Are Mycotoxins and molds the same? What is a Mycotoxin versus Mold? Often these two terminologies get used interchangeably, and often considered the same. However, they are not the same. Mycotoxins are a secondary metabolite (or natural substance) produced by molds under stressed conditions. Scientists do not know how many mycotoxins may exist at this point, even though more than 500 different mycotoxins have identified. Mycotoxins can be found on many different types of forages and grains. The growth of mycotoxins on feedstuffs is typically promoted by heat and moisture. However, mycotoxins can be produced by other stress conditions like drought as well as late harvest due to wet weather.
Different mycotoxins cause different diseases and are different from each other. Diseases in animals caused by mycotoxins are called mycotoxicoses. Mycotoxicoses occur when one or more mycotoxin enters the body usually by consumption of contaminated feed. The illness in the animal is caused by actions of mycotoxins on the cells in the body and the immune system is not stimulated to fight off the mycotoxicosis. Mycotoxicoses are not contagious and do not spread from animal to animal with the herd or pen, however multiple animals are often affected due to the contaminated feeds.
Diseases directly caused by mold or fungal infections are called mycoses. Mycoses occur when a mold or fungi infect tissues of the body. Mycoses can be contagious, spreading from animal to animal. Molds begin to grow in the body or on the body after the infections are started. The animal’s immune system may be stimulated to fight of the infection of a mycoses. Ringworm and athlete’s foot are common mycoses.
Diagnosis of mycotoxicoses is typically difficult as mycotoxins rarely can be found in the tissues of the animals due to limited availability testing offered. Therefore, diagnosis depends heavily on testing the forages or grain, which collecting representative samples of the feeds are very important. Molds are often visible on the forages or grains and be a variety of colors. The color or level of mold does not reflect the type or level of mycotoxins. Mycotoxins can be present when molds are not visible. Mold counts do not equal mycotoxins. It is recommended to test grains and forages using a mycotoxin analytical test to identify mycotoxin species in your feedstuffs. By the time you can see mold growth, the nutritional value is compromised and most of the digestible nutrients are gone.
The most common mycotoxins are: aflatoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON) or vomitoxin, zearalenone, T-2 Toxin and fumonisin. Mycotoxins in high enough concentrations can cause reduced feed intake, poor performance and production, decreased immune function and increased susceptibility to diseases. If you have any further questions about mycotoxins or testing any forages and grains for mycotoxins, contact your local nutrition consultant or veterinarian.
Thank you and have a safe winter! Kristine Koepplin Livestock Nutrition Specialist New Salem & Elgin 701.866.2827
At the CHS Annual Meeting, attendees voted to award a $10,000 teacher grant from the CHS Foundation to Sioux Falls Career and Technical Education Academy in Sioux Falls, S.D.; $15,000 to Wyndmere High School in Wyndmere, N.D.; and $20,000 to Osseo-Fairchild School District in Osseo, Wis.
At the CHS Annual Meeting tonight, attendees voted to award a $20,000 first-place teacher grant from the CHS Foundation to Amelia Hayden, a first-year ag educator at Osseo-Fairchild High School. In honor of its 75-year anniversary, the foundation is awarding a total of $75,000 in grants for K-12 teachers to implement projects that will engage students in experiential agricultural education.
New Salem is handling corn! If you have not noticed, New Salem has a daily posted bid for corn… check it out. We bought some corn already, will be loading a train soon, and we look forward to handling more! The corn market is dominated by interior demand and exports are not likely to see any life until maybe sometime in first quarter of 2023. Without an active, consistent corn export market it has been difficult to maintain space.
Soybean exports are strong off the west coast. There was also export demand for soybeans in the Gulf, but with the low water levels on the Mississippi River causing barge tow and draft sizes to be limited, most of that business got shifted to the PNW. The shift created additional PNW soybean demand, but this displaced demand will move back to the Gulf as rains start to add run off to Mississippi River system. The U.S. soybean export program will start to wrap up in late December into January as the new crop Brazilian soybeans become available to the world market. Please make plans for marketing soybeans accordingly. If you have soybeans to move, please let us know so we can lock in a home and freight.
Minneapolis Spring Wheat futures are trading in a range of $9.06 on the bottom side to $10.00 on the top side. There were a couple of break out days to about $10.15 when Russia was stalling ships leaving Ukrainian ports with inspections taking 10-15 days. This little break out lasted as long as it took for the rhetoric and headlines to change. Export demand for spring wheat is okay but it is slowing down to close out the year. Domestic demand remains constant. However, railroads are struggling to place cars for domestic moves, and are running about 3.5 weeks late.
Keep an eye on the opportunities with new crop HTA’s. At the time of this writing, Minneapolis December 2023 is at $9.34; December 2023 corn $6.14; November 2023 soybeans $13.86.
We just finished our 2nd Annual Bale Decorating Contest! We would like to thank Mark and Judy Hoff for letting us borrow their straw bales. We would also like to thank all our participants; Dakota Community Bank and Trust, Amber Waves, Richardton Health Center, Suzy’s Stash, Stone Mill, RTHS Student Council, Stone Ag, Richardton Taylor Ambulance, and Sit-n-Bull Bar. We would like to congratulate our winning bale, decorated by Bartow Builders!
We are stocked up on high protein lick tubs for the winter, including NE-30’s and Hi-Pro 40’s. Don’t forget to bring back your empty lick tubs for $15 credit per tub! We are also approaching the liquid feed season. We offer Forager Pro 40 liquid in two options: regular and bio-mos. We are offering soil testing (weather pending). Contact us to get your soil tested. By getting your soil tested and analyzed, we can pinpoint your exact fertilizer needs. Speaking of fertilizer, prepay is now available for dry fertilizer!
As always, we thank you for your continued business! Shayna Dressler, Operations Supervisor
Hello again to everyone from all of us in the Petroleum Department. Winter is now upon us (11-9-22) and we are getting some freezing rain prior to the impending snow and wind that is forecasted.
Most of you that contracted your fuel ahead of the season last year experienced very nice savings. This year appears to be on the same track. The fuel markets are still in a backwardation (fuel much cheaper the further you go out into the year than the present price). For example, filling your tank today would be around 75 cents more per gallon than filling in the upcoming month of May. The spread has been as much as $1.15 in recent weeks. You can contact the Lemmon or Dickinson petroleum locations for contract pricing and availability. You can also call Savanna @ 701 260-6415 or Jared @ 701 701 260-5235 if you prefer.
The following is a breakdown of our Premium winter products and how they perform. There also is a blending chart for doing your own mix if you would rather go that way:
Our annual Lube Oil and Grease sale will run in conjunction with our Gift Card for Gallons sale starting November 1st. That means VERY BIG SAVINGS TO YOU!!! Some of the details of the sale are as follows:
Here is another chart showing the effects of the wind we encounter in our region and how it dramatically effects how the air feels outside:
Everyone in the Energy Department appreciates your past business and looks forward to serving your needs into the future.
CHS owners elected five of their peers to the CHS Board of Directors on Dec. 2, 2022. From left: Al Holm, Sleepy Eye, Minn.; Mark Farrell, Cross Plains, Wis.; Jerrad Stroh, Juniata, Neb.; Kevin Throener, Cogswell, N.D.; and Hal Clemensen, Aberdeen, S.D.
CHS owners elected five board members to three-year terms during the cooperative’s 2022 annual meeting held Dec. 1 and 2 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Hello, and “welcome home” SWG producers! Yes, it seems like we have been gone for months from our families and supper at home at the kitchen table. It was a fast-paced year for farming and ranching. We were late to the game and worked hard to get and stay caught up. It seemed that whatever you were doing, there were 10 other jobs waiting for you next.
It was a great hay crop year, and with the wheat harvest hot and dry, it made for nice quality wheat yields that we are all thankful for. The canola crops threw us a surprise. The stands looked great, but the heat took its toll on the yields. The fall row crops were up and down. Sunflowers did well, but the corn disappointed most producers. We worked to get the corn through an early hailstorm with the hopes it will come back. Then a later hail stripped the leaves, but it still produced cobs. Next was 2+ days of winds in excess of 75 mph and it took the ears right down to the ground. In the end, it was a loss for a lot of grain producers. Also, livestock producers lost feed they needed for their livestock. Thankfully though, there were some varieties that were able to tolerate those winds and, based on maturity, were able to survive and compensate for some of the losses.
As I’m writing about our 2022 crop year, it does not seem to let up! We are in November, a month that most producers look at as a time to catch up with fall projects. Yet there are 2 words I keep hearing: Colorado Low. It is like a bad poker game where you come out losing. This spring was enough to last 10 years, yet here we go, after those insane winds the past several weeks, we are already looking at our first snowstorm of the fall. We have all heard stories of farmers and ranchers experiencing this in the past. Now it is our turn. I hope and pray as you read this, the storm did not develop as the Weather Channel predicted.
As we move into the end of 2022, the good news is that cattle prices for calves are better. We are thankful for that. Unfortunately, crop input prices have not improved from last spring and, to add to that, the crops used up most of the plant nutrients. Be sure to take the time needed to study your fields. Reach out to your SWG agronomy department and sit down with your agronomist to determine what crops could do better in your soil types for the upcoming year. SWG can help you with all your plant nutrient needs for crop protection. Now is the time to get some of those inputs locked in. SWG also has experienced livestock specialists that can help producers with all their livestock needs for the upcoming winter and early calving season.
As we take time to look back at our 2022 season and look ahead to 2023, we need to be thankful for everyone that helped get the crops harvested and the cattle on green pastures with good hay waiting for winter feeding. Be vigilant to remain safe as you clean equipment for the year and move livestock home to corrals for the winter.
I hope all SWG producers can enjoy all the upcoming holidays: Thanksgiving, the NFR, Christmas, and the New Year. Seriously, the NFR is a special ‘holiday’ to a lot of our producers and their families! Enjoy the season with your loved ones, young & old. God’s best gifts: our parents, your spouse, your kids, and especially those grandbabies, are who make holiday memories priceless!
Be safe, healthy, and grateful and take care of each other!
We are in the month of November 2022 with this newsletter. We finalized fiscal year 2022, ending August 31, 2022, and now completed the first two months of fiscal year 2023. The wheat harvest finished for a while ago and the quality of the crop was just what we needed. The yields were good in most areas due to the mid-April moisture that carried through most of the growing season. The extreme drought conditions and heat we experienced thru the last years growing season looked like they were going to be repeated until that major weather event in April. In the areas that recieved a little more rain overall, the yields on all crops overall were very good. This shows what another ½ inch of rain can do. If you happened to be just a few miles either side of these small rain events, the results were probably a little different. Global grain supplies remain adequate despite all the turmoil created with the Russia/Ukraine conflict. Export demand is not as strong as expected coming out of the global pandemic from a year ago. Domestic demand is steady but easily covered with the supply available. The speculative markets are pushing futures higher, but the actual cash trade is well supplied at this point. COVID is still a thing, but it appears to be manageable in most cases. Due to the drought of last year, our grain handle for fiscal 2022 was down about 2 million bushels at the end of August 2022. We ended fiscal year 2022 with a handle of around 24.0 million bushels. In the grain markets, volatility will be a common occurrence, creating dramatic swings both directions.
The crop inputs continue to be considerably higher as they followed the grain markets higher. They still seem to have some strength as the supply chain is having problems with getting the right products to the right place at the right time. Who would have thought that the Mississippi River would hit historic low water levels in 2022? This event coupled with the ongoing labor disputes and threatened strikes with the Union Workers of the Class 1 railroads just add fuel to the disruption of the supply chain. A big concern influencing the fertilizer markets going forward is the cost of the raw ingredients, such as natural gas to make nitrogen, and the higher costs of everything related to making those products. There is a lot of talk around the labor shortages and the ongoing fatigue of the workforce as the aftermath of the pandemic which continues to limit improvement of the supply chain issues. As a result of the Russia/Ukraine conflict there is more concern of refined fuels and propane now getting into shorter supply situations both in our local region and globally.
As mentioned above, we have closed fiscal year 2022 (September 1, 2021, thru August 31, 2022). With all the circumstances considered, we will have to say this was a pretty good year. The input side of the business was off in volume due to the drought that persisted thru early spring and soil tests that did not call for much in terms of plant food, specifically nitrogen. The input side of the business contributed good margins to the overall business. The grain side of the business while declining in volume has provided good margins due to improved quality of the spring wheat crop. We did witness a bit of a shift in protein premiums as harvest started, which is something we have not had in several years. Protein for crop year 2022 was lower overall than prior years.
SWG ended fiscal year with a profit that was better than budget and was driven by all product areas contributing well and showing operational improvement. At this time, we anticipate the patronage paid on fiscal year 2022 business to be strong. We do not have final rates though, or how it will be handled in terms of qualified or non-qualified distribution. During fiscal year 2022 all age 70 requests were paid, and new age requests were processed as they were submitted. All estates continue to be paid as they are requested, and they are the priority during the fiscal year.
Feed sales decreased in volume because of the moisture, which created a nice crop of grass and hay this year. Watching the cattle sales at local auction barns recently would indicate that calves are moving to market and, so far, the prices are holding good values. It feels like the calves were marketed on time this year due to the good prices. Feed quality testing is still important in good years and in those years where the forage is just about anything that will make a bale. Any hay that is bought should always be checked for quality. Work with our nutrition people to get that in balance for the best use. Also check with your SWG Feed Salespeople for all of you animal health needs. It is that time of year when ranchers are weaning and backgrounding or weaning and selling calves. If you have a prescription from your vet that needs to be filled, we can accommodate that at all our locations that handle animal health products. Our ongoing partnership with West River Vet Clinic in Hettinger will continue to add value to these services. We will fill all VFD prescriptions at all our locations and have the training in place to maintain the necessary records to be in compliance. Let us know what you need, and we will do our best to make it available when you need it.
Related to safety, our ongoing plan is to do what we can to keep ahead of the ever-changing rules and regulations as well as continue with better training for our employees. Our goal is to create a safety culture that is good for both the company and our customers. Safety is something that we take must seriously and continually work on to get better. Safety at the farm level is something that should certainly not be taken for granted. Every year and every day we hear about a farmer that is trapped in a grain bin or caught in a PTO, so please pay attention, and take another few seconds to evaluate what you are doing and do it safely. Our customers are the most important piece of our business. We need to do what is right to keep our businesses open and active to serve the needs of our customers. During the busiest times of the year, it should be talked about and each of you should have a plan in place.
Another ongoing reminder related to equity retirement: Any requests for equity retirement either for age or estate require a form to be filled out. You can contact our main office and we can help you with the necessary forms to get this done. Also remember that the age requirement is currently at 70, so please plan and get the request submitted. Talk to your relatives, friends, and neighbors, so they are aware of the process. They simply need to call us, and we will check on the equity balance and see if it is eligible and send the necessary forms for the request.
The SWG Annual Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 15th at the New Salem Auditorium. We will host a meal at noon Central Time, with registration starting at 11:00 am Central Time and meeting to follow at 1:00 pm Central Time. This will be an in-person meeting, the same as last year in Dickinson ND. Please see the official notice elsewhere in this newsletter for more details.
In the past there has been some questions about how the votes for SWG are carried to the CHS Annual Meeting. At each of the local SWG annual meetings there is a resolution that is voted on by the membership to allow the votes for District 3 & 4 (ND & SD), to be carried by members of the SWG Producer Board. Every year we vote on this resolution a year in advance, and it allows all the votes from SWG to be carried into the CHS Annual Meeting by delegates from the local Producer Board. This year there will be an in person CHS Annual Meeting, in Minneapolis MN on December 1 – 2, 2022. We have delegates from the local Producer Board registered to carry the votes for SWG in both states.
Thank You for your continued support of the cooperative system, and for putting your trust in our people and our company. The success of your cooperative is not about any one person or event, but a true team effort. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, suggestions, or concerns.
Remember “Do it Safely by Choice”.
I will leave you with this quote:“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore to be happy”
Net Income of $1.7 Billion and Revenues of $47.8 Billion Exceed Previous Records
CHS Inc. reported net income of $1.7 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2022, compared to $554.0 million for fiscal year 2021.
Key financial drivers for fiscal year 2022 results include:
Consolidated revenues of $47.8 billion for fiscal year 2022 compared to $38.4 billion for fiscal year 2021, a year-over-year increase of 24%.
Refining margins in our Energy segment were higher and drove improved earnings due to the tightening global supply and demand landscape.
The CHS global grain and processing and wholesale agronomy businesses within our Ag segment benefited from strong global demand and increased margins.
Our equity method investments performed well, with increased CF Nitrogen earnings resulting from strong global demand for urea and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), coupled with decreased global supply.
“We appreciate the support of our member cooperatives and farmer-owners, which enabled us to deliver a substantial increase in earnings for the fiscal year, while also helping feed people around the world,” said Jay Debertin, president and CEO of CHS Inc. “Additionally, our employees demonstrated their dedication to helping our owners and customers succeed in a turbulent year for agriculture. As a result of these collective efforts, CHS intends to return $1 billion in cash patronage and equity redemptions to our member cooperatives and farmer-owners in fiscal year 2023, reflecting the company’s financial strength and demonstrating the value of cooperative ownership.
“We are proud of our role in the cooperative system. We will continue to make investments that strengthen rural America and help our farmer-owners and customers meet the growing demand for agricultural products. Our investments in infrastructure, supply chain capabilities, people and innovation are driving operational and efficiency gains throughout our expansive network,” Debertin added. “Although economic uncertainty, logistical challenges and inflationary pressures remain, CHS is well-positioned to maximize value for our member cooperatives and farmer-owners.”
Fiscal Year 2022 Business Segment Results
Fiscal year 2022 segment results are:
Energy
Pretax earnings of $616.6 million represent a $627.1 million increase versus the prior year and reflect:
Higher refining margins and increased discounts on heavy Canadian crude oil processed by our refineries contributed to a significant increase in our refined fuels business income; these increases were partially offset by higher renewable energy credit costs and higher natural gas costs, as well as lower margins in our propane business.
Ag
Pretax earnings of $657.6 million represent a $359.5 million increase versus the prior year and reflect:
Increased margins across all our Ag segment product categories, due to strong global market demand and global supply disruptions
Continued favorable markets for oilseed processing, which were bolstered by robust meal and oil demand
Increased revenues from feed and farm supplies, despite less favorable weather during spring planting and application season
Nitrogen Production
Pretax earnings of $478.0 million represent a $357.0 million increase versus the prior year and reflect:
Increased earnings from our strategic investment in CF Nitrogen, primarily due to market conditions and strong demand for urea and UAN, factors that were partially offset by higher natural gas costs
Corporate and Other
Pretax earnings of $57.9 million represent a $48.9 million decrease versus the prior year and reflect:
Lower earnings primarily from our Ventura Foods joint venture, which experienced less favorable market conditions for edible oils
CHS Inc. (www.chsinc.com) is a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy, agronomy, grains and foods, CHS is committed to creating connections to empower agriculture, helping its farmer-owners, customers and other stakeholders grow their businesses through its domestic and global operations. CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, seed, crop protection products, grain marketing services, production and agricultural services, animal nutrition products, foods and food ingredients, and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries and pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.
This document and other CHS Inc. publicly available documents contain, and CHS officers and representatives may from time to time make, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on CHS current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of its businesses, financial condition and results of operations, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of CHS control. CHS actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause CHS actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements are discussed or identified in CHS filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the “Risk Factors” discussion in Item 1A of CHS Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2022. These factors may include: changes in commodity prices; the impact of government policies, mandates, regulations and trade agreements; global and regional political, economic, legal and other risks of doing business globally; the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine; the impact of inflation; the impact of epidemics, pandemics, outbreaks of disease and other adverse public health developments, including COVID-19; the impact of market acceptance of alternatives to refined petroleum products; consolidation among our suppliers and customers; nonperformance by contractual counterparties; changes in federal income tax laws or our tax status; the impact of compliance or noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations; the impact of any governmental investigations; the impact of environmental liabilities and litigation; actual or perceived quality, safety or health risks associated with our products; the impact of seasonality; the effectiveness of our risk management strategies; business interruptions, casualty losses and supply chain issues; the impact of workforce factors; our funding needs and financing sources; financial institutions’ and other capital sources’ policies concerning energy-related businesses; uncertainty regarding the transition away from LIBOR and the replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate; technological improvements that decrease the demand for our agronomy and energy products; our ability to complete, integrate and benefit from acquisitions, strategic alliances, joint ventures, divestitures and other nonordinary course-of-business events; security breaches or other disruptions to our information technology systems or assets; the impact of our environmental, social and governance practices, including failures or delays in achieving our strategies or expectations related to climate change or other environmental matters; the impairment of long-lived assets; and other factors affecting our businesses generally. Any forward-looking statements made by CHS in this document are based only on information currently available to CHS and speak only as of the date on which the statement is made. CHS undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise except as required by applicable law.
As America’s largest farmer-owned cooperative, the cooperative model and the strength it brings to local communities is the backbone of CHS. Every October, that model is celebrated as part of National Co-op Month, which aims to spread awareness about the benefits of being part of the cooperative system and the important role cooperatives play in their communities.
