best.”
CHS Level Best® is a superior deposition aid that that improves uniform coverage, adhesion, and penetration of the active ingredient into crops.
CHS Level Best® is formulated with an AMS-FREE water conditioner that helps to prevent the loss of active ingredient efficacy that can occur when the mixing water is mineral saturated or of unknown quality.
CHS Level Best® is recommended for use with a broad range of crops and non-crops when tank mixing active ingredients like glyphosate, 2,4-D and dicamba.
CHS Level Best® includes a defoamer for easier mixing that is formulated for increased performance, significantly improves uptake, translocation, and efficacy of your herbicide, and is easy-to-use at a low rate.
Interested in learning more about CHS Level Best®? Read more about the product CHS Level Best and contact your Agronomy Sales Representative to determine how this product can benefit your fields and farming operation!
Even amidst new working circumstances over these past few months, CHS is excited to introduce 6 new interns for this summer! These interns will be working out of different locations in our business unit, and are excited to learn and develop new skills over the summer. We wish them all the best over the next few months and hope they learn a lot to utilize in their future careers!
Farmers had a lot on their minds heading into spring. Coming off of a flood-ravaged 2019 growing season, low grain prices and the prospect of fields being dry enough to plant were shaky.
Then they received another major kick in the teeth with the outbreak of the coronavirus, which has further battered the agricultural economy.
The pandemic raises numerous concerns as planting season nears. What steps can a farmer take to reduce the risk of COVID-19? And what happens if a farmer, family member or employee becomes ill with the virus? Do you have a contingency plan?
Farmers may feel the odds are in their favor to stay healthy because of the remote nature of their business, but being wrong can create some serious complications. Most of these issues can be avoided with a contingency plan for the farm.
Because there are so many things to think about, South Dakota Corn has worked with the National Corn Growers Association to compile a list of sound practices, safety procedures and planning recommendations that may help get through this challenging time. Here are some of those ideas.
On-farm planning
Schedule a brainstorming meeting with all family members and employees involved in the operation to discuss possible scenarios, solutions to potential disruptions during planting and subsequent fieldwork.
Develop a written continency plan. Are there neighbors who might be able to share resources and/or labor in an emergency? Who would manage for a few weeks if you or another key person is unable to leave your house or is hospitalized?
Make a list of immediate changes that can be implemented to lower risk on your farm.
Consider developing a Continuity of Business (COB) plan to keep operations running smoothly in case of any disruption. Many state departments of agriculture recommend that farms write COB plans.
Receiving deliveries
Identify and coordinate a drop-off location for deliveries of supplies to the farm. If possible, set this up away from on-farm high traffic areas and housing.
Create specific instructions for drop-off deliveries.
Create signs so drop-off points can be easily identified.
Practice distancing with delivery drivers. Maintain a distance of at least six feet and don’t shake hands.
Avoiding personal interaction is best.
Log all deliveries and on-farm entries. Utilize a visitors log for everyone entering the farm.
On-farm safety procedures
Minimize the exposure of outsiders. Use telephone calls, emails or texts for communications with employees or contractors who don’t live on the farm. Observe social distancing if someone visits the farm.
Increase sanitation of workspaces and make it part of your daily/weekly routine. Simple things like disinfecting work surfaces, countertops, computer keyboards, doorknobs, hand railings, tractor controls and monitors can make a difference.
Make cleaning supplies readily available, including cleaning solutions, buckets, mops and brushes to clean the shop and break areas. Place disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer on equipment, in truck cabs and in high-traffic areas.
Stay in the house if you’re sick. If family members are sick, they should isolate themselves as much as possible. If you have off-farm employees or seasonal help, alert them that all sick employees must stay home.
Inform employees where they can find sanitizing materials in the shop, in the truck and in the tractor.
Regularly sanitize door handles, floor mats, steering wheels and other commonly contacted surfaces.
Read the full article at https://www.sdcorn.org/2020/04/farming-and-covid-19-put-plan-in-place/
We’d like to invite all farmer-owners to our 2019 annual meeting! Join us to learn more about what happened at your cooperative during the past year.
Again this year, each district will have an update meeting highlighting company-wide information as well as local topics. Each meeting will last around two hours, including the annual meeting and financial information along with local news and an industry update. Lunch or supper provided, depending on the event start time.
Monday, February 24 9AM – Big Stone American Legion, Big Stone City SD 6PM – Shady Beach Grille, Corona SD Wednesday, February 26 9:30AM – American Legion, Chokio MN Thursday, February 27 9:30AM – Z103 Lounge in the Best Western, Fergus Falls MN Friday, February 28 9:30AM – Herman Community Center, Herman MN
Today’s agricultural equipment is expected to work harder
than ever before—covering more acreage and running for longer hours to get the
job done. With the amount of stress equipment must handle, a high-quality
lubricant is crucial for protecting metal components from extreme field
conditions.
Using a premium quality tractor hydraulic fluid (THF),
provides users with the peace of mind that their equipment is protected from
the beginning of harvest to the end. But what does the term “premium” really mean?
Pictured: Members of the local CHS board and staff members pose during a ceremonial groundbreaking event at the site of the new facility
CHS recently
announced the decision to build a new, state-of-the-art elevator facility at
its Herman location. The build will supplement the current elevator in town and
will sit at a site north of the CHS agronomy center. Construction is projected
to start in August 2019 with the project finalized and ready to receive grain
for harvest in September 2020.
“CHS has been
part of our community since 1909, when the Herman Market Company was founded,”
says General Manager Jerry Kramer. “In building this new grain facility in our
town, we look forward to supporting our community and area farmers for
hopefully another 110 years.”
The new
facility will add 1.4 million bushels of upright concrete storage with three
dump pits and an RFID card system for quick and efficient grain delivery for
farmers. Grain-receiving capacity at the site will be up to 75,000 bushels per
hour. Kramer says that while the new site will have the size and scale to
handle the majority of the cooperative’s bushel receipts, CHS will continue to
operate the downtown grain elevator to create the quickest delivery experience
for growers during the heat of harvest and other key delivery times. Combined
storage with the two sites will reach 3.4 million bushels, with five dump pits
with receiving capacity over 100,000 bushels per hour.
The Herman-based retail business delivers agronomy, energy and grain products and services to Minnesota and South Dakota ag producers and other customers from locations in 12 communities. It is part of CHS Inc., a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy, agronomy, grains and foods, CHS is committed to helping its customers, farmer-owners and other stakeholders grow their businesses through its domestic and global operations. CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain marketing services, animal feed, food and food ingredients along with financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.
This document and other
CHS Inc. publicly available documents contain, and CHS officers and
representatives may from time to time make, “forward–looking statements” within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Report Act of 1995. Forward–looking statements can be identified by
words such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,”
“project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,”
“should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Forward–looking
statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance.
Instead, they are based only on CHS current beliefs, expectations and
assumptions regarding the future of its businesses, future plans and
strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other
future conditions. Because forward–looking statements relate to the future,
they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances
that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of CHS control. CHS
actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those
indicated in the forward–looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on
any of these forward–looking statements. Important factors that could cause CHS
actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those
indicated in the forward–looking statements are discussed or identified in CHS
public filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including
in the “Risk Factors” discussion in Item 1A of CHS Annual Report on
Form 10–K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2018. Any forward–looking statements
made by CHS in this document are based only on information currently available
to CHS and speak only as of the date on which the statement is made. CHS
undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward–looking statement,
whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
