Newsletter Archive

New facility asset to HOIC/SCE

Heart to Heart, October 2009 Connections

by Mark Lettow

We are finishing our first summer at the S14 location with September 22 being the one year anniversary of moving to this new location. The transition has gone smoothly and staff and customers alike appreciate the new facility.

Finishing up projects continued at S14 this summer with the lighting for the driveway sign and flagpole now complete. New approved safety rails have been installed along walls, steps, and dock walkways. We still look forward to adding a soybean bin in the summer of 2010. The possibility for adding a grain dryer is on the drawing board. There is also a landscape and windbreak plan in the works for this fall.

Our new warehouse has already served us very well in several ways, especially during the spring when it was nearly full with corn and seed beans. It was much easier to get producers in, loaded, and out in a timely manner with all the seed accessible under one roof. Our ability to receive and quickly load out liquid nitrogen and bulk chemicals was also a big time saver for both customers and custom applicators.

The wider scale is great as well. The increased width makes it easy for drivers to safely get on and off without difficulty. Overall, the new facility has been working very well for both employees and producers, and further additions over time will improve it even more.

With harvest quickly approaching, I would like to remind all drivers delivering grain to slow down and drive smoothly onto the scale and be light on the brakes. This advice pertains to all locations. It will actually save you time as the scale will settle more quickly.

Once again this fall, we’ll be taking soybeans at both McCallsburg and the old Roland facility. Wet corn, over 17 percent, will also be routed to McCallsburg and Roland. The early plan, which can change, is that we’ll be taking corn under 17 percent here at S14. If you don’t already have it, I encourage you to program the cell phone or office phone of the scale manager into your cell phone. That way, you can keep us informed before your driver reaches the scale of any changes in the grain ownership as you change fields. Also, the programmed phone number can be very helpful to you and us, especially during soybean season, when delivery hours can start or stop quickly during periods of changing weather and field conditions.

Have a safe and enjoyable harvest season.