Pauls Turkey Ramble
Nov 22, 2022
Tuesday, November 22nd,2022
Thanksgiving Greetings from Valley United Co-op!
Here’s just a quick “ramble” before you make your way to Grandma’s house to devour a Thanksgiving meal!
Valley United Co-op will close its doors Wednesday night and will be closed Thanksgiving Day to allow our employees a day with family. A well-deserved day off, I might add. All our locations will also be closed on Friday. (Except for our C-Store in Halstad which will be open normal hours.)
We will have regular futures market times on Wednesday, but no markets on Wednesday night or Thursday. Markets resume 7:00 PM Thursday night. Friday’s market will open @ its normal time and close @ 12:05. If you need anything on the grain selling front, call Travis or AJ on their cellphones.
Exciting News! Valley United Co-op will be acquiring the Climax, Mn Agronomy Center from Columbia Grain Inc. on December 1st, 2022. This location has a 6,500-ton dry fertilizer plant, liquid, seed, and crop protection products along with custom application. This facility is 8 years old, and a great addition to our agronomy department. We are excited to bring our product line-up, agronomic and technology expertise to the Climax area. We are welcoming 8 employees to our VUC team!
As we are nearing the end of 2022, I want to recap our season. 2022 started wet and cool, we struggled to get our crop seeded. In most cases, our crop was planted 3-5 weeks late. Our area had pockets of Preventive Planting, that just could not be helped. We were hoping for an average crop if mother nature gave us a long growing season, with late fall and no early frost. Not too much to ask for, right? Then guess what? It quit raining (for the most part) and we went from an overabundance of moisture to dry! Our crops went from being late to maturing ahead of average. harvest in North Dakota was 3 weeks ahead of normal and our yields and quality were above average! We all are so thankful for how our year turned out.
A railroad strike is looming. One major railroad union ratified a tentative labor agreement with the Class I railroads. Out of the dozen rail unions, eight are in favor of the contract and four are not. A strike could happen as soon as early December. The sticking point has been on staffing levels and paid sick time. Congress has been asked by numerous agricultural groups to prevent a strike, while the unions are opposed to congressional intervention.
U.S. farmland values quadrupled over the last decade. Record high prices, good crop production, and a generous crop insurance program created a big demand for farmland. Land is usually one of the biggest single expenses for a farmer. Values in some cases have maintained very high levels, while sellers have been hard to find. In those cases where values have held high, it has been land that was adjacent to farmers whom both wanted it because of the proximity to their existing land. It was farmers bidding against farmers, and now its farmers bidding against outside investors. The same has been true with cash rents/leases. There have been reports of some farmers increasing bids to acquire more land. Rent too, is heading north with renters talking to landlords about rent going forward. The pace of those negotiations will start to accelerate after January 1st.
Grain prices have had wild daily price swings, but we are trading in a range. Russia/Ukraine is in the news daily, weather is always in the mix. China, South America, and freight issues will also affect our prices. Grain prices today: Wheat - $9.30, Corn - $6.25, and Soybeans - $14.00
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long. It was baked on October 8, 2005, by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio, and included 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice, and 250 pounds of crust.
With Thanksgiving this week, I sat down and thought about this last year We have a successful company which is a tribute to our patron’s loyalty, which I am very thankful for. The crop was a very good one and provided us with the necessary bushels to keep our business viable. I’m thankful for loyal employees whose passion for their job keeps me inspired to come to work every day. I’m thankful for all my friends and colleagues whom I depend on every single day. Most important of all is my family. They are the forefront of my existence. Without them, I would most certainly fail. Their support, love, and concern are what get me over any obstacle. I am a lucky man! I will continue to enjoy my SEVEN grandkids as they get older. I am looking forward to the next year.
This Thanksgiving, I hope you take time to be with family and to give thanks to God for all he does in your life. I know I will come away with a renewed feeling of how lucky I am to have a close family, to be living in a great place like the United States of America, and to receive the blessing of God each and every day.
Here is wishing each one of you a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving.
Life Is a Gift
Have a great Thanksgiving!!!!
Paul
If God brings you to it, he'll bring you through it.............
Thanksgiving Greetings from Valley United Co-op!
Here’s just a quick “ramble” before you make your way to Grandma’s house to devour a Thanksgiving meal!
Valley United Co-op will close its doors Wednesday night and will be closed Thanksgiving Day to allow our employees a day with family. A well-deserved day off, I might add. All our locations will also be closed on Friday. (Except for our C-Store in Halstad which will be open normal hours.)
We will have regular futures market times on Wednesday, but no markets on Wednesday night or Thursday. Markets resume 7:00 PM Thursday night. Friday’s market will open @ its normal time and close @ 12:05. If you need anything on the grain selling front, call Travis or AJ on their cellphones.
Exciting News! Valley United Co-op will be acquiring the Climax, Mn Agronomy Center from Columbia Grain Inc. on December 1st, 2022. This location has a 6,500-ton dry fertilizer plant, liquid, seed, and crop protection products along with custom application. This facility is 8 years old, and a great addition to our agronomy department. We are excited to bring our product line-up, agronomic and technology expertise to the Climax area. We are welcoming 8 employees to our VUC team!
As we are nearing the end of 2022, I want to recap our season. 2022 started wet and cool, we struggled to get our crop seeded. In most cases, our crop was planted 3-5 weeks late. Our area had pockets of Preventive Planting, that just could not be helped. We were hoping for an average crop if mother nature gave us a long growing season, with late fall and no early frost. Not too much to ask for, right? Then guess what? It quit raining (for the most part) and we went from an overabundance of moisture to dry! Our crops went from being late to maturing ahead of average. harvest in North Dakota was 3 weeks ahead of normal and our yields and quality were above average! We all are so thankful for how our year turned out.
A railroad strike is looming. One major railroad union ratified a tentative labor agreement with the Class I railroads. Out of the dozen rail unions, eight are in favor of the contract and four are not. A strike could happen as soon as early December. The sticking point has been on staffing levels and paid sick time. Congress has been asked by numerous agricultural groups to prevent a strike, while the unions are opposed to congressional intervention.
U.S. farmland values quadrupled over the last decade. Record high prices, good crop production, and a generous crop insurance program created a big demand for farmland. Land is usually one of the biggest single expenses for a farmer. Values in some cases have maintained very high levels, while sellers have been hard to find. In those cases where values have held high, it has been land that was adjacent to farmers whom both wanted it because of the proximity to their existing land. It was farmers bidding against farmers, and now its farmers bidding against outside investors. The same has been true with cash rents/leases. There have been reports of some farmers increasing bids to acquire more land. Rent too, is heading north with renters talking to landlords about rent going forward. The pace of those negotiations will start to accelerate after January 1st.
Grain prices have had wild daily price swings, but we are trading in a range. Russia/Ukraine is in the news daily, weather is always in the mix. China, South America, and freight issues will also affect our prices. Grain prices today: Wheat - $9.30, Corn - $6.25, and Soybeans - $14.00
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long. It was baked on October 8, 2005, by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio, and included 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice, and 250 pounds of crust.
With Thanksgiving this week, I sat down and thought about this last year We have a successful company which is a tribute to our patron’s loyalty, which I am very thankful for. The crop was a very good one and provided us with the necessary bushels to keep our business viable. I’m thankful for loyal employees whose passion for their job keeps me inspired to come to work every day. I’m thankful for all my friends and colleagues whom I depend on every single day. Most important of all is my family. They are the forefront of my existence. Without them, I would most certainly fail. Their support, love, and concern are what get me over any obstacle. I am a lucky man! I will continue to enjoy my SEVEN grandkids as they get older. I am looking forward to the next year.
This Thanksgiving, I hope you take time to be with family and to give thanks to God for all he does in your life. I know I will come away with a renewed feeling of how lucky I am to have a close family, to be living in a great place like the United States of America, and to receive the blessing of God each and every day.
Here is wishing each one of you a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving.
Life Is a Gift
- Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.
- Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat.
- Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out for a companion.
- Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went too early to heaven.
- Before you complain about your children - Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.
- Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets.
- Before whining about the distance, you drive - Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
- And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
- But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another - Remember that not one of us is without sin.
- And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and thank GOD you're alive and still around.
- Friday, when your pants are a little “snug”, be thankful for the meal you shared with family.
Have a great Thanksgiving!!!!
Paul
If God brings you to it, he'll bring you through it.............