Mid-County Newsletter MCnewsletter.spring16

YOU’RE IN y r t n u o C Mid-County Spring Messenger INSIDE: Page 2 - 3 Energy Page 4 - 5 Agronomy Page 6 - Shop Spring 2016 • Vol. 29 www.midcountycoop.com Spring 2016 Fuel Prices There were several predictions that we could see $1.00 gas this summer. For this to happen, we have Bill Reimers to take about 50 cents General Manager per gallon off for state [phone] taxes, federal taxes [email protected] and freight. Currently a barrel of crude oil (which hovers around $30 these days) makes about 45 gallons of refi ned products from its original 42 gallon measurement – divide that out and it makes it fairly diffi cult to get to the $1 per gallon level. Gasoline has risen almost 40 cents the last few weeks; the reason is that many refi neries were not very profi table at the lower levels and have produced more diesel fuel than gas, causing limited production of gasoline. Will we see $3.00 gas? Probably not in the near fu- ture, but we do expect to see the typical 40-60 cents per gallon rise from winter to summer. Diesel fuel inventories are adequate at this time. We may see some spot shortages this spring and early summer. Both refi neries in the Twin Cities will be performing mainte- nance this spring, one starting in March and one starting in May. Their maintenance will typically last for 45 days. This could cause some local price spikes through that period. There has been a lot of talk about Saudi Ara- bian imports keeping the crude oil price down. What is interesting is that Canada sends al- most four times as much crude to the U.S. than the Saudis do, and they have been increasing imports to us for the last few years. Propane We have mixed feelings on propane (LP Gas) pricing. Inventories of propane are at record levels, but they are dropping at a faster rate than normal with the presence of several new export loading terminals in the Gulf of Mex- ico. These new facilities have the ability to load ships at an alarming rate. That propane is headed to parts of the world where the current price is much higher than it is in the US. Also, I have read that the expansion of the Panama Canal late in 2016 will open more export op- portunities for propane. We are hoping for pro- pane prices to be similar to 2015/2016 levels for the upcoming year. After the export market is well underway, we could see prices back to where they were a few short years ago. Expanding and Growing Our recent projects include adding another Case/IH Sprayer to our fl eet, an additional fertilizer tender, upgrading to a brand new diesel island and new gasoline dispensers at the convenience store, and our state-of-the-art truck alignment and tire balancing systems. Most importantly are the additions of two more staff members to our energy and agron- omy departments. In May, you will be receiving your dividend for your purchases from our last fi scal year. You will be pleased again due to our profi t- ability last year. The Board of Directors and management of Mid-County holds a high pri- ority in maintaining a fi nancially strong coop- erative. Thank you for your support and keeping Mid-County a successful, strong company for 80 years. As always, I appreciate your comments and suggestions to make your coop better. HONESTY • INTEGRITY • VALUE AGRONOMY 700 Lake Street West, Cologne, MN 55322 [phone] 700 Lake Street West, Cologne, MN 55322 [phone] COLOGNE 710 Lake Street West, Cologne, MN 55322 [phone] Hwy. 212 & Hwy. 284, Cologne, MN 55322 [phone] [phone] • 888-466-3700 • 700 Lake Street West, P.O. Box 177, Cologne