Meet Region 4

Bill McGuire (RSM, Region 4 – Eastern Nebraska)

Happy Holidays! My name is Bill McGuire and I am the Regional Sales Manager for the Eastern Nebraska region. I live in Omaha, NE, home of former President Gerald Ford, Warren Buffet (he is not my neighbor), Nebraska Furniture Mart (your wives will love that store), the College World Series (good luck in finding a ticket), Omaha Steaks (they ship the steaks in dry ice that your kids will love putting in a bottle, adding water, putting the lid back on, and RUNNING. Here’s a video of my own son doing this – not recommended) and the second largest Zoo in the United States.  I could go on but if you are an eating establishment and can make here, you can make it anywhere (thanks Frank Sonata).

When I received this assignment and the date it was due, I was extremely happy.  Christmas is a season for gratefulness and thanksgiving for your family and the people in your life that make a difference.  I would like to thank my family first.  My beautiful wife Sharyl, who is a civil engineer at the power company in Omaha. She is the rock of our family, for many reasons including her strength to uphold the family when I am gone for work.  We have four great kids, Emily (20) who attends college in Omaha at a community college and will be going to the University of Nebraska in Omaha (UNO) to finish her degree. Our son Justin (what a student) he will be following his mother’s path in life as he is studying civil engineering at UNO.  Our daughter Katie attends school in Missouri at Northwest Missouri State studying Communications. I could not keep her in Omaha since her boyfriend is a football player there (he is OK with us).  Lastly, Billy III who had a very tough year this year health wise, but has come through with flying colors.  Billy is a straight “A” student even though he spends a tremendous amount of time playing Black OPS and Call of Duty.

Let me introduce you to the Eastern Nebraska Team.

Sherie Doering (CSR – Nebraska)

Sherie Doering grew up on her family farm just north of Leigh, NE.  She now lives in Norfolk, NE with her husband, Dennis, of 21 years and their two sons, Devin (19) who is attending Northeast Community College studying Drafting and Dylan (14).  Both boys enjoy music in their spare time.  Dennis is a Department manager at the local Wal-Mart in Norfolk.  Dennis and the boys enjoy the outdoors, hunting and fishing.  Sherie has been with Producers Hybrids for 21 years.  I have been working with her throughout all of my 11 years with Producers.  She has just recently taken over the role of managing all the Customer Service Representatives in the office.  When it comes to her work, Sherie takes tremendous pride in working with the DSMs and customers.  When it comes to her family, there is nothing more important than her husband and sons.  I guess that is what makes her so special to all of the DSMs in our region.  She treats all of the guys as if they were her kids.  I think the boys get their love of music from their mother even though she loves rock and roll!

Mark Grundmayer (Sales Agronomist/Soybean Product Manager)

Mark Grundmayer is our region’s Agronomist and is the company’s Soybean Product Manager.  Mark will be celebrating his 17^th year with Producers Hybrids in January.  He is originally from St. Anthony, MM.  He attended the University of Minnesota where he earned his B.S. in Agronomy.  He moved to Petersburg, NE in 1991 where he lives with his wife, Chris, of 22 years.  Chris is a middle school teacher in the Boone Central school district.  Chris and Mark have two children.  Their daughter, Erin (18), is attending the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, where she is studying nursing and runs on the cross country team.  Their son, Jake (16), is a junior in high school and played on the state runner-up football team. Mark enjoys spending time with his family and attempting to restore a Farmall B.

Doug Ranslem (DSM, Region 4 – Eastern Nebraska)

Doug Ranslem is the senior District Sales Manager in our region.  Doug has been with Producers Hybrids since February of 2008.  Doug’s territory runs from I-80 to the Missouri River and from Highway 81 to the Northern edge of Dodge County. Doug has had a long history in the seed business. During the 70s he was involved in production and warehousing for PAG Seeds. He became the warehouse foreman for Funks G Hybrids in the 80s and became a Supervisor of 3000 acres of production in Iowa. In the 90s he became Plant Manager and Production Manager in Illinois and Michigan. He then switched to seed sales becoming the DSM for Garst Seed in Nebraska, and from there joined Producers Hybrids as our DSM. Doug lives in Fremont, NE with his wife Cheryl.  Cheryl works at the hospital in Fremont in the Finance Department.  Doug and Cheryl have one son, Colby (23), who recently graduated from aviation school and was hired by a regional airline.  Doug and Cheryl will be celebrating their 37^th wedding anniversary in February of 2013.  Doug and Cheryl enjoy fishing, and Doug also enjoys golfing in his spare time (he has yet to beat me).

Aaron Reimers (Region 4 – Eastern Nebraska)

Aaron Reimers is originally from Randolph, NE and now lives in Laurel, NE with his family.  Aaron has been a District Sales Manager with Producers Hybrids for two years and covers the territory around Laurel, NE in the counties of Cedar, Dixon, Dakota, Stanton, and Wayne.  Aaron went to University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a degree in Diversified Ag.  Prior to coming to Producers, Aaron was with Pioneer working for a local representative.  Aaron is married to Amanda, and they have three beautiful girls, Keely (10), Bria (3), and Rylee (1).  Amanda is an elementary school teacher for Winside Public Schools.  Aaron’s family is very important to him, and he loves to spend a lot of his extra time with his daughters.  Aaron has many talents, but I think his biggest attribute is his love of scouting fields for his customers.  He enjoys grilling and smoking different foods outside. He also enjoys helping his family on the farm during harvest time.

Ed Reimers (DSM, Region 4 – Eastern Nebraska)

Ed Reimers, the brother of Aaron, has been with Producers since October of 2009 where he came to us from the CVA coop in Wayne, NE.  Ed lives in Belden, NE and covers Cedar, Pierce, and Wayne counties in Northeast Nebraska or wherever he knows someone to sell a bag of corn to!  Ed is married to Heather, and they have four boys, Doug (20), Blake (16), Dylan (11), and Braxton who was born on October 20^th of this year.   Heather was a loan clerk at Citizens State Bank in Belden, but I believe she will be a stay at home mom pretty soon (well deserved Heather).  My favorite story about the Reimers is when Heather and Ed went on vacation and left Blake and Dylan with Heather’s mom and dad.  I don’t know which boy came up with this idea, but I have a pretty good idea which one did.  They told grandpa and grandma that they did not have school because of parent teacher conferences.  Well, needless to say, the school called and the boys were caught.  The apples don’t fall far from the tree, right Ed?  Ed enjoys the outdoors, fishing and horseback riding in his spare time.   Ed also has a small collection of John Deere toy tractors and enjoys watching old western movies.

Tyler Afrank (DSM, Region 4 – Eastern Nebraska)

Tyler Afrank lives in Norfolk, NE and handles the area from Humphrey to Norfolk, west of Hwy 81 in Nebraska.  Tyler is no stranger to Producers Hybrids.  He has been with the company since starting part-time in 2001.  Tyler had recently held the Shipping Coordinator and Process Coordinator positions, as well as other functions within seed production. Tyler is now in his second year in sales and has done an outstanding job.  He was awarded the Business Manager of the Year Award for his efforts in 2011-12 selling season.  Tyler is originally from Newman Grove, NE.  He attended Wayne State College in Wayne.  He is married to his wife Stacy, and they were blessed with their first child this past year, a son, Brooks.  Stacy works at Northeast Community College and owns her own photography company.  Tyler enjoys stock car racing with his brother in his off time.

John Southwick (DSM, Region 4 – Eastern Nebraska)

John Southwick and his wife, Tara, live just north of Beatrice, NE on an acreage.  John and Tara were just married in September of this year.  John is in his second year with Producers Hybrids and handles the territory from Lincoln south to the Kansas border and west to Hwy 81.  John owned his own business and was a Producers Hybrids seed dealer prior to becoming a District Sales Manager.   John was born and raised in Fairbury, NE.  He attended college at the University of Sioux Falls where he got his degree in Business Management.  John was a first team All-conference tight end at Sioux Falls, and had a successful career with one national championship appearance and three semifinal games to round out a 60-4 career record.  John has brought a new level of customer service and sales to Producers.  He enjoys many things in his free time.  Some of his hobbies include hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, and golfing (he has yet to bet me in a round).  He is truly an outdoorsman.

Terry Thies (DSM – Region 4, Eastern Nebraska)

Terry Thies will be celebrating his first year with Producers Hybrids as a District Sale Manager this upcoming February.  However, Terry is no stranger to Producers.  Terry used to be a dealer for the company for 17 years.  Terry then pursued his life goal of becoming a full-time salesman with NC+ and then with Pioneer.  Terry has now rejoined Producers and covers the territory from Lincoln to Cortland East to the river, mainly the southeast corner of the state. Terry is originally from Sterling, NE where he still makes home with his wife, Naomi, of 21 years. Naomi works as a paralegal at a law firm in Lincoln.  They have two children, Nathan (16) who is the quarterback on his high school football team and a forward on the basketball team, and Colby (10), who is a good athlete herself, playing softball, basketball, and volleyball.  The kids get their athletic ability from their mother.  Terry raises cattle in his spare time and enjoys taking his family on vacations, hunting, and watching his kids play sports.

Jordan Pfeifer (DSM, Region 4 – Eastern Nebraska)

Jordan Pfeifer is the newest addition to our region at Producers Hybrids.  He came to us from the Husker Coop where he covered the Osceola, Silver Creek, and Duncan locations.  Jordan is originally from Madison, NE where he grew up on the family farm.  Jordan went to Southeast Community College in Beatrice and then off to Northwest Missouri State where he received his degree in Agricultural Sciences.  Jordan covers south of Columbus up to Humphrey, heads east to the West Point area then back south towards Schuyler.  Jordan has caught on very quickly and has done a great job in learning the territory that he took over. Jordan brings a great level of confidence to his customer base with his agronomy background.  Jordan’s girlfriend, Kim, is finishing up her degree in Lincoln at UNL.  Jordan enjoys hunting, golfing, and camping in his spare time. Happy Holidays from the Eastern Nebraska Team!

When We Need It

Kent Reinhardt (DSM, Region 6 – Southern)

My territory, which covers southwest Kansas, southeast Colorado and north central Kansas, is normal this winter. That is hot and dry. Hot for December and dry is normal, although we are much drier than normal.

2012 was an interesting year for corn production in the three areas that I cover. With the exception of a few pockets along old Highway 40 in the northwest part of my territory, there was no dryland corn harvested as grain. Even where dryland corn was harvested as grain, the best yields barely touched 50 bushels/acre with most in the low to mid-20 bushels/acre range or lower. The 5623-5624 family performed the best, in fact it was often the only dryland variety harvested as grain in those pockets.

In general, irrigated corn in southwest Kansas performed better in 2012 than in 2011. Cooler nighttime temperatures during pollination were the key to better yields in 2012. Other factors, including later planting, reduced plant populations and better water management played a role in improved yields. Producers Hybrids key hybrids were 7623, 7624, 7574 and 7224.

Projections for 2013 are difficult at this time. Sizeable areas had just enough fall moisture to get their fall wheat plantings up, but the warm fall and early winter have kept the wheat plants alive and growing and as of the middle of December most of my territory is reporting that the wheat crop is going backwards. Only moisture, either rain or snow, will change this. The question is, without moisture, what will the area do for ground cover this spring? Without moisture, spring crops will not germinate.

Other factors in my territory are:

• A sizeable number of irrigated acres were planted to wheat this fall.
• A combination of an early corn harvest, good wheat price and water supply issues (growers used their water allotments for their 2012 corn crop leaving them potentially short for their 2013 crop).
• The three ethanol plants in my trade territory are looking to process more grain sorghum. One of the plants even paid for growers’ milo seed if they lived within the plant’s four county trade territory.

My Colorado growers need snow in the southern Rockies so that the Arkansas River has water this spring.  As of the middle of December, snow pack in the southern Rockies is 20% of normal. No water in the Arkansas means no irrigation water. When asked to book corn for 2013, the farmers from this area ask why.

There will be irrigated corn grown in southwest Kansas in 2013. However, the questions are about maturity (full season versus short season planted after wheat harvest), planting rate and date (lower populations with a later planting date) and how many acres (irrigated milo acres may increase). Spring moisture conditions and crop prices will be the determining factors.

The whole territory needs moisture but as my grandfathers’ always said, “It will rain when we really need it.”  I guess we don’t really need it.

Excited For What’s To Come

Jordan Pfeifer (DSM, Region 4 – Eastern Nebraska)

 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I would like to introduce myself; I am Jordan Pfeifer, the new District Sales Manager in the Eastern Nebraska Region. Being from this area has helped me catch on to the area and the people really fast. I grew up on a small family farm west of Madison, NE helping dad on the farm and helping in the Producers Hybrids seed corn fields. Once I graduated from high school I knew the agricultural field was my calling. I chose to go to Southeast Community College in Beatrice, NE to complete a degree in Agricultural Business. Upon graduation, I completed an internship in corn research in the middle of Illinois. From there I wanted to complete my four year degree in agriculture.

I decided to go to Northwest Missouri State University and complete a degree in Agricultural Science. During this time I continued to work in the seed research field and learned about how different hybrids work in different areas of the Corn Belt. Right after college I started working in agronomy sales for a coop located near Columbus, NE. I gained a vast amount of knowledge of many of the different fertilizers, chemicals and seed brands from this experience. I also had the opportunity to scout many fields and see different farming practices. This experience led me back to the seed industry and to Producers Hybrids, where I strive to help farmers place the right products on their acres.

It has been a great pleasure meeting all the new customers and seed dealers that I have the opportunity to work with as a District Sales Manager for Producers Hybrids. The Producers team of employees is a great family to work for; they have extensive knowledge of their products and the industry and are always there to answer any questions you may have. I look forward to working and growing the business in my area. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and make sure you talk to your local Producers Hybrids seed dealer or myself about any questions you may have about the products we have to offer.

Optimism

Darrel Bahner (DSM, Region 6 – Southern)

The year of 2012 is quickly drawing to an end.  It has been full of challenges.  Many of the people I work with keep saying next year can’t be any worse, but it seems to be going in that direction.  We have experienced two years of drought in most areas of Kansas, with some going on three tough years.  Our sub-soil moisture has been depleted and a lot of farmers that have irrigation have exceeded their allocations or their wells have limited water to pump.  Being the eternal optimist that farmers are, planting in the spring of 2013 will go on as usual, even though every storm that passes leaves everyone discouraged and wondering when we’ll start getting enough rain to fill ponds and replenish our sub-soil.

Mother nature has a way of surprising us and 2012 was no exception.  It is amazing that the crops we planted last spring were able to survive the countless days of over 100 degree temperatures and drought and were even able to produce enough to harvest.  Yields in our state were poor to good, but most thought there would be nothing.   Our plant breeders at Producers Hybrids have done an incredible job of bringing products to us that handle heat, insects, disease and drought stress.  I can remember the early 1980s; if our products were still like those back then we would have nothing in a year like this.

I would like to thank everyone for their business in 2012 and if you have questions about any of Producers Hybrids products or programs feel free to give me a call.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  May they be safe and joyous!

                                                               A Farmer

A man stood at the pearly gates

His face was worn and old

He meekly asked the man of faith

Admission to the fold

What have you done St Peter said,

To seek admission here.

I’ve been a farmer here on earth,

For over 50 years.

The gates swung swiftly open

As he quickly touched a bell

Come in and take a harp, he said

You’ve had enough of hell

A poem that an old customer of mine gave to me years ago!

Colorful Country Sky

We have had some beautiful sunrises and sunsets lately here in Nebraska. Thanks to Linda Renner, Business Services, for this great picture!

American Farmers to the Rescue

Brad Lamb (RSM, Region 1 – South Dakota)

Reliability and certainty in an uncertain and troubled world, this is the American Farmer!

All one needs to do is spend some time watching or listening to a normal day’s news cycle.  We are most certain to see and hear about turmoil in the Middle East, economic troubles in Europe and plenty of financial and natural disasters to deal with in our own great country.  As you spend time digesting the news of the world, one thing that is becoming the “elephant in the room” is the growing population of the world.  As I sit down to write this, the current population of the world is 7,083,335,290 and growing at an alarming rate.  An additional 200,000 will be added to the total by this time tomorrow, and each day that follows.  It is great to see and hear more and more conversations about the issue of world population growth. The next question is, who will feed all these people?  Farmers worldwide need to produce more food in the next 40 years than the previous 10,000 years combined.  What an amazing challenge!

American farmers to the rescue! The American farmer is responsible for the following facts (from the South Dakota Corn Growers):

• Each U.S. farmer feeds 155 people per year.
• U.S. corn farmers grow 20% more corn per acre than any other nation.
• 55% of the world’s corn exports come from the U.S.
• The U.S. produces 40% of the world’s corn using only 20% of the total area harvested in the world.
• Farmers today grow five times more corn than they did in the 1930s.
• Over the last 20 years, U.S. corn production grew 80%, while:
  • Land use decreased by 37%
  • Soil loss decreased by 69%
  • Energy use decreased 37%
  • Emissions per bushel decreased 30%
  • Growers raise 70% more corn per pound of fertilizer than 35 years ago.
  • The average yield per acre has grown from 24 bushels in 1931 to 164 today

As American farmers continue to look for ways to increase production on exiting acres, they look to industry suppliers for help in this quest for meeting the growing world demand.  At Producers Hybrids we are working feverishly to bring the latest technology and top yielding hybrids to the market.  Never wanting to ‘rest on ones laurels’, we have built a great reputation of partnering with our growers in the common goal of increased production.

One other positive in a sometimes negative world is the excitement and economic draw the younger generation is feeling towards coming back to the family operation. I remember not that many years ago in my area it was common to hear a farmer talking about how he didn’t know what would happen to his operation once he retired.  It was felt that there was not any opportunity or reason for his children to return and be part of the farm.   In recent years, just among our customer base in South Dakota, we have had several growers see their children move home and become part of their family farming operations.  This is a great trend and I hope it continues.  This will only make American farm families grow stronger for the upcoming challenge of feeding the world.

On a personal note I, on behalf of myself, my wife Desi and daughter Baylar, want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and may you and your families count the many blessings you have in your life!

Crazy Time of Year

Dustin Heylens (DSM, Region 1 – South Dakota)

It’s that crazy time of year again for the seed industry…ordering and shipping! In Eastern South Dakota, we have been very busy with a successful 2012, considering the weather, and a fast and furious selling season this fall.  Although we have heard some rumblings about supply issues, Producers Hybrids has a very deep lineup for 2013.  We have solid products that we feel you can be confident about putting on your farm.

The next hurdle that my fellow DSMs and I are tackling is shipping.  If the weather doesn’t change soon, planting season could come early yet again and be over rapidly, which will push shipping even more.  I know we would all love to see many feet of snow, or at least some sort of moisture, this winter.  However, we need to plan for an early spring once again, which means products will be shipped as soon as possible from Battle Creek.  If you haven’t put your order in yet, be sure to talk to your DSM or dealer to ensure you get the products that are right for your farm.  Also, be sure to check out the Yield Results and Online Product Guide on our website to learn more about our products and how we stacked up in 2012.

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Safe travels and get Ready for More in 2013!

Mother Nature Star of 2012

Scott Trausch (RSM, Region 3 – Western Nebraska)

It’s hard to believe that another year has almost gone by.  It has definitely been a challenging year for everyone involved in the seed business.  Numerous factors played a role in the challenges we faced; whether it was supply issues or Mother Nature not cooperating, it definitely made for a unique year.

Mother Nature probably played the biggest role this past year.  The lack of rainfall and extreme heat really made it a year to remember, or should I say a year to forget.  Central Nebraska, Western Nebraska and Eastern Colorado are included in the areas that were hit hardest with the extreme drought.  According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these areas were faced with either Extreme or Exceptional drought.

This caused yields in our region to vary dramatically.  We saw yields range anywhere from 5 – 250 bushels per acre for field averages.  The main factor that played into this was water.  Whether it came from rainfall or irrigation, water definitely was the common theme.  For those fortunate enough to have irrigation, yields were very good in most cases.  The amount of water applied also affected yields.  However, several places were restricted on how much water they could apply.  This also hindered the yield potential.

Dryland acres were another story.  Some places were fortunate enough to catch timely rainfalls and their yields were fair, coming in around 100 bushels per acre.  Others did not fair as well and yields were extremely low.

Even with the Extreme or Exceptional drought, Producers Hybrids had a successful year in our region.  We had several products that performed very well.  This is attributed to the extensive research that Producers Hybrids and AgReliant Genetics does in our product selection.   Our research team is dedicated to developing industry-leading genetics that can be placed in many different situations.  I feel that one thing Producers Hybrids and AgReliant Genetics can hang our hat on is the plant health and ability to stress our hybrids.  This is very important to remember when it comes to hybrid selection on your farm.

We have many resources to help the farmer choose the right hybrid.  Everyone involved with Producers Hybrids and AgReliant Genetics is committed to helping provide you with the right hybrid for your farming operation to improve your bottom line.

When making your decisions on what to plant this next year, make sure to check out our yield results on our website.  Also, our DSMs will be able to help you in this decision-making process.  We all care about our customers and we definitely feel that we have a vested interest in your farming operations.

I am looking forward to what the coming year is going to bring.  I am confident that whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at us, Producers Hybrids has the people and products in place to help you increase your bottom line.

Everyone at Producers Hybrids really appreciates the working relationships we have with our customers.  And for that, I want to thank YOU for YOUR business!  Have a safe and happy holiday season!  And, let’s make 2013 another successful year by choosing Producers Hybrids.  Get Ready for More in 2013!