While the fall harvest has started in some parts of our trade area, in a few short weeks we’ll have a better measurement of the impacts weather had on this year’s crops and yields at the farm gate. Our grain facilities located in Mazomanie, Mineral Point, Richland Center, and Westby are anxiously awaiting this year’s crop. A few weeks ago, the Premier grain team spent the day reviewing safety and operational procedures to better prepare to serve our members’ needs during the upcoming season. Whether you need help hauling this year’s crop to the elevator or are still looking to finalize your grain marketing plan, give us a call. Our knowledgeable staff is looking forward to working with you this year to make this year’s harvest as safe and smooth as possible. Our team will do their best to meet your needs. Early communication of trucking and expected harvest dates are always appreciated. Thanks for your support and please be safe this harvest season.
Around the time when the harvest reaches its peak, our company gears up for another one of our seasonal rushes - the winter heating season. While I don’t know if anyone can accurately predict when the cold temperatures will arrive, we all know that it will get cold, and it will snow. Thank you to those of you that contract your propane needs for the upcoming season and remain on our route delivery service. This strategy allows us to ensure that inventory is readily available in rural areas before winter’s demand puts stress on the supply. While national inventory levels for propane are currently in good shape, early season cold temps and crop drying demand in the Midwest can stress the pipelines and overall supply across the country. Having inventory in our storage facilities as well as our customers’ tanks is critical going into winter. For those of you that call in your propane orders, please consider getting your tank filled well ahead of winter if the tank is under 30%. With over 800,000 gallons of propane supply capacity, Premier is one of the largest propane providers in the state. Still, the infrastructure for the propane industry in the Midwest relies greatly on the amount of supply capacity with the end user…the tanks at our members’ homes, businesses, and farms. Thank you for making sure your propane supply is full and ready for the season.
By the time you receive this we will have closed another fiscal year and are now starting the cooperative’s 131st year, more than any other farm and consumer supply cooperative in the United States. While our current year-end results will not be completed until after our November audit, I feel comfortable sharing that we look forward to reporting on another great year for your cooperative. We anticipate total revenues and local net savings will closely align with last year’s record earnings. Thank you all for the support that helped make this happen. At Premier, we have never looked at sales or profit as the top metrics whether we had a successful year. More important than those two is determining whether we exceeded our members’ expectations throughout the year, provided a safe and positive work environment for our staff, continued to learn from our mistakes, challenged each other to find improved ways to operate your company, and added value and positive returns to our customers. While these are often hard to measure, the positive feedback from our members and the resulting growth we have generated over the past many years are hopefully a sign that we continue to head in the right direction. Thank you for continuing to allow us the opportunity to provide you with the products and services you need.
Whether you are out enjoying the weather on our beautiful country roads this fall, or helping to bring in this year’s crop, please remember to slow down and be safe. I hope everyone has a successful harvest and a great month.
