Connection Summer 2013 | Page 17

The winning team was led by Daniel Juranek. Other members included Shannon Ritz, Keith Klatt and Mark Collins. The team’s two redfish and three trout stringer weighed 25.87 pounds. “By being on the water myself as much as possible and competing in fishing tournament occasionally, I saw how it gets people on the water and is a lot of fun with a little competition mixed in,” Kacal said. He said he met with the rest of the agronomy staff to propose a cooperative fishing tournament to get together with members and have a fun day on the water to get away from the business side of things. The idea took off, and is going strong three years later. But, Kacal said the sponsors deserve most of the credit. “With the support of all of our sponsors, it is possible to put on this event for the participants at no expense. So they deserve a huge thank you. “Getting members to fish and support from our sponsors is what makes the Cotton Cup successful.” The 2013 sponsors included Sun Coast, Winfield, Terral Seed, Bayer Crop Sciences, Monsanto, Capital Farm Credit, DOW, Valent, FMC, New First Bank, United Suppliers, BASF, APF, MANA and DuPont. The tournament started in the morning with fishing, with the weigh in deadline at 3 p.m. After that was completed, a boiled crawfish dinner was served, cooked by Shane Farrar. It took a lot of work and cooperation to get the event together, especially from the sponsors, said Kacal. And, the tournament would not be successful without the members and nonmembers who attended and showed their support toward the cooperative. Kacal said United Ag is always working on a new venture, and encouraged anyone to stop by and visit with members of the agronomy team. “United Ag is always looking toward the future for its producers and continues to do what it does best — customer service,” he said. 17