Manager’s comments

by Craig Mans
       The 100-degree days should be behind us this year! Unfortunately, the damage has been done. We were fortunate to get some timely rains to make wheat harvest about average and moisture was good at spring planting time. We have had some parts of our territory receive much needed moisture, but down Highway 24 things are pretty rough. Some corn has already been chopped and insurance claims filed. We will have very little grain on the ground, but that is a problem I wish we had.
Our Portis grain bin should be completed in time for fall harvest. This McPherson concrete tank will hold 362,000 bushels and push our total licensed grain storage to over 14.5 million bushels. We will be adding additional dry fertilizer storage at Burr Oak and a seed plant at Luray in the coming months. We are 5 months into our fiscal year (ends March 31), and | am happy to report we are having another good year. Earnings are right on pace with last year. The strength of our regional cooperatives will once again benefit our members. The patronage that we receive from them goes directly to our earnings which are then passed on to you. This includes companies like AGP, CHS, and Land O’Lakes among others.
     Since our last newsletter, patronage checks went out in the middle of June and totaled over $4.3 million in cash. The total patronage allocation was $8.6 million with 50% paid out in cash and the other 50% was added to your Midway Coop Equity. We are proud to be able to return patronage back to our members. Cooperative law says at least 20% of patronage must be paid out in cash, but the board of
directors has pushed to get more cash back to its members.
Like almost every industry in the country, we are currently looking for additional employees.  Midway is fortunate to have such a great employee group that carried us through a busy spring season. I appreciate their commitment to getting the job done and taking care of our producers. We are working to plug in more technology to benefit us and our members and to relieve some pressure on our employee group.
     We are major contributors in our communities and one way we show that is through the county fairs. This year we once again supported our local county fair premium auctions with over $40,000! Our last 5 years amount to just under $200,000 in fair premiums. We will continue to manage Midway Coop as efficiently as possible, offer the services that you need and return money back to you in the form of patronage. Thank you for your business and have a safe harvest.

Agronomy

by Ron Reneberg
     Looking back at Old Articles I’ve written | ran across one that fits today scenario too close for comfort....... “As | write this newsletter article what seems to come to mind is the word Resiliency. That is the ability to bounce back after adversity. Being a life-long local farm community resident of North Central Kansas this is something I’ve grow accustomed to seeing from our Patrons. Their ability to look adversity in the eye, evaluate their options and move 
forward”. Once again, we need to find this resiliency in our farm management practices due to the extreme heat and droughty conditions and move forward. Midway Agronomy department is positioned well to help you do this with our highly trained Sales Staff, experienced Location Managers, New facilities & Rolling stock along with properly positioned and priced inventories.
Fertilizer prices have taken a big reset from this past winter’s extreme highs. Nitrogen products lead the way down but with the drought this summer very little supplier inventory has been built. Uncertainties for next season’s crop planting acreage’s is keeping everything at a stand-still for now. All eyes are on this fall harvest yields and weather..... What to plant is more of a painstaking process than usual because of all the World/Political turmoil. Because all Nitrogen’s start production as Anhydrous Ammonia all other Nitrogen products (UAN, Urea etc.) are affected by these price swings. Will the corn acres this fall demand traditional Ammonia needs is a big question on manufactures minds today? As we move forward, it will be important to communicate your cropping intentions to your branch Managers so they can internally forecast your needs ahead of time to secure product supply. This close communication on your needs is vital to the supply change to ensure you will have product available and priced correctly when you need it. In closing, | want to thank each and every one of our customers for their continued support of Midway Coop, Inc. and its Employees. It is because of you that we are able to supply your Agronomic supply needs when you need them, with up-to-date equipment and expertise. Have a SAFE fall drilling and harvest season.
 

Grain Department 

By: Cullen Riner
    Once again thank you to all our patrons for making the2022 wheat harvest a very successful one. We had a good harvest. Midway Co-op had total receipts of over 3.2 million bushels this year. At this time, we have purchased 50% of the crop. Yields in most areas were down from a year ago, but better than anticipated after a dry spring. Although, we have seen the wheat price fall since June prices remain at solid values. With wheat harvest over, and most of the summer gone, it is time to plan for the fall harvest. Due to the hot temperatures and lack of rain in most our territory it looks like yields will be less compared to a year ago. Some areas are certainly more stressed than others. We finished picking up the last of our grain that was on the ground in our bunkers at Lebanon in July. With the room we are making by shipping out grain, we are positioned to handle this fall’s crop with minimal amounts of bushels being piled on the ground. Hopefully, much needed rain finds our territory to relieve some of the stress our crops are under. We are looking forward to what this fall will bring and hopefully harvest will be better than we are anticipating. 
    If you have grain stored on the farm and are looking to sell, please give us a call for a bid. You can contact any of our locations or the General Office at 785-346-5451. We will be glad to help you market this grain. Thank you for your loyalty to Midway Coop. As you are getting your fields ready for wheat planting, please take advantage of our seed cleaning and treating plants at Portis and Lebanon. They will clean your seed and can also apply fungicide, insecticide, and a growth promoter
to help you achieve the best results for your farming operation. This in turn will add to your bottom line. Give them a call and they will answer any questions that you may have and be happy to schedule an appointment for you, be sure to ask them about their bundling program.
    Here are the telephone numbers for each location: Portis 785-346-2021 and Lebanon 785-389-5311
 

Seed Wheat Treatments

Insuring a Costly Input
by Jeff Hammer
 
    Wheat treating and cleaning time is upon us, and Seed Wheat will not be a low-cost input in 2022. The commodity price of wheat has created record high certified seed costs, therefore whether you have new seed or saved seed, the cost of seeding double-crop acres will be as close to fall crop seed cost as we’ve ever seen. Consider that if you are talking about new certified seed drilled at 2 bu./ac., seed alone is near $50/ac. this year.
    We get a few reports of Smut every year and the highest amounts always come from untreated wheat. Also, smut can survive in the soil, and infects the newly emerging coleoptile, so even if you buy new seed wheat and place it on a field that has smut in soil, you could still end up with the disease.
    Head Scab has had some history here in the past, and with some stressed corn that may be chopped for silage or picked early, those acres seeded back to wheat will be of primary concern. Scab can occur even with a seed applied treatment because infection occurs at pollination. However, if you have some scab in your seed wheat the disease level will always be worse in untreated seed. When you couple these pathogens with the defense against Pythium-borne diseases, including Septoria; saving $2-3/ac simply isn’t worth the risk of having rejected wheat loads at harvest time plus treated wheat simply yields better. Midway Co-op’s cleaning locations at Portis and Lebanon will be applying Warden Cereals II at 2.8 oz/cwt which has a 3rd added mode of action Sedaxane to an already outstanding wheat treatment.
    Another topic I wanted to address is the benefits of seed-applied insecticides which the Midway Co-op’s cleaning facilities at Portis & Lebanon can custom apply. The #1 reason to apply insecticide is the increasing pressure from Barely Yellow Dwarf Virus which can be suppressed by keeping aphid numbers down. With only around 4% of the aphid population that vectors the disease, if you can keep the numbers down it will help suppress the disease. Insecticides also control wireworms and have systemic activity on grasshoppers, not to mention there is an added vigor effect from /midacloprid. Bayer Crop Science did a 5-yr trial at different sites with Gaucho Insecticide and had a 4.4 bu/ac average response. Also, growers should consider an insecticide to slow down grasshopper feeding this fall on emerging wheat, especially on no-till continuous acres. We get systemic activity for 21-28 days and with grasshopper pressure likely until middle October, early planted wheat may be subject to damage as the grasshoppers move out of other senescing crops.
Midway Co-op’s Portis & Lebanon Cleaning facilities can custom apply Resonate (generic gaucho) Insecticide at a rate of 1.0 oz/bushel. This is 2X the minimum rate for aphid suppression. Be sure to compare rates when comparing prices. We can also apply insecticide & fungicide through our bulk facility at Lebanon on newly purchased seed wheat & with our portable treater at other locations.
I want to also remind growers of Ascend Growth Regulator. Ascend is a 3-way blend of Kinetins, Gibberellic Acid, & Indole butyric Acid. These growth regulators promote cell division and differentiation resulting in earlier stand establishment. The biggest benefits come below the ground where root growth will be enhanced giving us more ability to buffer moisture stress in the fall and early spring. Growth regulators can help get the seedlings out of the ground quicker and more uniformly.                    
Wheat potential yield is established early in the growing season by virtue of stand and tillers. Protect your potential by protecting and feeding your seed! For more information on Warden Cereals, Resonate, and Ascend: Call Jeff (785-346-6487); Brian (785-346-6668); Joe (785-345-3330); Wyatt (785-282-4165); or Tanner (785-412-0165). For cleaning scheduling contact: @Portis (785-346-2021) @Lebanon (785-389-5311). Thanks for your business.
 

Pre-emerge Wheat Spraying

by Brian Mans
 
    It is hard to believe that another summer has almost come and gone. Like every fall, it is time to make the final burndown for acres going to wheat. Many growers are already applying a residual product when making that final burndown application, but I thought I would discuss a couple options for residual that we have had really good luck with. Conventional till growers also may want to consider spraying right ahead of drill instead of cultivating if your ground is in good shape. Spraying instead of cultivating will save some moisture as well as helping speed up the drilling process. Olympus and Finesse are both good options that will meet the needs of most acres.
Finesse is an option that we have had for quite a long time, but continues to do an excellent job. It also provides some burndown activity itself on some of the smaller broadleaves that are emerged. Pre-emerge rate is .5 oz; it will give you a little bit of cheat suppression and do a good job controlling broadleaves. Finesse pre-emerge is also going to give you very good control on buckwheat. However, if you know cheat is going to be a problem, Finesse is not going to be the answer. Another benefit is rotation restrictions of Finesse. Sorghum has a 4-month restriction following Finesse, so if we do get a hailstorm or other disaster you have another option besides STS soybeans.
Olympus is also a very good option; .6 oz is the pre-emerge rate compared to .9 oz post emerge. It is going to give you good control of cheat and downy brome in the fall. Olympus does not have the burndown activity on broadleaves that Finesse has, but it does have good pre-emerge broadleaf activity.
    Olympus also has some flexibility, if you do have another flush of cheat or downy brome emerge in the spring you can come back in with another .6 oz of Olympus. Fall applied Olympus also has a rotation restriction benefit. Corn is labeled 18 months following Olympus. So, if you get Olympus on in the fall you could go to corn the spring following wheat harvest, whereas if you wait to spring then you cannot plant corn the following spring.
    Having your herbicide on allows you to consider more options for applying your nitrogen as well. If your herbicide is already applied, it allows a larger window for either a liquid fertilizer top dress application, or allows you to meet all your nitrogen needs with dry fertilizer in the winter months if you would like. However, with any pre-emerge product, it is important to apply these close to planting, applying these herbicides several weeks ahead of wheat drilling makes them less likely to be successful. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your local branch manager or agronomist.
 

Preventing Wheat Diseases

by Joseph Princ
 
    It’s hard to believe that summer is ending. Before we know it, we will be putting wheat in the ground. That being said I want to talk a little bit about preventing some diseases caused by insects in volunteer wheat. As we know, volunteer harbors insects that can cause yield destroying diseases like wheat streak mosaic and barley yellow dwarf. Getting rid of volunteer wheat is the best way to prevent these yield destroying diseases. With the rains most of our area has received recently we can expect a large flush of volunteer wheat.
Wheat streak mosaic is a virus carried by the wheat curl mite. These mites can also have other grasses as a host, as I saw some move out of pasture ground into wheat fields but in most cases, they can be linked to volunteer. [Early fall infestations in a wheat crop can cause yellowing mosaic striped leaves and stunting. This can add up to 50% reduction in yield.
Barley yellow dwarf is another disease that is often times confused with wheat streak as it has similar symptoms. BYD is spread by several different aphids but the most common being oat bird-cherry aphid and corn leaf aphid. The aphids spread the disease by eating on infected plants and carrying it to other wheat. Barley yellow dwarf is characterized by yellow to purple colored, stunted plants grouped in small patches. The best way to manage for BYD is planting varieties with known tolerances and delaying planting until after aphid populations decline.
     The first step in preventing these diseases is controlling volunteer wheat. If using glyphosate to control volunteer wheat is your method, you need to considered the fact that the plants need to be completely dead for 2 weeks prior to planting those fields or fields in close proximity. This means that fields need to be sprayed at least 3 weeks in advance to give time for the chemical to work and the insects to move on. If we receive some moisture in the next couple of weeks we will want to be sure to watch for volunteer germinating so we can get those fields cleaned up to help minimize the spread of these diseases.
     The next step in prevention is planting later. I know that fall is a busy time and there are lots of crops to be harvested, but waiting till the hessian fly free date for your area is a good rule of thumb to go by. I receive questions about using an insecticide seed treatment to control these virus spreading insects. Seed applied insecticides help prevent Barley Yellow Dwarf from becoming widespread but keep in mind the aphids must feed on the wheat to ingest the insecticide so minimal damage can occur. As far as controlling wheat curl mites, insecticides are ineffective. If you have any questions give your agronomist a call.
 

Petroleum Department

by Terry Zvolanek
FALL 2022
    School has started and football season is upon us so let the tailgating begin. Eat well and stay safe by following these important grilling safety tips. Please read and share these safety rules with your family to keep everyone safe and to reduce the risk of serious and potentially fatal injury, fire, or explosion.
• Always open the grill before lighting the grill
• Always transport and store a cylinder in a secure and upright position so it will not fall, shift, or roll
• Always place the cylinder in a well-ventilated area of the vehicle
• Always close the cylinder valve when not in use
• Always proceed directly to your destination and immediately remove the cylinder from your vehicle
• Never keep a filled cylinder inside a hot vehicle or transport it inside a closed trunk
• Never store or place a propane cylinder indoors or in an enclosed area such as a basement, garage,
shed, or tent
• Never store or place a spare cylinder under or near a barbeque grill
• Never store or place a propane cylinder in an area of excessive heat (120 degrees or more) or near
a stove, fireplace or other heat source. The heat builds up pressure inside the cylinder, which may
cause the pressure relief valve to release propane. Flash fires or explosions can result from exposing
cylinders to excessive heat or an open flame
• Never under any circumstances try to modify or repair valves, regulators, or other cylinder or appliance parts
• Never use a damaged cylinder or a cylinder that has been in a fire. All cylinders must be inspected before they can be refilled

The Feed Mill

By Dean Heise
    Nitrates are a major concern with the dry conditions that have been occurring in much of the area. Corn, feed cane, milo, weeds and more can all have high nitrate levels that we need to watch out for. The more stubble you can leave will make a huge difference in nitrate levels. We did a test cut on some feed and the 4” cut height had 2x more nitrates as the 8” cut height. The extra 4” of stalk is not going to give you that much extra feed to compensate for having to dilute the high nitrate levels with other feedstuffs so it is useable. Putting it up for silage will help reduce the levels by usually 50%. If we get a rain, wait 5-7 days to allow photosynthesis to utilize the nitrogen that is pulled from the soil.
    Weaning a little early will help alleviate some pressure on the thin dry pastures and let the cow herd get in better shape before winter sets in as well as allow time to get calves started on feed before harvest hits. We have seen less stress and sickness in earlier weaned calves the last several years than calves weaned later in the fall when temperatures fluctuate more. If you are going to feed them, get them off to a good start with our Inbounding complete receiving feed or Jumpstart Stress Mineral. These are both non-medicated so you don’t need to get a VFD from the Vet to use them. Using either of these for the first week before switching to your own grain mix, getting the essential vitamins and chelated minerals into the calves to help boost their immune system pays huge dividends. Receiver tubs are getting more attention as they will stimulate saliva production to help buffer the rumen and provide added sugars for energy and better microbe function in the rumen.
    Protein and energy requirements of the cows and calves will not be met as the pasture grasses are getting shorter and more dried out. With varying forage qualities and quantities in pastures, supplementation on grass will allow you to leave livestock in pastures longer to use more of the available forage. Creep feeding will help alleviate some of the pressure from the cows, we have bulk creep pellets in stock or we can customize a creep feed to match your needs. Creep feeding will also help in the transition of weaning and getting them started on feed. Another way of supplementing
the cows can be supplied with cubes, low-consumption protein lick tubs, or any number of commodity by- products. We stock consistent consumption CTI cooked protein tubs as well as the VITALIX line at Bellaire and can special order VITA-FERM’s line of products also.            Give us a call and let us help you find the right supplementation program to fit your operation.
Many are getting a VFD for anaplasmosis to make sure that the cow herds are cleaned up before going into the fall/winter. If your cows are not slicking up and looking like they should or if they are not handling the summertime heat, anaplas may be part of the problem.
Flies are still causing issues for a lot of producers. We are having very good results with the addition of garlic to minerals and supplements for face fly suppression. Garlic will not kill them, it only stinks bad enough to repel them from the eyes of treated livestock.
     Don’t forget that October is the next mineral promo month. During that month, for every 12 bags of range mineral you buy — YOU GET 1 BAG FREE.
 

Financing and Crop Insurance Updates

By Eric Mans
     With the 2022 wheat harvest in the books and row crop harvest quickly approaching its already time to start preparing for the 2023 crop. Midway once again offers our CFA crop input financing program along with Winfield’s Secure financing program. So far in 2022 the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 2.25% with more rate hikes possible, and both CFA and Secure offer low-rate financing and an easy application process. Due to the increased interest expense Midway is offering to buy down the CFA rate an extra 1.00% to producers who are approved for 2023 crop input notes before December 31, 2022. For more information on CFA and Secure or to apply contact your local fieldman or myself.
    On the crop insurance side for the 2022 wheat crop producer’s base insurance price was $7.08 with the harvest price being $10.88 therefore improving our revenue guaranty. The 2023 crop insurance base price for wheat is currently being set. About halfway through the discovery period (August 15th-September 15th) this year the price is averaging $8.51. The deadline to make changes to your wheat policy is September 30th so I encourage everyone to evaluate their coverage level to best take advantage of your crop insurance options. Some other crop insurance dates to be aware of for 2023 wheat crop, the final plant date is October 31st for wheat in Osborne, Mitchell, Jewell, Lincoln, and Russell Counties. Final plant date for wheat in Smith and Rooks Counties is
October 20th. The acreage reporting deadline for wheat is December 15th.
For our row crops the base price was set from February 1st through February 28th and was as follows:
Corn $5.90
Soybeans $14.33
Grain Sorghum $5.88.
    The Harvest Price for these crops are all set from October 1st through October 31st. With the dry conditions throughout the area and high potential for claims we are hoping for a higher harvest price
to get us an improved revenue guaranty.
If you have any questions or want to discuss any of your financing or crop insurance needs stop by the General Office in Osborne, or give me a call at 346-5451, or on my cell at 785-346-4654.
 

CAREERS AT MIDWAY CO-OP

Midway Co-op is always looking to hire talented, hard-working people
who are eager to make a positive impact with a reputable company
and have a passion for helping our customers achieve success.
Current Openings
• Applicator - Full-Time Employee - Bellaire, KS
• Applicator - Full-Time Employee - Luray, KS
• Applicator - Full-Time Employee - Osborne, KS
• Feed Truck Driver - Full Time Employee - Osborne, KS
• General Labor - Full-Time Employee - Portis, KS
• Agronomist - Full-Time Employee - Osborne, KS