Relevance - Standing the Test of Time

By Dave Christiansen, President and CEO

Regardless of what cooperative I happened to be serving at the time, it’s certainly been interesting over the years to pause and reflect on the relevance we possessed and to whom. The first time I recall listening to a discussion about relevance was in the mid-'70s when the co-op I was working for achieved record sales. That certainly seemed a big deal at the time and I recall our vendors treated us as such. As an employee group we took a lot of pride in what our relevance meant we could deliver to our customers. At the time, little did we know the bar to be considered relevant in the agricultural industry was beginning a very rapid ascent.

MKC and Frontier Ag moving forward with merger discussions

The boards of directors for Frontier Ag and MKC have unanimously approved to move forward with the processes required to merge the two cooperatives. The cooperatives announced in September their plans to explore the potential of an alliance.

Board members from both cooperatives met earlier this week
to discuss the merits of a merger.

Frontier Ag President and CEO, Brad Cowan, commented the boards and management teams of both organizations spent the past sixty days completing the due diligence necessary to get to this point.

"We felt the time was right to pursue a merger," stated Cowan. "Combined we have the potential to position ourselves strategically for the future, creating tremendous opportunities for our members."

MKC President and CEO, Dave Christiansen, noted the cooperatives share a similar culture and vision, are comparable in product and service offerings, and are financially sound. "Both cooperatives focus on improving customer experience" stated Christiansen. "Together we have the potential to increase our relevance in the industry which will leverage our vendor relationships." The benefits this will deliver to our stockholders, employees, customers and communities are significant. "

Although the boards of both co-ops have endorsed the idea of a merger, each membership will be asked to approve it.

About Frontier Ag: With annual sales of $490 million, Frontier Ag, Inc. is a full-service cooperative, offering grain, feed, agronomy, energy, and transportation products and services to over 5,700 members in eleven (11) counties throughout northwest Kansas.

About MKC: With annual sales of $450 million, MKC is a full-service cooperative offering grain, feed, agronomy and energy products and services to over 6,400 members in eleven (11) counties throughout central Kansas.

  

Why we focus on growth

By Dave Christiansen, President and CEO

I first shared the following article in August, 2012 and felt the message to be timely and worth repeating.

I always find it interesting when I run into someone who asks the question, "Why focus on growth?". Somehow the vision the founders had for growth, from the day this company began, went from being an expectation to being assumed. Today, active growth is at times thought of with negative connotations.

At the time the co-op was organized, the passion for meeting the constantly changing needs of farmers’ expectations may not have been referred to as growth. However, I’m sure our founders had certain expectations of the co-op’s ability to meet the changing needs of the growers. At that time, they built elevators and purchased equipment that satisfied the needs of the day and new assets were surely designed with the future in mind.

Building Momentum

By Dave Christiansen, President and CEO

It was a pleasure having more than 750 guests in attendance at our annual stockholders’ meeting last month.  Each year a theme is selected for the meeting and this time we felt “building momentum” best represented our past year.

Not only this past year, but over the course of the past several years, the board of directors and staff has focused on how to build momentum. Admittedly, there were days when we took two steps forward only to take three steps back. The challenge we faced - and will continue to - is the world and progressive producers continue to build their own momentum and at an ever-increasing rate.

Significantly contributing to building momentum at MKC is our vision and strategic objectives.  Once these elements became a part of everything we do at MKC, your cooperative began to achieve more.  We became more focused and began communicating the same message to all of our stakeholders, customers, vendors and employees.

Stockholders re-elect incumbents to board of directors

By Kerry Watson, Director of Communications

Nearly 750 members, guests and employees were in attendance at the 48th annual stockholders' meeting in Hutchinson on July 11. Re-elected by the membership to serve a three-year term on the board of directors were Cecil Wiebe, District 1; Jason Gaeddert, District 3; and Randy Ellwood, At Large. Wiebe will be serving his fourth term on the board and Gaeddert and Ellwood will be serving their third terms.

In addition to the elections, members of the board and management team reported on the cooperative's financial and operational performance for the past year. Board Chairman, CJ Blew, spoke of the strategic initiatives the directors and MKC has in place to insure the cooperative's relevance in the ag industry. Blew also spoke of the importance of being different or the first to perform or perfect things.

"It's not that MKC has re-invented the wheel," Blew said. "But I think we have re-invented what a co-op means in terms of value to a producer."

President and CEO, Dave Christiansen, spoke of the cooperative's vision. Christiansen also spoke of the momentum today's progressive producer is building and the strategic initiatives MKC has in place to keep pace with them.

Danny Posch, CFO, reviewed the co-op's financial performance, stating MKC ended the fiscal year with $14 million in overall net earnings. "Another profitable year for your organization," Posch stated.

Guest speaker, Paul Mobley, concluded the evening with a presentation of photographs of the American farmer and stories behind each photo.

Construction to begin on grain facilities

By Kerry Watson, Director of Communications

Construction of two high-speed grain facilities is scheduled to start in early July following the completion of wheat harvest. Located in Rice and McPherson counties, both facilities will house a combined total of nearly 6 million bushels of grain.

MKC and CHS, Inc., an energy, grains and foods company, formed a limited liability company (LLC) to build and operate a high-speed shuttle loading facility to be located two miles west of Canton, Kan on Highway 56 in McPherson County.  Located on the Union Pacific rail line, it is estimated the grain shuttle will load out 15 to 20 million bushels of grain on an annual basis to export facilities in the Pacific Northwest, Gulf Coast and Mexico.

Proximity to Kansas Ethanol and membership growth in the area served as primary reasons for the site selected north of Lyons, Kan in Rice County. Dave Christiansen, MKC President and CEO, commented the co-op consulted with grain industry experts in selecting the site. "Grain production in the area, access to good roads and the location and condition of existing grain facilities were all factors in selecting a site for the Rice County project," Christiansen stated.

Both projects are expected to be completed before the 2014 fall harvest.

Planned redundancy

By Dave Christiansen, President & CEO

I know it may appear that many of my articles are just short of carbon copies. For some of you, it may seem as though I have droned on about the same things since my arrival at MKC. If that is your perception, I appreciate the fact that you've been listening!

I use the same theme in every article and presentation that I have the opportunity to do and in every conversation I have with growers, vendors and employees.  Don’t look for this to change.  I may bore you to tears, but you’ll never wonder what the initiative of the month is. 

MKC and CHS to build grain shuttle loader in Canton, Kan

 By Kerry Watson, Communications Specialist

The boards of Mid Kansas Cooperative (MKC), a full-service cooperative founded in 1965, and CHS Inc., an energy grains and foods company and the nation's leading farmer-owned cooperative, have approved an agreement to form a limited liability company (LLC) to build and operate a high-speed shuttle loading facility in Canton, Kan.

Construction on property currently owned by MKC is expected to begin spring 2013 and be completed in about 12 months.  Located on the Union Pacific rail line, the grain shuttle will load 110-car trains bound for export facilities in the Pacific Northwest and the Gulf Coast and Mexico.  Upon completion, on-site storage will be in excess of 3 million bushels.

Producers asked to provide feedback

Producers are asked to participate in meetings that will be conducted throughout MKC’s territory during the month of November.

 

The meetings will be used to gain feedback from area producers on what the cooperative can do to help make their operations more successful. In addition, MKC management will share information about current projects.  MKC’s President and CEO, Dave Christiansen, along with Directors of Operations, Steve Peterson and Erik Lange, will facilitate the meetings.

Input finance program earns recognition

MKC's input finance program has been recognized by the Cooperative Finance Association (CFA) for holding the number one position in the Top Ten Volume Award 2012.

“CFA is such a great tool for our field marketers and managers. It helps them in selling the product, helps in timing of grain marketing - it is more than just funding the producer’s inputs,” said Brent Heizelman, Credit Manager for MKC.

Steve Fenton, Portfolio Manager for CFA, presented the award to MKC and said that, “MKC is a fantastic group to work with. Our goal is to help MKC and their producers be successful, and in turn make CFA successful.”

CFA serves over 140 cooperatives in 13 different states. Over the 2012 crop year MKC generated 171 loans totaling over $20 million.

Heizelman stated that the loans offered through CFA present the farmer member with convenience more than anything else. “It is so convenient for the producer to not have to worry about how he is going to pay for his fertilizer or seed one month after he purchases it,” said Heizelman.

Dave Christiansen, President and CEO for MKC commented that the number of loans and total loan volume continues to grow.

“While the recognition for our efforts is certainly nice for our entire team, the loan volume demonstrates our efforts are working to insure customers can have the available capital at their fingertips to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves,” stated Christiansen. “CFA gives us one more tool to help them manage their risk.”