Make Us Your Home Improvement Headquarters

If it’s time to raise the roof and reshingle your home or other buildings on your property, let us help. Lately, shingles have been priced pretty competitively, and this investment will pay off for years to come.

We stock high-quality shingles from some of the industry’s top brands, including CertainTeed® Roofing, which offers a wide array of residential roofing products with profiles that are as beautiful as they are durable. We also stock TAMKO® Heritage shingles, which bring color and distinctive style to your home.

In addition, we can order a wide range of other shingles and roofing products to meet your needs, such as DECRA metal shingles. Most of the metal roofing products on the market today are 50-year shingles, while the lifespan of the traditional shingles we stock is 30 years.

Did you know there may be tax incentives and/or insurance pricing discounts available, depending on the type of roof you select for your home or other building? Ask us for details.

We can also recommend trusted, local contractors who can come to your place to look at your proposed project and provide a free estimate. If you decide to purchase your shingles through the FAC lumberyard, we deliver. Our forklift trucks can unload your shingles right at the job site.

Buyer bewareOne thing worth noting—while you may see some of the same brands of home improvement products at both the FAC lumberyard and the big-box stores, there is a difference in terms of the quality, grade and warranty on the products. I encourage you to stop by the lumberyard to compare prices and services. See what we can offer.

Make a plan Did you know the FAC lumberyard has a draftsman on staff? Luke Wheeler can design a drawing to map out new construction or remodeling projects for your home, deck, shed and more.

It’s really important to have a good set of plans before you start any home improvement project. Detailed plans will save you a lot of time, money and hassle.

Give us a call (877-689-2484) or stop by our showroom in Arcadia to discuss your ideas for spring and summer projects. We’ll help you fine-tune a plan to bring your building, remodeling, roofing and landscaping projects to life. Thanks for your business. ▲

By Mandy Schreck, FAC lumberyard

Why I Choose to Do Business With FAC

When you’ve farmed as long as I have, you’ve seen a lot of changes in agriculture. One thing that has stayed the same is FAC’s reliability.

I raise corn and soybeans near Vail and have done business with the local co-op for nearly 40 years. I use them for fertilizer, chemicals, fuel and products from the lumberyard, plus some of my grain at the elevator. FAC just makes it easy to do business with them.

I value the personalized service I get, plus there’s a good level of trust. I like this consistency from year to year. I know I can count on the co-op. ▲

By Dale Lenz, board president

Shingles are priced competitively, and this home improvement investment will pay off for years to come.

Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company 12543 190th StreetPO Box 24Arcadia, Iowa 51430-0024 ECRWSS

Postal Patron

DIRECTORYArcadia Grain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712-689-2296 Lumber. . . . . . . . . . . . . 712-689-2484 Feed mill. . . . . . . . . . . . 712-689-2220Westside Agronomy. . . . . . . . . . . 712-663-4352Schleswig Agronomy & Grain. . . 712-676-3351

By Darrell Henkenius, operations manager

Looking for a Job? Top 3 Reasons to Consider FAC

Maybe you’ve noticed that FAC has been advertising for employees lately. No, this doesn’t mean people are quitting. It’s good news, because it means we’re expanding and need new talent to grow our team.

As our feed mill business increases, for example, we need more people to get the job done. We also need outside operations help, truck drivers and other employees throughout the company.

Many of our best employees have come to us when they hear from a friend that FAC is hiring. If you or someone you know is looking for a job, here are three key reasons to check out FAC:

1. It’s family first here. Not only is FAC like a family, but we also know your own family must be a priority in your life, right along with your job. We try to be as flexible as possible to accommodate your needs, while making sure all the work still gets done.

2. It’s more than a paycheck. While FAC offers competitive pay, our benefits package is exceptional. We offer vacation time, excellent insurance (with no premium increase in the past year), and a co-op pension, which is one of the best retirement plans available.

3. You can grow your career here. Once people start at FAC, they tend to stay. I’ve worked here 40 years, and we have other long-time employees with 20 or 30 years at FAC. Sometimes people decide the grass is greener somewhere else. Many of these employees come back to FAC, though, when they realize how unique this company is. You’re not just a number here.

We’re not the biggest employer around, but we have solid job opportunities right here in rural Iowa, close to home. If you or someone you know wants to learn more, we accept applications year-round. Just log onto www.faccooperative.com, and you’ll find the link to our job openings and a job application form on the home page.

If you have any questions, call our human resources department at our Arcadia office at 712-689-2296. Thanks for your interest in FAC. We look forward to hearing from you. ▲

Are You Voting for the Co-op?

It seems so harmless. A new company pops up in the area and sells agronomy inputs at a big discount. It’s hard to pass up a good deal and help out a new business, right?

Ever stop to think why anyone is investing in ag when profit margins are extraordinarily slim? There must be a bigger reason than just serving local farmers, right?

These new competitors who are trying to get a foothold across the countryside are part of something much larger than just one entrepreneur trying to carve out a niche. They’re typically backed by large, multi-national companies that are preparing to compete head-to-head with the local co-op, and they want to win.

In the process, they are trying to disrupt the whole supply chain. What would happen if these large corporations gain a big share of the market? Where does that leave the local co-op? More importantly, why does this matter to you?

Co-ops offer more than “stuff”Let’s take a quick look at why cooperatives were founded in the first place. They were created decades ago when our grandfathers and great-grandfathers were having a tough time getting a fair deal in the marketplace.

Cooperatives were created to help level the playing field, provide local control, create more competitive markets on both the marketing and supply side, and put money back in members’ pockets when the cooperative made a profit.

Today, we’re living in a brave new world where giant

corporations are trying to dominate their respective industries, whether it’s Amazon demolishing traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, or multi-national ag companies trying to get a foothold in rural America by undercutting on price.

What if these giants become the only game in town?

You vote for the future each time you decide where to spend your dollars. When you choose to do business with the co-op, you benefit yourself, your fellow co-op members and your local community. After all, we’ve been serving the local area for generations, and we’re rooted in your long-term success.

I encourage you to take a new look at the advantages of doing business with FAC, and vote for the future of your cooperative and your community. We value your support. ▲

www.faccooperative.com

informer

By Dave Leiting, general manager

Cooperatives were created to help level the playing field,

provide local control, create more competitive markets ...

© 2018 Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company. All Rights Reserved.

Fall Fertilizer Pays Off This Spring

If you applied fertilizer last fall, you made a wise choice. It was a good fall for applying phosphate and potash. We also had the most anhydrous ammonia (NH3) sales last fall in 10 years, thanks to favorable application conditions.

Since then, dry fertilizer prices have only gone up. By late February, dry fertilizer was 10% to 15% higher than it was early last fall. NH3 is now 25% higher than it was back in September. The prices of UAN liquid and urea nitrogen products have also increased substantially this spring.

By Randy Petersen, agronomy manager

Addressing the Dicamba Dilemma

Do you have resistant weeds in your fields? Are dicamba-tolerant crops the answer?

FAC is still not custom-applying dicamba products, but we’ll sell you these products so you can apply them yourself. New regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding dicamba require you to have a pesticide license to purchase this restricted-use crop protection product, plus you need a dicamba training certification.

As we look ahead, I’m interested in the Enlist™ weed control system. This technology builds on the Roundup Ready® system, and it has been used on thousands of cotton acres already. Enlist is designed to control tough weeds while giving you greater application and planting flexibility. It sounds like the Enlist system could be available for soybeans in the 2019 growing season, but who knows?

I’ll keep you posted as more details become available.

In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out to your FAC agronomist with any questions as we head into the 2018 growing season. Thanks for choosing to do business with FAC. ▲

By Randy Petersen, agronomy manager

Why? Supply and demand. The U.S. dollar’s position in the global markets made it more cost effective for foreign buyers to purchase U.S. fertilizer, so they did. Also, there aren’t a lot of players in the fertilizer market, so the companies that do operate in this market can set the price. We work hard to offer you competitive prices, even in these challenging business environments. Going forward, FAC has a good supply of many fertilizer products so we can meet your needs into side-dress season. Contact your local FAC agronomist for more details. We look forward to serving you. ▲

Generic Versus Branded: Why It Pays to Look at More Than Just Price

Can I trust you? It’s a key question to ask, not only of your ag suppliers, but about any agronomy inputs you buy, especially if you’re using generic crop protection products to save money.

I know margins are tight, and it’s important to maximize every dollar you spend on your crop. I just want to make sure you consider all the costs when you decide whether to buy generic products or branded products.

• Did you know that some of the old chemistry in generic products is so cheaply made that it can harm your crops? Many of the generic products don’t have the modern, improved, safer chemistry that’s available in branded products. This means that even though you might save $180 on a generic Callisto®, for example, you’ll see a definite response when the generic burns crops. Manufacturers that supply branded products ensure the safety of their ingredients, which is worth a lot.

• Are you using the right products to control your specific weed challenges? Just because you get something cheap doesn’t mean it’s the right solution for your acres. FAC offers a wide range of reliable, proven crop protection products, plus our agronomists are here to help you determine which ones are best for your needs. We’ll help you select

the crop protection products that fit your budget, kill your weeds, and provide the most safety for your crop.

Earning your trust This focus on your needs drives everything we do at FAC. Since we’re a farmer-owned cooperative, FAC wants you, its members and customers, to be profitable and sustainable. This focus guides our agronomy team every day.

We’ll continue to work hard to keep earning your trust, and we appreciate your business with us. Have a safe, productive planting season. ▲

By Randy Petersen, agronomy manager

Free Price Later Available

Free price later is now available at all FAC locations, as long as we have enough storage space available.

As the temperatures warm up, now’s the time to check your bins. Late this winter we saw a lot of 18% and 19% moisture corn coming in. Pull some cores, get the air back on the grain and keep it in condition.

Have a safe, productive spring season. I look forward to working with you this year. ▲

By Nate Fara, merchandising manager

We’re Expanding the Feed Mill By Jary Quandt, feed manager

NEW SPECTOMETERENSURES FEED QUALITY

We’ve invested in a new light spectrometer at our feed mill lab

to replace the previous unit, which was 10 years old.

Modern, reliable equipment is essential in the feed mill, especially with all the

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) protocols we must meet, and all the feed sampling we

must complete. Ken MacGregor does the testing of all the inbound feed

ingredients and all the finished feed products. We appreciate his expertise, along with the modern equipment we

have at FAC to provide customers with the safest, highest quality feed available.

Business is booming at FAC’s feed mill. That’s why your board of directors has approved a second load-out facility at our east mill.

While the new mill went into operation in January of 2017, we’ve run into some issues with load-out space, especially since

tonnage demand has increased faster than expected. Part of this is due to the fact that our new mill is a certified Paylean®-free mill. We’re seeing a lot more demand for Paylean-free feed, and many mills can’t supply this.

The new load-out facility will include twenty 40-ton bins, compared to the ten 80-ton bins we currently have. After the new load-out equipment is added, we’ll continue to use the existing load-out equipment for pelleted feed and larger feed runs. The new load-out facility will work well for smaller feed batches.

We’ll break ground on this addition once the weather is fit. We hope to have the new load-out expansion operational by September 2018.

The FAC board also approved plans to add a second pellet line at the mill. We have a lot of the infrastructure in place already and are ready to maximize the capacity of our new mill. We hope to have this second pellet line running by October 2018.

We’re trying to stay ahead of the curve with our feed mill, especially with new pork processing plants coming online soon in Iowa, and more expansion in the livestock industry across the state.

We know customers want high-quality, competitively priced feed, and we’re making sure we can provide it. Thanks for your grain and feed business. ▲

Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company 12543 190th StreetPO Box 24Arcadia, Iowa 51430-0024

DIRECTORYArcadia Grain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712-689-2296 Lumber. . . . . . . . . . . . . 712-689-2484 Feed mill. . . . . . . . . . . . 712-689-2220Westside Agronomy. . . . . . . . . . . 712-663-4352Schleswig Agronomy & Grain. . . 712-676-3351

By Darrell Henkenius, operations manager

Looking for a Job? Top 3 Reasons to Consider FAC

Maybe you’ve noticed that FAC has been advertising for employees lately. No, this doesn’t mean people are quitting. It’s good news, because it means we’re expanding and need new talent to grow our team.

As our feed mill business increases, for example, we need more people to get the job done. We also need outside operations help, truck drivers and other employees throughout the company.

Many of our best employees have come to us when they hear from a friend that FAC is hiring. If you or someone you know is looking for a job, here are three key reasons to check out FAC:

1. It’s family first here. Not only is FAC like a family, but we also know your own family must be a priority in your life, right along with your job. We try to be as flexible as possible to accommodate your needs, while making sure all the work still gets done.

2. It’s more than a paycheck. While FAC offers competitive pay, our benefits package is exceptional. We offer vacation time, excellent insurance (with no premium increase in the past year), and a co-op pension, which is one of the best retirement plans available.

3. You can grow your career here. Once people start at FAC, they tend to stay. I’ve worked here 40 years, and we have other long-time employees with 20 or 30 years at FAC. Sometimes people decide the grass is greener somewhere else. Many of these employees come back to FAC, though, when they realize how unique this company is. You’re not just a number here.

We’re not the biggest employer around, but we have solid job opportunities right here in rural Iowa, close to home. If you or someone you know wants to learn more, we accept applications year-round. Just log onto www.faccooperative.com, and you’ll find the link to our job openings and a job application form on the home page.

If you have any questions, call our human resources department at our Arcadia office at 712-689-2296. Thanks for your interest in FAC. We look forward to hearing from you. ▲