Helping Create CleanFARMS

This post and photos are courtesy of Janice Johnson, Ontario communications specialist.

For three days in late October, farmers were able to bring their obsolete pesticides, unused animal health products and used sharps (needles, syringes and scalpel blades) to a series of 16 collection sites across Ontario for safe and environmentally responsible disposal. There was no cost for this service to farmers and all organizations volunteered their time and labor to the success of the program.

FS hosted five drop off locations: GROWMARK’s Ontario Distribution Centre in Kitchener, North Wellington Co-operative Services in Harriston, Huron Bay Co-operative in Dundalk, Vineland Growers Co-operative in Jordon Station, Thunder Bay Co-operative Farm Supplies and Co-operative Regional de Nipissing Sudbury in Thornloe.

Jeff McCallum, communications and marketing specialist for North Wellington Co-operative Services in Harriston said farmers were very positive about the program and that almost half of the participants traveled more than 40 kilometers to get there, with the furthest coming from about 80 kilometers away.

From all accounts, the program at the FS locations was an overall success.

Dave Rogers, Dundalk branch manager for Huron Bay Co-operative reported an overwhelming response with the allocated canisters overflowing to almost filling a full trailer load.

"There was a much larger number of farmers in with obsolete crop protection products than ever projected,” Rogers said.

Scott Wright, Vineland Growers Co-operative purchasing manager and health and safety management co-chair said they didn’t expect a big response, but he was proven wrong.

“During the three days we received product from 101 farms, three other dealers and one government agency. In total we filled 16 totes, six barrels, 13 skids and five boxes of animal health. This could not have been accomplished without the help from several volunteers,” Wright said.

Ben Postuma, general manager of Thunder Bay Co-operative was impacted greatly.

“I commend the chemical companies for their efforts in this program and am totally impressed with the amount of clean up this created in the local area." he said.

Pesticide collection programs have been run in Canada by CropLife Canada since 1998 under the CleanFARMS banner. More than 270,000 kilograms of obsolete product have been collected in Ontario during previous collection campaigns in 2001 and 2005.

This program is co-ordinated by AGCare with financial support from CropLife Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Other project partners include Ontario Farm Animal Council, Canadian Animal Health Institute, Ontario Veterinary Medical Association and Ontario Agri Business Association. For more information, visit http://www.agcare.org/ or http://www.ofac.org/.

Frank Galfusz, GROWMARK Ontario Distribution Centre shift supervisor proudly displays the mass of collected obsolete products that he helped compile. The accumulation consisted of three boxes of animal health medication, a box of sharps and 20 skids and three drums of obsolete pesticides. “The oldest product collected was lead arsenic that had a Pesticide Control Products registration number of 19, which suggests that it was the 19th product registered with the Act in Canada,” Galfusz said.

Roxana Open House

An open house and customer appreciation event was held at Madison Service Company's Roxana, Ill. fuel terminal. Nearly 50 customers stopped by to tour the facility, purchase discounted fuel, and enter a drawing for FAST STOP gift cards.

The facility includes a 24-hour, unmanned FAST STOP Express fueling station, as well as 30,000 gallons of bulk fuel storage for both Madison Service Co. and GROWMARK. Distillate/biodiesel blends of B2, B5, B11, B20 or any blend in between are available. Fuels can also be additized with the proprietary FS Dieselex Gold performance enhancer, SURE-FLO cold flow improver and Premium Diesel Express additive.

Fueling the Cure

Information in this post was taken from a press release distributed about this program. Photos are courtesy of Betty Thornton, Heritage Cooperative.

Three Ohio cooperatives deployed pink propane delivery trucks this month in a unique partnership to support the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

"All of us have been affected by cancer in some way," said Eric Parthemore, Heritage Cooperative CEO. "We hope that Fueling the Cure propane delivery trucks can serve as a gentle reminder to people how important cancer research is for all Ohio families and encourage our customers, employees, and communities to join us in giving."

Heritage Cooperative employees pose beside a pink propane truck at the kick-off event for "Fueling the Cure." From left to right: Ray Etgen, energy manager; Jamie Conley, propane driver/sales representative; Cathie Olejniczak, energy coordinator; Eric Parthemore, CEO; John Dunbar, COO; and Keith Bailey, energy specialist.

Each of three cooperatives - United Landmark, London, Ohio; Southwest Landmark, Xenia, Ohio; and Heritage Cooperative, West Mansfield, Ohio - has committed to make a minimum of $10,000 corporate donation to the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research by October 2010. In most cases, the amount will be based on a donation of $1 per delivery stop from October 2009-October 2010. In addition, the cooperatives have set a goal to raise $5,000 in donations by employees and customers during the year-long campaign and help The James establish 50 new donor-benefactor relationships.

Jamie Conley (left) and Eric Parthemore at the kick-off event. Conley is the only female propane driver/sales representative among the three sponsoring cooperatives. She will drive the Fueling the Cure truck for Heritage Cooperative, in memory of her mother-in-law and in honor of her sister and several customers who are breast cancer survivors.

Each cooperative is donating in-kind use of a brand new pink propane delivery truck to serve as a roving billboard for the campaign. Each of the cooperatives' other delivery trucks will have a Fueling the Cure decal on the truck tank or door.

The campaign website at http://www.fuelingthecure.org/ will track donations with a fuel gauge that will be updated at least monthly.

Proud Ohio State fans create the "Block O" at the kick off ceremony. From left to right: Eric Parthemore; E. Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University; John Dunbar; and Thad Dixon, propane manager of United Landmark.

Menard Terminal Open House

GROWMARK Energy Division hosted an open house at the Menard Terminal near Petersburg, Ill. on October 7. Nearly 50 member cooperative employees, vendors, and industry leaders attended the event.

The facility was purchased in August 2008, and offers storage for more than 10 million gallons of gasoline, disesl fuel, ethanol, and biodiesel. Custom biodiesel blends are made with a state-of-the-art ratio blending system. Member cooperatives and other customers within a 100-mile radius are served by this facility.

GROWMARK Names Scholarship Winners

Thirty-eight college students from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin will be able to continue their education with help from the regional agricultural supply cooperative, GROWMARK.

They are recipients of GROWMARK-sponsored scholarships aimed at promoting higher education in agriculture and business.

“GROWMARK invests more than $47,500 annually on scholarships. We’re investing today for a return tomorrow,” says Steve German, GROWMARK university relations and member employment manager. “There’s a need for agriculture businesses to support formal education to strengthen agriculture.”

GROWMARK has been supporting college students with scholarships since the early 1960s. Today, they are awarded to students majoring in agriculture or accounting at 15 universities and colleges. Each educational institution is responsible for the selection process and awarding scholarships. University scholarship recipients are honored each year at the GROWMARK Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Students receiving scholarships are listed below:


Dordt College
Rachel Gorter, daughter of Harold and Ruth Gorter of Otley, Iowa, is majoring in plant science.

Illinois College
Heather Miller, daughter of Robert and Kathi Miller of Bloomington, Ill., is majoring in communications and political science.

Illinois State University
Tyler Lyons, son of Steve and Sandy Lyons of Sidell, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness and animal science.
Calahan Mallaney, son of James and Rosemary Mallaney of Kankakee, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness.
Katie Miller, daughter of Tim and Becky Miller of Morton, Ill., is majoring in finance and accounting.
Heather Pierson, daughter of Dale and Tina Pierson of Elburn, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness.
Sarah Siefker, daughter of Darrell and Susan Siefker of Monee, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness and animal industry management.

Illinois Wesleyan University
Sarah Micale, daughter of Col. Peter and Diane Micale of Minot AFB, N.D., is majoring in accounting.

Iowa State University
Jess Cavin, son of Mark and Diane Cavin of Sigourney, Iowa, is majoring in agribusiness.
Josh Henik, son of John and Jan Henik of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, is majoring in agronomy.
Kaylee Keppy, daughter of Loren and Jeantee Keppy of Durant, Iowa, is majoring in animal science.
Sarah Pakala, daughter of Lynn and Gayl Pakala of Dike, Iowa, is majoring in agricultural studies.
Kimberly Peterson, daughter of Lloyd and Nancy Peterson of Cleghorn, Iowa, is majoring in agricultural business.
Kiley Swanson, son of Charles and Judy Swanson of Dayton, Iowa, is majoring in agricultural systems technology.

Murray State University
Jordan Timberlake, daughter of Ed and Dolores Timberlake of Mt. Carmel, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness.

Northwest Missouri State University
Brian Coleman, son of Ben and Nancy Coleman of Callao, Mo., is majoring in agriculture business.
Justin Findley, son of Rick and Judy Findley of New Hampton, Mo., is majoring in agronomy.
Sarah Meissen, daughter of Charles and Nancy Meissen of Bethany, Mo., is majoring in agribusiness and animal science.

Pennsylvania State University
Ben Kratzer, son of James and Doris Kratzer of Port Trevorton, Penn., is majoring in agricultural systems management.
Kristina McAllister, daughter of Wesley and Paula McAllister of Petersburg, Penn., is majoring in animal sciences.

Purdue University
Kimberly Donaldson, daughter of Paul and Kathie Donaldson of Kentland, Ind., is majoring in agronomic business and marketing.

Southern Illinois University
Leslie Frost, daughter of Terry and Sandy Frost of Louisville, Ill., is majoring in plant and soil science.
Mary Kate Huebener, daughter of William and Gayle Huebener of Brighton, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness economics accounting.
Sarah Jo Timmons, daughter of Randall and Rhonda Timmons of Seneca, Ill., is majoring in agricultural systems.
Kristen Woods, daughter of Paul and Laura Woods of Newton, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness economics.

University of Illinois
Mitch Heisler, son of Mike and Diane Heisler of Warsaw, Ill., is majoring in agricultural and consumer economics. He is the recipient of the Herndon Scholarship, established to honor Fred E. Herndon, president of a GROWMARK predecessor company from 1931-1959.
Chelsi Rhodes, daughter of Lonnie and Kristy Rhodes of Thomasboro, Ill., is majoring in agri-accounting.
Mark Smith, son of Roger and Carol Smith of Earlville, Ill., is majoring in crop sciences.
Dorothy Spencer, daughter of Brad and Prudence Spencer of Yale, Ill., is majoring in agricultural communications.
Adam Tallcott, son of Wayne and Deb Tallcott of Mendon, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness markets and management. He is the recipient of the Jonathan Baldwin Turner Scholarship. GROWMARK sponsors the scholarship to honor Melvin E. Sims, president of GROWMARK, Inc. from 1959-1980.

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Sheri Nelson, daughter of Ben and Cindey Nelson of East Troy, Wis., is majoring in life science communications.

University of Wisconsin – Platteville
Carlee Bocker, daughter of Terry and Vicki Bocker of Lanark, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness.
Curtis Goeke, son of David and Valerie Goeke of Dakota, Ill., is majoring in agricultural business.
Drew Nesemeier, son of John and Jan Nesemeier of Milledgeville, Ill., is majoring in soil and crop science.

University of Wisconsin – River Falls
Tyler Anderson, son of Richard and Marlys Anderson of Oronoco, Minn., is majoring in agribusiness.

Western Illinois University
Jake Bonnell, son of Jan and the late Jeff Bonnell of Amboy, Ill., is majoring in agricultural business.
Rachel Knisley
Bryan Schullian, son of Dan and Beth Schullian of Quincy, Ill., is majoring in agriculture education.

Cripe named director, MID-CO COMMODITIES

John Cripe has been named director, MID-CO COMMODITIES, effective Sept. 15, 2009. He replaces Louis Blank who retired with 31 years of service.

A graduate of Purdue University, Cripe worked for Continental Grain before joining MID-CO in 1983. In 1994 he transferred to GROWMARK’s Energy Division, and in 2002 was named manager, energy risk management.

Cripe and his wife Laura live in Downs, Ill. and have three children.

Fertilizer Storage Deal to Bolster Southern Illinois Availability

GROWMARK, Inc. announced an agreement with Lange-Stegmann to lease exclusive space in St. Louis to store and distribute fertilizer products.

The agreement is designed to ensure a reliable supply of fertilizer products throughout southern Illinois, according to Rod Wells, GROWMARK director, agronomy sales and operations. “This agreement will give our customers confidence that they will have access to the fertilizer products they need, when they need them,” he said.

The Lange-Stegmann facilities are uniquely positioned with access via road, rail, or river. “We will have access to all modes of transportation and will take advantage of the best method to get product to those who need it,” he said.