October 2010 amazonaws com
Connections www.viafield.com
October 2010 Issue 03
Gearing up for fall
Board of Directors
Viafield Announces its Harvest Customer Appreciation Days Rick Matt President
Clermont
Ron Balek
Manly
Brad Brownell
Westgate
Steve Fullerton
Rockford
Jerry Jellings
Oelwein
Jim Jorgensen
Rudd
Dennis Meyer
Northwood
Karl Benjegerdes
Manly
Rodney Shaffer
Arlington
Mike Staudt
Floyd
Jim Trainer
Northwood
Rick Willert
Rockford
CONTACTS Kent Appler 563-423-5293 CEO [email protected] Brad Foster Grain Mike Harden Agronomy
641-454-2282 [email protected] 641-315-2515 [email protected]
Bill Hayes 563-426-5566 Feed [email protected] Mike Kuboushek 563-380-6156 Energy [email protected]
It’s hard to believe it is that time again, but fall harvest is upon us. As a cooperative we are doing many of the same things our customers and producers are doing such as making room for the harvest yield. Something else we want to do this harvest season is show how appreciative we are of our members and customers. For that reason, we have organized customer appreciation days at 13 of our Viafield locations. We invite you to stop in, take a break and enjoy a free hot sandwich provided by us. We hope this will be a great opportunity for you to see our facilities and visit with team members you already know and ones you haven’t met yet. Please see the schedule for the Harvest Customer Appreciation Days. We hope to see you all there!
Customer Appreciation 2010 Dates: Tuesday, October 5th, 10:30am-1:30pm Marble Rock, Iowa Rockford, Iowa Rudd, Iowa Wednesday, October 6th, 10:30am-1:30pm Carpenter, Iowa Grafton, Iowa Manly, Iowa Thursday, October 7th, 10:30am-1:30pm London, Minnesota Myrtle, Minnesota Northwood, Iowa Friday, October 8th, 10:30am-1:30pm Arlington, Iowa Clermont, Iowa Maynard, Iowa Sumner, Iowa
The Senior Team Introducing the Viafield Business Team Leaders As this new organization progresses, the foundation built on customer service remains our number one priority. To better serve our members, we have emphasized a “team” attitude as a staple of our core values. The catalyst for this idea will be our Business Team Leaders. Specialists in Agronomy, Feed, Grain, and Energy, these team leaders will be great communicators with vision, and an ability to work with all areas of the business team. They
will have an excellent understanding of financials to prepare budgets, do return on investments and financial forecasting. They will have the ability to listen to their teammates and accept ideas and concepts to make the team stronger and more efficient. Biographies for these team leaders can be found on page 2 and 3 of this newsletter.
Brad Foster Grain Business Team Leader In charge of the Grain division, Brad brings many years of experience, knowledge and expertise to his new position. Involved in the cooperative system for over 30 years, Brad was first approached to work at the
coop in Manly, Iowa as a summer with end users and set budgets. job in 1977. He has worked in With increasing volatility in the Manly ever since but his roles in the market place, Brad plans to offer business have changed considerably risk management to secure profits over time. Originally in the feed for producers. His goal is to increase department, he volumes but not at the moved to Agronomy expense of profitability “We want our but always had a for our members. “We customers to do well; hand in the Grain want our customers to if you succeed, we Department. In do well; if you succeed, succeed,” says Brad. 1988 he became the we succeed,” says assistant manager in Brad. He is excited for Manly and remained the challenges and in the position during the merger opportunities this new company will of 1999 with the Grafton Coop. In bring. 2006 when progressive Ag was formed, Brad was placed in charge Brad grew up in Greene, Iowa and of the Grain Department which is his graduated from then Greene High current position today. School. Brad and his wife Paulette enjoy riding motorcycle and As the Grain Business Team Leader, spending time with their 4 children, Brad will encourage a team Heather, Jacob, Ethan, and Seth. They atmosphere built on relationships currently reside in Mason City, Iowa. merger of these cooperatives means a larger territory, but more importantly new customers to serve. Bill is ready for the challenge of going the extra mile for our new customers and wants to exceed your expectations. Bill enjoys the numbers of this business and is satisfied when everyone he works with succeeds.
Bill Hayes Feed Business Team Leader Taking over the role of Feed Business Team Leader is Bill Hayes. As team leader, Bill realizes the advantage of a growing business and the development of new markets. A
Bill has had a successful career in the world of agriculture. Graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in Ag-Business, he spent the first year of his career working for Wayne Feeds before joining the Land O’ Lakes (LOL) feed team as a Livestock Production Specialist (LPS) in Beaman, Iowa. Five years later, Bill had the opportunity to move back home to Arlington where he continued to sell LOL feed as a LPS
for the Arlington Coop. Three years later through a feed joint venture, Bill started working with the Valley Cooperative’s feed team which later became Northeast Iowa Cooperative. Bill became the Feed Department Manager for the Northeast Iowa Coop in 2005 and has held the job since. The past fiscal year the feed department manufactured 122,000 tons of feed and did $23 million dollars worth of business. That is up from 85,000 ton from when Bill took over the responsibility of the feed division in 2005. Bill and his wife, Bonnie, reside on a farm south of Arlington with their 6 boys, Alan, David, Frank, Henry, John, and Mitchell. As a community member, he teaches 4-H and CCD.
All of our area farmers are important to us. We hope you have a safe and productive harvest season. The Viafield Team
members. ” With the ability to specialize and grow our business, but still provide a quality product, I am excited for the future,” says Mike. Finding the needs of a new prospect or repeat customer and meeting those demands is a very rewarding experience for Mike. As the Business Leader, he will expect his team to strive towards the same level of customer service he does.
Mike Kuboushek Energy Business Team Leader As the Energy Business Team Leader, Mike is excited about the many opportunities the new organization faces. With the needs of the customer always changing, Mike wants to be looked too as the company with the most knowledgeable and helpful team
Growing up on a farm near Calmar, Iowa, Mike is very familiar with the northern part of the state. Attending Upper Iowa University in Fayette Mike received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration. Prior to joining Northeast Iowa Coop, Mike worked for Northeast Farm Service in Decorah for 19 years and served as a General Manager for three separate cooperatives on an interim basis. In 2008 Mike joined Northeast Iowa Coop as an Energy Specialist changes in agriculture. Starting his career at the Rudd Coop in 1978, he has served customers through many different roles. Mike worked in the feed department from 1978 to 2000 and then moved to the agronomy division where he was the agronomy department head at Farmers Cooperative in Marble Rock. Under his leadership, the agronomy team has seen progressive growth, including construction of a 22,000 ton dry plant.
Mike Harden Agronomy Business Team Leader With new size comes added strength, and an opportunity to develop a new business. As Agronomy Business Team Leader Mike Harden knows the new cooperative will have increased buying power and the ability to offer competitive prices to members. Working with farmers for 31 years, Mike has seen many
To better understand the business as a whole, Mike plans to work with team leaders and team members to better understand their areas of expertise. As a leader in agriculture, Mike enjoys providing answers to farmers and wants to see them succeed. He is looking forward to helping make the new cooperative, “second to none”, and working with the new team members. Growing up on a farm north of Rudd he is very familiar with the
serving commercial accounts in the northeast Iowa area. Drawing from experiences in his previous jobs, Mike brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and leadership to the position of Team Leader. Mike and his wife, Ann, currently live on an acreage near Calmar. They have two grown children. Their son, Adam and his wife, Amanda, live in Calmar, and their daughter Shelly is a senior at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Mike is also an active member of his community serving on the Calmar city council, the parish council for his church, and is a former Calmar Lion. Mike enjoys golfing, riding bicycle, and doing yard work on his 2 acre lawn. “Iowa is a great state to live in because of the open spaces,” says Mike.
area. Graduating from the RuddRockford-Marble Rock school system Mike farmed from 1971 to 1975. He then supervised a crew on the construction of streets, sewer and water additions before joining the Rudd cooperative. Besides a leader in the cooperative business, Mike is also very involved in his community. He is active in his church, FFA and volunteering at the booster club for the local high school. Mike and his wife, Rosalie, enjoy camping, traveling and spending time with their 3 children and grandchildren. Mikes and Rosalie’s son Tony has a wife, Yolanda, and two children Chris and Olivia. Their daughter, Jennifer, and her husband Mitch have a daughter named Adrian, and their youngest daughter, Jamie, has a husband named Mark. Mike currently lives on an acreage north of Rockford where they have lived since 1975.
P.O. Box 38 Marble Rock, Ia 50653
Harvest Customer Appreciation Days Details Inside October 5-8
www.viafield.com
October 2010 Issue 03
Gearing up for fall
Board of Directors
Viafield Announces its Harvest Customer Appreciation Days Rick Matt President
Clermont
Ron Balek
Manly
Brad Brownell
Westgate
Steve Fullerton
Rockford
Jerry Jellings
Oelwein
Jim Jorgensen
Rudd
Dennis Meyer
Northwood
Karl Benjegerdes
Manly
Rodney Shaffer
Arlington
Mike Staudt
Floyd
Jim Trainer
Northwood
Rick Willert
Rockford
CONTACTS Kent Appler 563-423-5293 CEO [email protected] Brad Foster Grain Mike Harden Agronomy
641-454-2282 [email protected] 641-315-2515 [email protected]
Bill Hayes 563-426-5566 Feed [email protected] Mike Kuboushek 563-380-6156 Energy [email protected]
It’s hard to believe it is that time again, but fall harvest is upon us. As a cooperative we are doing many of the same things our customers and producers are doing such as making room for the harvest yield. Something else we want to do this harvest season is show how appreciative we are of our members and customers. For that reason, we have organized customer appreciation days at 13 of our Viafield locations. We invite you to stop in, take a break and enjoy a free hot sandwich provided by us. We hope this will be a great opportunity for you to see our facilities and visit with team members you already know and ones you haven’t met yet. Please see the schedule for the Harvest Customer Appreciation Days. We hope to see you all there!
Customer Appreciation 2010 Dates: Tuesday, October 5th, 10:30am-1:30pm Marble Rock, Iowa Rockford, Iowa Rudd, Iowa Wednesday, October 6th, 10:30am-1:30pm Carpenter, Iowa Grafton, Iowa Manly, Iowa Thursday, October 7th, 10:30am-1:30pm London, Minnesota Myrtle, Minnesota Northwood, Iowa Friday, October 8th, 10:30am-1:30pm Arlington, Iowa Clermont, Iowa Maynard, Iowa Sumner, Iowa
The Senior Team Introducing the Viafield Business Team Leaders As this new organization progresses, the foundation built on customer service remains our number one priority. To better serve our members, we have emphasized a “team” attitude as a staple of our core values. The catalyst for this idea will be our Business Team Leaders. Specialists in Agronomy, Feed, Grain, and Energy, these team leaders will be great communicators with vision, and an ability to work with all areas of the business team. They
will have an excellent understanding of financials to prepare budgets, do return on investments and financial forecasting. They will have the ability to listen to their teammates and accept ideas and concepts to make the team stronger and more efficient. Biographies for these team leaders can be found on page 2 and 3 of this newsletter.
Brad Foster Grain Business Team Leader In charge of the Grain division, Brad brings many years of experience, knowledge and expertise to his new position. Involved in the cooperative system for over 30 years, Brad was first approached to work at the
coop in Manly, Iowa as a summer with end users and set budgets. job in 1977. He has worked in With increasing volatility in the Manly ever since but his roles in the market place, Brad plans to offer business have changed considerably risk management to secure profits over time. Originally in the feed for producers. His goal is to increase department, he volumes but not at the moved to Agronomy expense of profitability “We want our but always had a for our members. “We customers to do well; hand in the Grain want our customers to if you succeed, we Department. In do well; if you succeed, succeed,” says Brad. 1988 he became the we succeed,” says assistant manager in Brad. He is excited for Manly and remained the challenges and in the position during the merger opportunities this new company will of 1999 with the Grafton Coop. In bring. 2006 when progressive Ag was formed, Brad was placed in charge Brad grew up in Greene, Iowa and of the Grain Department which is his graduated from then Greene High current position today. School. Brad and his wife Paulette enjoy riding motorcycle and As the Grain Business Team Leader, spending time with their 4 children, Brad will encourage a team Heather, Jacob, Ethan, and Seth. They atmosphere built on relationships currently reside in Mason City, Iowa. merger of these cooperatives means a larger territory, but more importantly new customers to serve. Bill is ready for the challenge of going the extra mile for our new customers and wants to exceed your expectations. Bill enjoys the numbers of this business and is satisfied when everyone he works with succeeds.
Bill Hayes Feed Business Team Leader Taking over the role of Feed Business Team Leader is Bill Hayes. As team leader, Bill realizes the advantage of a growing business and the development of new markets. A
Bill has had a successful career in the world of agriculture. Graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in Ag-Business, he spent the first year of his career working for Wayne Feeds before joining the Land O’ Lakes (LOL) feed team as a Livestock Production Specialist (LPS) in Beaman, Iowa. Five years later, Bill had the opportunity to move back home to Arlington where he continued to sell LOL feed as a LPS
for the Arlington Coop. Three years later through a feed joint venture, Bill started working with the Valley Cooperative’s feed team which later became Northeast Iowa Cooperative. Bill became the Feed Department Manager for the Northeast Iowa Coop in 2005 and has held the job since. The past fiscal year the feed department manufactured 122,000 tons of feed and did $23 million dollars worth of business. That is up from 85,000 ton from when Bill took over the responsibility of the feed division in 2005. Bill and his wife, Bonnie, reside on a farm south of Arlington with their 6 boys, Alan, David, Frank, Henry, John, and Mitchell. As a community member, he teaches 4-H and CCD.
All of our area farmers are important to us. We hope you have a safe and productive harvest season. The Viafield Team
members. ” With the ability to specialize and grow our business, but still provide a quality product, I am excited for the future,” says Mike. Finding the needs of a new prospect or repeat customer and meeting those demands is a very rewarding experience for Mike. As the Business Leader, he will expect his team to strive towards the same level of customer service he does.
Mike Kuboushek Energy Business Team Leader As the Energy Business Team Leader, Mike is excited about the many opportunities the new organization faces. With the needs of the customer always changing, Mike wants to be looked too as the company with the most knowledgeable and helpful team
Growing up on a farm near Calmar, Iowa, Mike is very familiar with the northern part of the state. Attending Upper Iowa University in Fayette Mike received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration. Prior to joining Northeast Iowa Coop, Mike worked for Northeast Farm Service in Decorah for 19 years and served as a General Manager for three separate cooperatives on an interim basis. In 2008 Mike joined Northeast Iowa Coop as an Energy Specialist changes in agriculture. Starting his career at the Rudd Coop in 1978, he has served customers through many different roles. Mike worked in the feed department from 1978 to 2000 and then moved to the agronomy division where he was the agronomy department head at Farmers Cooperative in Marble Rock. Under his leadership, the agronomy team has seen progressive growth, including construction of a 22,000 ton dry plant.
Mike Harden Agronomy Business Team Leader With new size comes added strength, and an opportunity to develop a new business. As Agronomy Business Team Leader Mike Harden knows the new cooperative will have increased buying power and the ability to offer competitive prices to members. Working with farmers for 31 years, Mike has seen many
To better understand the business as a whole, Mike plans to work with team leaders and team members to better understand their areas of expertise. As a leader in agriculture, Mike enjoys providing answers to farmers and wants to see them succeed. He is looking forward to helping make the new cooperative, “second to none”, and working with the new team members. Growing up on a farm north of Rudd he is very familiar with the
serving commercial accounts in the northeast Iowa area. Drawing from experiences in his previous jobs, Mike brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and leadership to the position of Team Leader. Mike and his wife, Ann, currently live on an acreage near Calmar. They have two grown children. Their son, Adam and his wife, Amanda, live in Calmar, and their daughter Shelly is a senior at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Mike is also an active member of his community serving on the Calmar city council, the parish council for his church, and is a former Calmar Lion. Mike enjoys golfing, riding bicycle, and doing yard work on his 2 acre lawn. “Iowa is a great state to live in because of the open spaces,” says Mike.
area. Graduating from the RuddRockford-Marble Rock school system Mike farmed from 1971 to 1975. He then supervised a crew on the construction of streets, sewer and water additions before joining the Rudd cooperative. Besides a leader in the cooperative business, Mike is also very involved in his community. He is active in his church, FFA and volunteering at the booster club for the local high school. Mike and his wife, Rosalie, enjoy camping, traveling and spending time with their 3 children and grandchildren. Mikes and Rosalie’s son Tony has a wife, Yolanda, and two children Chris and Olivia. Their daughter, Jennifer, and her husband Mitch have a daughter named Adrian, and their youngest daughter, Jamie, has a husband named Mark. Mike currently lives on an acreage north of Rockford where they have lived since 1975.
P.O. Box 38 Marble Rock, Ia 50653
Harvest Customer Appreciation Days Details Inside October 5-8
www.viafield.com
