Connection Winter 2013 | Page 6

FROM THE MANAGER Dear members & patrons w e have been so blessed this year. Where much of the state was burning up and suffering a severe drought, we were lucky enough to receive adequate rainfall in most cases to produce better than average crops. Your cooperative handled a record grain crop of 4,635,761 bushels of corn, 2,488,691 bushels of milo and 65,076 bushels of soybeans. We also surprisingly ginned 80,861 bales of cotton. We were a little late getting all of our pipe work from manufacturers, but once we got everything put together our gins ran very well. Our membership can be really proud to have two of the most efficient cotton gins in the state. We again had a great gin turn out of 40.78 percent. The average seed weight was 610 pounds per bale and the average seed payment per bale was $18.10. We greatly appreciate the patience of our producers in our late start at our Danevang Gin. Just a flashback, in 1985 your two coop gin plants ginned a little more than 11,000 bales, many in trailers, and finished the season on October 28. This year, even with the late start in picking and ginning, we ginned 80,861 bales and finished November 4, 2013, and ginned only one trailer. We have continued to beg producers to get some corn sold for next year if your plans are to plant corn. With Brazil and Argentina significantly increasing their corn production and ethanol production flattening out on top of a good Midwest corn crop, we could see stocks now to a 16 percent carry out to use rates. Economists used to )ͅ䁥