From the Manager's Desk

Jan 04, 2023


Happy New Year

January 2023 Update

Happy New Year to each of you from the staff at Premier Cooperative and welcome to 2023. I hope everyone was able to take a break over the holidays and spend some much needed time with family and friends.

On January 18th we will be holding our 130th annual meeting of the members of Premier Cooperative. Reports from our CFO Andy Jones, board chairman Steve Burns, myself, as well as director election results and scholarship recipients will be part of the meeting. 

While the calendar may have just rolled into the new year, your cooperative is already a quarter of the way through our next fiscal year. In addition to this time of year being very busy at your cooperative with feed and propane deliveries, conditioning and marketing this year’s grain, and preparing crop plans and securing inventory for 2023, we are also going over a long list of equipment, vehicle, facility, and other investments we’ll be making in 2023 and beyond to serve you better. Whether these investments involve replacing worn out vehicles or equipment, upgrading existing systems, or perhaps new expansion projects, each year your cooperative reinvests millions of dollars back into its infrastructure. While some purchases are cut and dried, such as replacing a truck, others can be a bit more of a challenge to measure the value and future return on investment of our members’ equity. This is something your board and employee team look forward to reviewing each year. Of course, investing in new equipment and buildings would be a waste if it wasn’t for the quality team of employees that are ready to put these assets and other technology to work for you each day.

Thank you for helping to make 2022 a successful year at your cooperative. We rely on your continued support to allow us to invest in the staff and fixed assets needed to help meet your needs while providing a safe and rewarding environment for the employee team. It remains our goal to be the Premier company for our customers and employees. While this is our goal, we also know we will not always exceed your expectations or ours. We do hope, however, that the trusted partnership our members/owners (you) and we have worked hard to build over the years will help all of us not only resolve challenges but will help us emerge as a better company to serve you in the future.


Matt Severson

CEO

Read More News

May 03, 2023
Focusing on Plant Nutrition at V5
After your corn crop gets to emergence and the weather conditions are cooperating, it develops rapidly, completing a growth stage approximately every three days. By the V5 stage, corn plants have put on significant root mass, making it an ideal time to focus on plant nutrition and stress reduction to maximize yields. Let’s take a look at 4 early-season management strategies to support your developing crop and maximize your return per acre.    
May 03, 2023
Well, my snowmobiles, snow thrower, winter clothes, salt and shovels are all put away until they’re needed again in about 230 days. I know no one wants to think about next winter but our propane contracts will be mailed out in June. Once again, those who contracted last year came out money ahead as propane prices this past winter exceeded the contract price. I lock my propane price in every year because I know after 32 years in this business that propane prices typically increase during the winter months. You can almost set your watch by it.
May 03, 2023

As I write this the last week of April, we still have a couple of nights of sub-freezing temperatures to deal with, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing down our agronomy locations that are now entering their busiest time of the year. Long days and short nights can be the norm this time of year for our agronomy division and our producer members as they work to get this year’s crop in the ground. This is a great reminder to please pay special attention over the next couple of months to farm machinery pulling in and out of the fields and wide loads coming around the next corner or over the next hill. Whether you are in your car on your way to work, or in the tractor moving to the next field, never assume the other person sees you. Slow down and be extra careful.