PIPELINE

September 2019

Volume 6, Issue 4

Linn Co-op

Small Beetle, Big Issues

Newhall Gets an Overhaul

Why is Fall Lawn Care Important?

© Linn Co-op Oil Company 20142 © Linn Co-op Oil Company 20192

LINN CO-OP PIPELINELinn Cooperative Oil Company

September 2019 Volume 6, Issue 4

Linn Cooperative Board of DirectorsPresident Joe Meythaler, Marion

Vice-President Neal Horning, Marion

Sec/Treasurer John N Airy, Central City

Vice-Secretary Daryl Gericke, Winthrop

Director Jon Studt, Springville

Director Dennis Coppess, Mechanicsville

Director Doug Stien, Newhall

Director AJ Lewis, Center Point

Director Don Martin, Norway

Linn Cooperative Management StaffGeneral Manager Ron Woeste

Energy Manager Tim Roehlk

Car Care Center Manager Daryl Sackett

Springville Branch Manager Tracy Peyton

Newhall Branch Manager Matt Becker

Alburnett Branch Manager Kirk Sauer

Credit Manager Mike Arnold

Lawn Care Manager Curt Goodwin

Human Resource Manager Danielle Manternach

Linn Cooperative Phone NumbersMarion Main Line 319-377-4881

In-coming WATS 800-728-4881

Newhall Office 319-223-5191

Springville Office 319-854-6192

Alburnett Office 319-842-2222

Direct Grain Line 319-854-6120

Car Care Center 319-377-7351

Lawn Care Department 319-447-1225

A CornerPost Marketing Communications Publication www.cpostmarketing.com

The Linn Co-op Pipeline newsletter is published and distributed to Linn Cooperative Oil Company members and customers to provide education and information leading to the success of their business and to share in the value of cooperative membership.

www.linncoop.com

SoybeansDATE CURRENT CURRENTOCT OCT

CornJULY

7/1/2019 8.37 8.56 4.15 4.10 7/2/2019 8.27 8.46 4.24 4.13 7/3/2019 8.37 8.56 4.42 4.28 7/4/2019 JULY 4TH 7/5/2019 8.24 8.42 4.44 4.29 7/8/2019 8.27 8.45 4.43 4.31 7/9/2019 8.34 8.52 4.36 4.24 7/10/2019 8.42 8.60 4.38 4.27 7/11/2019 8.47 8.65 4.52 4.35 7/12/2019 8.61 8.79 4.61 4.48 7/15/2019 8.49 8.68 4.51 4.36 7/16/2019 8.35 8.54 4.47 4.30 7/17/2019 8.30 8.53 4.48 4.31 7/18/2019 8.29 8.52 4.34 4.19 7/19/2019 8.49 8.72 4.40 4.25 7/22/2019 8.36 8.58 4.34 4.16 7/23/2019 8.33 8.56 4.38 4.21 7/24/2019 8.39 8.61 4.31 4.20 7/25/2019 8.30 8.52 4.23 4.17 7/26/2019 8.31 8.54 4.18 4.14 7/29/2019 8.33 8.57 4.18 4.16 7/30/2019 8.26 8.49 4.12 4.10 7/31/2019 8.12 8.34 4.01 3.99 HIGH 8.61 4.61 LOW 8.12 4.01 AVG 8.34 4.34

SoybeansDATE CURRENT CURRENTOCT OCT

CornJUNE

6/3/2019 8.32 8.54 4.06 4.21 6/4/2019 8.34 8.57 4.09 4.23 6/5/2019 8.22 8.45 4.03 4.13 6/6/2019 8.21 8.43 4.09 4.18 6/7/2019 8.09 8.31 4.05 4.13 6/10/2019 8.11 8.33 4.08 4.14 6/11/2019 8.12 8.35 4.20 4.26 6/12/2019 8.31 8.53 4.23 4.28 6/13/2019 8.36 8.63 4.35 4.35 6/14/2019 8.44 8.71 4.46 4.43 6/17/2019 8.55 8.87 4.47 4.48 6/18/2019 8.56 8.88 4.42 4.42 6/19/2019 8.46 8.76 4.33 4.32 6/20/2019 8.58 8.89 4.45 4.40 6/21/2019 8.45 8.75 4.38 4.35 6/24/2019 8.47 8.80 4.43 4.38 6/25/2019 8.41 8.74 4.44 4.39 6/26/2019 8.32 8.66 4.46 4.36 6/27/2019 8.25 8.60 4.43 4.32 6/28/2019 8.37 8.71 4.23 4.16 HIGH 8.58 4.47 LOW 8.09 4.03 AVG 8.35 4.28

3www.linncoop.com 3www.linncoop.com

You should have recently received your member dividend check for 2018 business. The allocation rates for that business with Linn Co-op were as follows:

• Petroleum 1.84%• Propane 3.82%• Feed 1.16%• Fertilizer 3.80%

The total was $1,419,400. Broken out $851,640 in cash and $567,760 in deferred.

At Linn Co-op you have a life-long partner that will continue to look out for your best interest every day. Together, we have built a very strong cooperative that can be seen by our continued growth at locations, the exciting new services we’re able to offer and our employees, who are not only increasing in numbers, but continually educating themselves to provide the best service possible to you.

We at Linn Co-op would like to say ‘thank you’ for your business. It is very much appreciated and has made an important contribution to the success of your cooperative.

Looking ahead to fall, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy harvest. Fields might be a little behind schedule on growing degree days, but we are ready to serve you this fall on propane, fuel, grain and fertilizer. I’m sure everyone remembers the spring we went through and would like to get as much work done as possible.

We have some exciting new projects happening at Linn Co-op this year. We’ve added a new fuel and LP truck which will allow us to be more efficient in the delivery of our products. We’re also starting an office construction project in Newhall that has employees and customers very excited. We look forward to sharing more about the progress of this project and how it will make a positive impact in your cooperative.

• Crop Protection 3.22%• Other Merchandise 6.58%• Grain Elevator 1.07 cents/bushel • Grain Brokerage .21 cents/bushel

New Developments Leading to Exciting Changes

A conversation with the General

Manager

Ron Woeste, General Manager, Linn Cooperative Oil Company

new projects at linn co-opIf you haven’t heard, we are constructing a new

office facility for our growing sales staff at our Newhall location! The new facility will include office spaces and a meeting room. The meeting room will serve as an area to have employee trainings and informational meetings. There will also be a large scale installed at the new office to further improve our operations.

Currently, the sales personnel are sharing offices and space is a little cramped. “The new space will allow sales staff to have one-on-one conversations with

farmers,” said Matt Becker, Newhall Branch Manager.

The old office will be transferred into a warehouse space. Expected completion date for the new office building is winter 2019/2020.

We are also happy to announce that we recently purchased an anhydrous facility on the North edge of Blairstown. With our growing customer base in the area, it will be a beneficial addition to better service new and existing customers.

© Linn Co-op Oil Company 20144

This summer has been a typically hot and dry summer in Iowa. Unless your lawn is irrigated, or you’ve been watering regularly, chances are your lawn is turning brown and looking a little rough. Don’t panic! It’s not dead. With the cooler temperatures and the moisture we’ve received, the lawns should start to green up pretty quickly.

We have finished our midsummer third rounds of lawn care and are getting through our late summer fourth rounds. We will be applying a slow release fertilizer and hitting all the weeds with a post emergence herbicide. We have noticed some fungus issues with the wet spring and hot, dry summer. So, if you are noticing any odd brown areas in your lawn, please let us know so we can get these areas diagnosed. It is also the time of year that you will notice grub damage. The grubs should be pretty much done feeding by now, but we do offer a curative

treatment to stop any further damage. If you’re

interested in doing this yourself, we offer these products for retail.

Have you noticed fungus issues or any damage from grubs? We can help fix those issues. We’re just getting our fall aeration and seeding started for this year and would love to help thicken the lawn back up for you. It is recommended to get an aeration every year, so if you didn’t take advantage of the spring aeration, please call us so we can get you on the schedule for this fall. Aeration is the most beneficial thing you can do for your lawn, outside of watering it. It helps break up compacted soil and breakdown heavily thatched lawns, which allows the roots to take in air, moisture and nutrients from fertilizer more effectively.

transmission Flush & Filter Special

$209.95 - Cars$239.95 - Light Trucks• Completely flush transmission

fluid, torque converter, cooler and transmission

• Install new transmission filter *special fluids extra

Lube Oil & Filter Special$32.95 - Oil Change

$44.95 - Full Synthetic• Up to 5 quarts of quality co-op oil

• New oil filter installation• All fluid levels and tire pressure checked

• Chassis parts lubricated• All belts and hoses, battery and

charging system checked• All lights, exhaust and suspension

parts checked

alignment Special$79.95

• Inspect and align to manufacturer’s

specifications *shims and cam

kits extra

LAWN CAREFall Lawn Care:Curt Goodwin - Lawn Care Manager

Just as Important as Spring and Summer

Fall is almost here and the kids are back in school. It’s time to get the family vehicle in shape to run to all the sports events, play practices, dance rehearsals, 4-H meetings, and everything else in between. We offer services like oil changes and tires, as well as diagnosis and engine repair. Call us at 319-377-7351 for an appointment.

Farmers, with harvest fast approaching, be sure to check your harvest and tillage equipment tires to make sure they are up to the task. We carry a full line

of Firestone farm tires and have Michelin, Mitas and many other brands available.

If you’re in the area, be sure to check out our recent updates in Marion. We replaced the fuel dispensers this spring and had the curbing around them refurbished. Soon, we will have our canopy and gas price sign redone. These updates, along with putting the new steel on the building last year, give the car care center a quality facility for years to come.

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4 © Linn Co-op Oil Company 2019

Daryl Sackett - Car Care Center Manager

Back to School Car CareCAR CARE

5www.linncoop.com

The corn rootworm beetle is such a small insect that has a large impact on your fields and yields.

Shown is the damage that corn rootworm can cause in your fields.

Our corn crop is important to us. Each year we spend a large investment in hopes of a bumper crop in the fall. There is always something trying to create a much less desirable crop, and at times, we need to battle those issues on the fly. We can be proactive on some measures, but some we cannot control. One insect in our area has been an issue and sometimes is overlooked. That is the corn rootworm beetle. Let’s highlight the life cycle and what you can do as a farmer to control this damaging corn crop insect.

The Northern and Western corn rootworm beetle overwinters in Iowa and can cause severe damage to our corn crop. There is one generation per year with the adults laying eggs in corn residue beginning in mid summer. These eggs remain in the soil and hatch in late May. The the larvae begin feeding on the crown roots of the corn when the corn is in earlier growth stages, but we do not see the actual effects until around tassel time. Iowa State University claims that for every node of roots pruned by larvae, you can expect a 15% yield loss on average. Tassel time is when the corn begins to lodge or “gooseneck”. This is caused directly by the corn rootworm larvae. The roots have been chewed on and lack proper anchoring in the soil.

We have seen some problems in our area specifically with corn rootworm beetles. We have discovered them through scouting our fields, calls from growers, and even from the drone flying above. Our scouting crew set up sticky traps and gathered data on the beetles this past August. What we discovered were high volume numbers in the corn. What can be surprising is that most of the affected corn was planted into soybean

stubble. This phenomenon is known as extended diapause. Extended diapause is when the Northern corn rootworm lays eggs and the eggs remain dormant for a year. This means in two years, you can expect to see them show up in your corn acres.

So as a corn grower, what can you do to prevent the corn rootworm damaging your investment? Here are a few management steps to follow:

• Scout your corn fields. This is key to determine if there are any rootworms currently present. We see them around tassel time and can use this information for preventing them in the future.

• Rotate your crops. Breaking up the continuous corn cycle is advantageous for insects and disease. This is not the full answer, as extended diapause can occur, but it certainly helps.

• Use traited corn packages. Choose the proper corn hybrid for your acres and use insect protection traits in your seed selection like Hurculex.

• Control volunteer corn in your soybean acres. Corn rootworms lay eggs at the base of volunteer corn plants leading to pressure in corn the following year.

• Use full insecticide rates at planting time. If you are set up for insecticide on your planter this is a great way to control corn rootworm in the spring. Do not cut rates because the recommended rates have the greatest control.

If you have any questions on the corn rootworm or how you can prevent this damaging insect from taking down your corn, contact one of our sales agronomist at your local Linn Co-op branch.

Small Beetle, Big Issues in Your FieldsEvan Brehm and Tanner Brecht - Agronomy Sales

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© Linn Co-op Oil Company 201466

Fall is creeping up on us and that means winter is right behind it. In September, we started deliveries of home heat and dryer contracts for LP and our fall diesel contracts. Remember, contracts can help protect you from potential up-swings in the market.

We want to remind everyone that our policies regarding LP deliveries have changed and will-call customers need to allow up to five business days for us to refill your tank. Please call us when your tank is at 30 percent to allow ample time for delivery.

Speaking of LP deliveries, this fall we have a new LP driver joining our team, Aaron Volesky. He will be driving our newest LP delivery truck and will be serving the Newhall Area.

Don’t forget about our fall lubricant sale! Hurry in before it ends on September 30. Be sure to take advantage of these discounts and save on all your oil and grease needs.

Many of you may know his face already, but for those of you who don’t, meet Tanner Brecht. He is a Pioneer Seed Salesman at our Newhall location. While Tanner was attending Kirkwood Community College for Crop Production, he interned as a crop scout intern in the summer of 2015 at Linn Co-op. He enjoyed the experience so much he came back for another summer internship in 2016.

“I enjoy working with the people and when you enjoy what you’re doing it doesn’t feel like work,” Tanner said about working for Linn Co-op.

In September 2017 he was hired full time to help in various areas of the cooperative. One of his jobs

entailed working with the previous Pioneer Seed Salesman where he gained valuable knowledge and experience about the agronomy industry.

“Linn Co-op is very progressive, innovative, and stays with the latest trends,” Tanner said about what makes him excited to work at Linn Co-op. In 2018, Tanner was promoted to Pioneer Seed Salesman, and Linn Co-op is appreciative of the knowledgeable role he is able to provide for our member-farmers.

Introducing Tanner Brecht

© Linn Co-op Oil Company 2019

Fall Fuel Reminders

MOTOR OILS55 Gallon Drums: $35.75 ($0.65 per Gallon) 30 Gallon Drums: $16.50 ($0.55 per Gallon)

Cases of 2x2.5: $2.00 ($0.40 per Gallon)Cases of 6x1: $2.40 ($0.40 per Gallon)

12x1 Quarts: $1.00 per Case

GREASE120 lb. Drums: $12.00

35 lb. Pails: $4.00 10 Pack Tubes: $1.50

valid until 9/30/19

FALL LUBRICANT SALE PRICES

ENERGY

7www.linncoop.com

The Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour released their final estimates for corn and soybeans at the close of their four-day annual data collection tour in August. Final estimates for corn reached 13.358 billion bushels on an average yield of 163.3 bushels per acre. These numbers are well below the current USDA estimate of 169.5 bushels per acre and 13.901 billion bushels in total production. Keep in mind, the USDA is still using acreage numbers of 90 million planted and 82 million harvested acres.

In final estimates for soybeans, data indicated 3.497 billion bushels on an average yield of 46.1 bushels per acre. These numbers also showed well below the current USDA estimates of 48.5 bushels per acre and 3.680 billion bushels in total production.

From the USDA, we saw a bump of weekly crop-condition estimates from 56% to 57% rated Good to Excellent. In comparison, 2018 conditions at this time were 68% Good to Excellent. State specific crop-conditions show increases the highest in Illinois (+7%), followed by Colorado (6%); Michigan (+4%); Missouri (+3%); Texas (2%); Indiana and South Dakota (1%). The states of Iowa; Kentucky; Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota remain unchanged. Those with decreasing crop-conditions included Pennsylvania and Tennessee (-1%), Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin (-2%), and the largest decrease, North Carolina (-9%). Corn crops in ‘dough’ stage were reported at 71% versus the 87% 5-year average. Similarly, corn in ‘dent’ stage at this time of year was reported at 27% versus a 46% 5-year crop average.

On the soybean crop side, USDA bumped their weekly crop-condition estimate higher by 2%. This moved 53% rated Good to Excellent to 55%, but still short of last year’s 66% Good to Excellent condition. Illinois jumped by a whopping 10% higher in their soybean crop condition. Other states reported to have increased were Kansas (5%); Missouri (4%), Ohio (3%); Louisiana and South Dakota (2%); Iowa and Nebraska (1%). Those states unchanged by USDA

condition reports included Arkansas, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Mississippi saw the largest decrease in soybean crop conditions (-6%); followed by North Carolina (-4%); Kentucky (-3%); Tennessee (-2%); Michigan and North Dakota (-1%). Soybeans reported as ‘blooming’ stage were at 94% compared to the 99% 5-year average. Soybean ‘setting pods’ were reported at 79% versus a 5-year average of 99%.

Varying Degrees of Grain Production Estimates

7www.linncoop.com

Heather Carrothers - Grain Merchant

GRAIN

Preventative plant acreage charts provided by Van Trump Report. www.vantrumpreport.com

HOLD YOUR GROUNDAVAIL® T5 increases the efficiency of your

phosphorus fertilizer no matter how - or when - you apply it. This results in the maximum use of your fertilizer investment in the spring. Help keep 45% or more

of your applied phosphorus available to your crops.

Contact your local Linn Co-op location today to add AVAIL T5 to your fertility program.

Important: Always read and follow label use directions. AVAIL is a registered trademark and The Nutrient Use Efficiency People is a registered trademark of Verdesian Life Sciences.

© 2019 Verdesian Life Sciences. All rights reserved. VLS 18.0372

18.0372 Linn Coop Pipeline Print Ad.indd 2 8/9/2019 9:06:14 AM

P.O. Box 406Marion, IA 52302

Return Service Requested

© Linn Co-op Oil Company 20198