For much of the growing season nearly all the territory we serve has been under a severe drought, with a substantial portion of that under an extreme drought according to the US Drought Monitor. Coupled with record hot temperatures through the latter part of June and much of July, this year’s crop is seeing challenges that we have not seen in more than 10 years. While the rainfall totals are still well behind average for the year, a few timely showers throughout July, and recently several heavy rains will hopefully get us out of the extreme category and give us an early glimpse of what to expect at harvest.
As we move into the late summer, with the propane heating season and much of the agronomy season now in the rearview mirror, we start to see how our 2023 fiscal year will shape up and can begin to compare it to last year’s results. With expectations for the livestock nutrition division to outgrow last year’s record production totals, and retail divisions to finish strong, through the first three quarters of 2023 your cooperative is on pace with similar revenues and net income as the prior year. We look forward to sharing the complete results following our September year-end.
On July 28th we hosted the 12th annual River Rumble tractor and truck pull at Lion’s Park in Mazomanie. Despite the heat and pending severe weather, the stands were full of fans of all ages cheering on their favorite pullers. From parking attendants, ticket takers, track graders, pit crew directors and many more, putting on an event like this is no small task. I would like to thank our amazing employee team, volunteer groups, sponsors, and everyone else that chipped in to help make this another successful event.
With only two months left in our fiscal year, I would like to thank all of you again for your support. We have an excellent group of highly trained and dedicated staff to help you in all areas of our company. Our board of directors work hard to provide the vision and tools our team needs to serve you. We will continue to strive to exceed your expectations and we appreciate your feedback in helping us stay ahead of your needs. We will continue to look for new ways to add efficiencies to what we are currently doing and will continue to explore ventures, partnerships and other growth opportunities that can enhance our value to you. As with anything that is constantly moving and adapting, we will run into bumps along the way, but if we all work together (board, employees, and owners/members) we will continue to build the company of which you will be proud to be owners and our employees will be proud to be a part of.
