Employees help to fight hunger in their communities

By Kerry Watson, Director of Communications

MKC employees, Jeff Jones and Perry Stussy, unload food
items at the Reno County Food Bank.

Last week was a humbling experience for many MKC employees as they traveled throughout south central Kansas presenting financial and food contributions to area food banks. 

On Friday, Jeff Jones, Location Manager at Haven, helped deliver 2500 lbs. of flour along with 300 lbs. of canned and dry goods and presented a check for $2500 to the Reno County Food Bank.  “My team and I feel very fortunate to work for a company that believes in community involvement and strives to support our neighbors,” stated Jones.

Timing of the donations was critical as food banks expect an increase in assistance during summer months.  Penny Haney, Reno County Food Bank Director,  commented that their facility served approximately 1200 people last month, or an average of 400 families.  “We had 54 new cases last month,” said Haney. “And we expect this number to rise with schools letting out for the summer.”

MKC hosted its second annual food drive throughout the month of April, collecting over 6,500 lbs. of food.  “A number of employees made it their personal mission to insure the drive was a success,” stated Adam McDaniel, committee chairperson for the food drive.

Seventeen area businesses lent a helping hand donating over $3,000.  MKC employees then turned the cash into canned and dried goods.  Also supporting the food drive was Horizon Milling in Wichita with a donation of 7500 lbs. of flour.  

MKC also donated $15,000 to nine area food banks.  The donations were part of a matching funds program sponsored by Land O’ Lakes.  Since 2012, MKC has made cash contributions to area food banks totaling more than $42,000.

Locations preparing for wheat harvest since December

By Kerry Watson, Director of Communications

Preparing for the next wheat harvest doesn’t start in the spring.  In fact, MKC locations have been preparing for the 2013 wheat harvest since this past December.

Each winter location managers estimate the amount of grain they expect to receive at their location based on a five-year average of receipts.  In addition, estimates are determined by what is planted in their area.   

“The goal is to have enough space in the elevator for what we expect to take in during harvest,” states Christian Loganbill, Grain Manager at Lindsborg.

Loganbill noted that as bins start to empty of grain, they are cleaned and swept to spotless conditions. The bins are then treated to prevent insect infestation.   “This is a very important step to maintain the quality of grain as it comes in,” states Loganbill.

Lindsborg elevator superintendent, Jacob Duerksen,
performs maintenance and replaces buckets on the
main leg in Lindsborg.

As spring approaches, the focus changes from bin cleaning to equipment maintenance and facility upgrades.  Every piece of equipment in the elevator is checked to make sure it is in good condition.  Necessary maintenance, including greasing bearings and fixing or replacing leg buckets, is completed.   

“Preventative maintenance helps eliminate breakdowns during harvest and the upgrades improve our efficiencies,” states Loganbill.  “We want our facilities operating as efficiently and effectively as possible to insure the producer can return to his field in a timely manner.”

Planning for wheat harvest doesn’t end with the upgrades or emptying the bins and performing maintenance.   Designing a plan to fill the elevators is also part of the process.  According to Loganbill, some locations reserve empty bins for grain that is received too wet or with other quality issues.  “This allows us to better manage the quality of our grain,” states Loganbill. 

Contingency plans, traffic plans and hiring the appropriate number of staff to help with harvest are the final steps to insure a successful harvest.  

It’s for certain that wheat harvest has been on the minds of location managers since this winter. “It’s imperative that our locations have a successful winter and spring preparing facilities for wheat harvest,” states Loganbill.  “It’s part of the plan to help our producer’s succeed with their harvest.”

FFA members see agriculture in action

By Cassie Wandersee, Staff Writer

Chris Thompson, Field Marketer for MKC, explains
some of the products and services available
through the agronomy center at Groveland.

Forty students from Inman High School involved in Future Farmers of America (FFA) participated in an educational tour at the Groveland location in late February.

“I wanted my students to see that they live close to agriculture,” said Daniel Knapp, FFA advisor and Ag Instructor at Inman High School. He went on to comment that many of his students were not aware of the presence of the Groveland MKC location close to where they live.

Students were given a tour of the offices and had an opportunity to hear about each employee’s job responsibilities and their educational background.

Staying the course

By Devin Schierling, Grain Marketing Coordinator for TMA

 

Chaos at every corner! Webster's Dictionary describes chaos as, "A state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order".  This sums up the feelings of a vast majority of producers throughout the United States.

Producers are feeling psychological, environmental and emotional pressures that have the potential to unleash total chaos on their farms.  Whether it's the einvironmental pressures of rainfall and temperature, the psychological impact of making purchasing/selling decisions or the emotional effect of the past year's growing season, producers are looking for ways to eliminate the chaos in their life.

In times of chaos, people look for a magic solution that will cure whatever ails their operation.  The solution comes in multiple forms.  Some people will pay a marketing consultant that guarantees them their grain will be sold at the high of the market while others will choose to buy private insurance to insure against a specific peril.  These products, by themselves, have very litte impact on the bottom line of a farming operation.  However, when used in conjunction with a profit/revenue based marketing approach they can greatly improve the operation's profitablity.

It's important to remember to stay the course and not attempt to manage individual events that are out of your control.  Stay focused on the overall profitability of your farming operation.  By being mindful of your crop input expenses, using crop insurance to insure potential revenue and grain marketing programs to maximize profitability, you can stay the course and insure the profitability of your operation regardless of the chaos that is around the corner.

MKC and members to benefit from Private Letter Ruling approval

This past fall, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) approved MKC’s Private Letter Ruling (PLR) request to change the calculation of its Domestic Production Activities Deduction for upcoming years.  The ruling, while requiring certain changes to grain purchasing processes, allows MKC to significantly enhance the value of it’s Domestic Production Activities Deduction (tax deduction) for its members and the company.

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. 

Passionate about giving back

By Cassie Wandersee, Staff Writer

 

Lana Hauschel and her mother, Donna Lyman, are passionate about quilting for Project Linus, a non-profit organization that provides quilts to children that are hospitalized in critical condition or terminally ill.

 

“It is so rewarding to give something back. I remember the first time we drove to Wichita to drop the quilts off, I cried on the way home. It is such a small piece to give of ourselves, it really is the least we can do,” she said.

 

Lana first learned of Project Linus from a woman in Galva that was involved in the organization and that’s how she began donating quilts to the project.

 

“We’ve always been quilters,” said Lana. “We used to have to drive quite a ways to get them machine quilted though, so we bought our own and started doing it at home.” Having a machine at home allowed the production of quilts to increase, as well as decreasing their costs of production.

 

“The quilts can be made from scraps or leftovers of material,” Lana explained.

 

It would seem that others in the community have embraced her quilting efforts. Lana often comes home to find bags of material or quilt pieces on her doorstep. She said that the largest donation that has been left at her home was three large trash bags full of material. “I have no idea who dropped it off, but I was so thankful they did,” she said.

 

Over the 10 years she has been involved in the program, Lana and her mother have donated 274 quilts to the cause.

 

Under the program, the blanketeers that donate never meet the children that receive the quilts. But that doesn’t dampen the spirits of Lana or her desire to keep on quilting.

 

“I wish I had more time to quilt,” she said. “Quilting is my retirement plan.”

 

Lana is the Counter/Grain Specialist for MKC (Lindsborg) and represents a growing number of employees who donate their time to their communities.