GROWMARK FS, LLC Announces "Stack Up and Order Up" Seed Sweepstakes Winners

This post and photos were provided by Marty Dunton, GROWMARK FS seed business manager.

GROWMARK FS, LLC has announced the winners of this year’s Stack Up and Order Up Seed Sweepstakes. The contest, open to all commercial farmers in the GROWMARK FS territory, recently concluded with the awarding of the grand prize, a 2009 Chevy Silverado ¾ ton 4x4 pickup truck, to Brian Bahnck of Ottsville, Penn. Bahnck is a customer of GROWMARK FS in Bloomsbury, N. J. and was presented the keys to his pickup at ceremonies held at the GROWMARK FS headquarters in Milford, Del. Steve Buckalew, GROWMARK vice president, Eastern retail operations, presented the keys to Bahnck along with Esmond Crooke, GROWMARK FS Salesperson from Bloomsbury, N.J. Bahnck was also recognized at a recent grower meeting in the Broadway, N.J. area, where he was introduced as the contest winner. Bahnck was all smiles and very grateful to have won the contest. “ I can’t believe I won. I am really happy that my name was chosen. This is a really nice truck! Thank you to everyone at GROWMARK FS.”

Pictured above is the Chevy Silverado truck awarded to Brian Bahnck, GROWMARK FS customer. (Left to right): Duane Orr, GROWMARK FS territory seed manager; Esmond Crooke, GROWMARK FS salesperson; Nicole Bishop; Bahnck; Steve Buckalew, GROWMARK vice president, Eastern retail operations; and Larry Milton, Chevrolet sales rep.

In addition to the Grand Prize, the contest also featured two first place prizes of a 20/20 Seed Sense Planting Monitor system. These award winners were recently presented with their prizes at an awards day at the Curryville GROWMARK FS facility near Martinsburg, Penn. Richard Howells of Roaring Springs, Penn. and David Hernley of New Paris, Penn. were the winners of these monitors. The Seed Sense Monitors are designed to give better and more information than the sanitized population monitors in use on most farms today. This monitor lets you actively manage your planter and make adjustments to make your planting better. “We are pleased to give these gentlemen the latest technology in planting monitors,” said Marty Dunton, GROWMARK FS seed business manager. “With the information received from these monitors, they will have the chance to make changes to their planters that will help them establish the best seed placement and stand possible.” Howells and Hernley were both excited to receive the monitors which were presented by GROWMARK FS salesmen Ed Kreider and Dave Stolz; Bill Brown, manager of GROWMARK FS in Curryville; and Ralph Horchler, GROWMARK FS Seed Division territory sales manager.

Pictured at right are the winners of the 20/20 Seed Sense planting monitors. (Left to right): Gerald Clark; Bill Brown, GROWMARK FS Curryville, Penn. manager; Richard Howells, prize winner; David Hernley, prize winner; Ralph Horchler, GROWMARK FS territory sales manager; Dave Stolz, GROWMARK FS salesperson; and Ed Kreider, GROWMARK FS salesperson.

The final prize of the GROWMARK FS Stack Up and Order Up Seed Sweepstakes was awarded to David Kerschner of New Tripoli, Penn. Kerschner received 12 free units of FS Brand VT Triple™ Corn and 12 free units of Dekalb Brand VT Triple™ Corn from GROWMARK FS. Like the other winners, Kerschner, a customer of GROWMARK FS in Leesport, Penn., was thankful to be chosen as a seed sweepstakes winner. “It is really an honor to be chosen. I did not know if I should believe it when I was first contacted,” Kerschner said. “I called Gary Snyder (GROWMARK FS salesperson) to find out if it was true.”

At left is the winner of 24 units of FS and Dekalb brand seed corn. (Left to right): Randy Weyer, GROWMARK FS manager; Tim Kleinsmith, GROWMARK FS facility manager; Chris Young, GROWMARK FS territory sales manager; Lisa Rice, GROWMARK FS Leesport facility; Eugene Pieja; David Kerschner, prize winner; Gary Snyder, GROWMARK FS salesperson; and Eric Turner (kneeling).

Snyder said, “David has been a very good customer of GROWMARK FS and me for years. I am very happy he won this prize. It is nice to have one of my customers chosen as a winner.”

The GROWMARK FS Stack Up and Order Up Seed Sweepstakes contest was designed to promote the technology available from GROWMARK FS in its FS brand corn and HiSOY soybeans as well as the Monsanto brands – Dekalb and Asgrow – which FS markets as well as the planting technology of the Precision 20/20 Seed Sense Monitor which FS distributes throughout its territory. “This contest gives us a chance to showcase the ever advancing technology in seed as well as important agronomically related technology that will help our customers grow better crops,” said Dunton. “We want to be the best supply partner with each of our customers, and these are tools that can help us achieve that goal.”

GROWMARK, Inc., Illinois Farm Bureau, and IAA Credit Union Receive Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Certificates

GROWMARK, Inc., Illinois Farm Bureau, and the IAA Credit Union joined their affiliated company COUNTRY Financial in displaying their support of their employees in the National Guard and Reserve by signing a Statement of Support for the National Guard and Reserve.
Colonel (ret.) Gene Blade and Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Reginald Bernard from the Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve presented Statement of Support certificates to company representatives Thursday, February 26 at 2:00 p.m. in a ceremony held at the IAA building.

The Statement of Support confirms these companies join other employers in pledging that:

• They fully recognize, honor and enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act (USERRA).


• Their managers and supervisors will have the tools they need to effectively manage those employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve.


• They will continually recognize and support our country’s service members and their families in peace, in crises and in war.

Supportive employers are critical to maintaining the strength and readiness of the nation’s National Guard and Reserve units. By meeting the Statement of Support criteria, these companies proudly recognize their Guard and Reserve employees, who continue to answer their nation’s call to defend our way of life, and agree that their personal sacrifices are essential to the strength of our nation.

These companies join a cadre of Fortune 500 companies, state and federal agencies and thousands of America’s employers in demonstrating support for our armed forces. By signing the Statement of Support, they send a clear message to their employees that, while they are serving their country, they do not have to worry about their civilian jobs.

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972. The mission of ESGR is to gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law, and resolving conflicts through mediation. ESGR volunteers provide free education, consultation, and if necessary mediation for employers of Guard and Reserve employees. More information about ESGR Employer Outreach Programs and volunteer opportunities is available at http://www.esgr.org/

GROWMARK Senior Vice President of Finance Jeff Solberg (center) accepts the Employer Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve from Ret. Lieutenant Colonel Reginald Bernard (left) and Ret. Colonel Gene Blade (right).

GROWMARK Vice Chairman Rick Nelson Named Master Farmer

This post and photos courtesy of Josh Flint, associate editor, Prairie Farmer magazine.

Rick Nelson is one of those folks you could call a “details” guy. He likes learning the intricacies of everything from option strategies to computer spreadsheets to planter row units. He monitors every farm expense three different ways. And he pays attention to the details of cultivating relationships with family, friends and business associates.

That very attention to the finer points of his farm and his life has earned Rick the designation of Master Farmer in 2009. The Paxton farmer began farming with his father shortly after graduating from the University of Illinois in 1974.

Today, Rick farms 2,100 acres in rural Ford County. He relies on some part-time help, and now enjoys working with his son, Mike, who recently returned full-time to the farm. His wife, Pat, helps with bookwork and, as Rick says, “keeps the wheels turning.”

In addition to the farming operation, Rick runs an elevated scraper and a backhoe for building dams, berms, waterways, channels and basins. He strip tills about 60% of his corn and no-tills 60% of his beans. He added Trimble’s RTK autoguidance system this past fall, making it possible to accurately match his fall strip building and spring planting.

Off the farm, Rick serves as vice chair of the GROWMARK Board of Directors, as treasurer of Heritage FS and as president of Ludlow Cooperative Elevator. He also formed the East Central Illinois Cooperative Association to promote the benefits of cooperatives to young farmers.

A member of the local Gideons and of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Paxton, Rick has served in various deacon and board positions. He’s heavily involved in worship music and has taught Sunday School for the past decade. Rick and Pat have two sons, Chris and his wife, Sharon, and Mike and his wife Amanda.

GROWMARK Employees Recognized by NCFC

Fourteen GROWMARK employees were recognized at the 2009 National Council of Farmer Cooperatives’ (NCFC) Information Fair, a communications contest that recognizes excellence in the publications, member relations, and marketing products of farmer cooperatives.

Earning first place honors were Jenny Haycraft, marketing communications specialist, for the 2009 Crop Protection Product brochure; Dorothy Ahlenius, corporate communications and marketing services administrative assistant, and Amy Bradford, corporate communications manager, for annual meeting promotional materials; and Karen Jones, publications and news specialist, for Spirit Online.

Second place honors were given to Bev Long, marketing communications manager, Rob Huston, manager, AgriVisor, LLC, and Paula McGowan, assistant market analyst, AgriVisor, LLC, for the AgriVisor, LLC 35th Anniversary and New Product e-mail; Jeff Bunting, weed science technical manager, Kevin Black, insect and plant disease technical manager, Howard Brown, manager, agronomy services, Lance Ruppert, crop protection marketing manager, Mark Thornsbrough, director, crop protection, and Long for the 2008 FS Crop Protection Handbook; Tiffany Loercher, graphic designer, and Jones for Spirit magazine; and Jones for multi-media presentation.

Huston, Long, and McGowan earned third place for the AgriVisor, LLC Major Product Line brochure and Haycraft earned third place for the FS Adjuvant Products 2009 brochure.

Honorable mention in the Annual Report category went to Jane White, creative design manager, Bradford, and Jones.

NCFC is a national association representing America's farmer cooperatives. There are nearly 3,000 farmer cooperatives across the U.S. whose members include a majority of our nation's more than 2 million farmers, ranchers and growers.

Spradlin Elected to TFI Board

Jim Spradlin, GROWMARK vice president, agronomy, was recently named to the board of directors of The Fertilizer Institute (TFI). He is one of 24 directors chosen nationwide to serve a one-year term.

TFI represents the nation's fertilizer industry. Producers, wholesalers, retailers, and trading firms which comprise its membership are served by a full-time Washington, D.C. staff in various legislative, educational, and technical areas as well as with information and public relations programs.

America's Heartland

GROWMARK, on behalf of the FS member cooperatives, is a sponsor of the America's Heartland program which airs on RFD-TV as well as local public television stations.

According to its website, the program's reporters and crews have brought in stories from all across America over its first four seasons. In 2005 the show opened with the line "America's heartland is more than a place; it's a state of mind," and more than 300 stories later, it's still proving true. Providing food, fuel, and fiber for America and the world is an act of passion on the part of farmers and ranchers big or small, mainstream or specialized.

Visit http://www.americasheartland.org/ for more information and showtimes in your area.

2009 Winter Outlook

MID-CO COMMODITIES recently held its Winter Outlook meeting for 2009 at the Doubletree Hotel in Bloomington, Ill.

Presenters included Bob Trimpe, MID-CO commodity risk consultant, provided the soybean outlook; Chuck Spencer from the Illinois Farm Bureau offered a governmental update; John Cripe, GROWMARK energy risk manager presented an energy update; Aaron Curtis, MID-CO commodity risk consultant, reviewed the wheat outlook; and Tim Abel, MID-CO commodity risk consultant provided the corn outlook.

More than 175 employees from across the GROWMARK System attended the event. MID-CO has hosted the Winter Outlook meeting for more than 20 years. They also hold a summer conference in August.