I would like to start my report with a large THANK YOU, for your loyal support and your business this year. This summer, stockholders voted by two-thirds majority to consolidate together Twin County Service Company and Fruit Belt Service Company. The voting ended on July 31, and we started Southern FS 31 short days later. In 31 days we had the task of molding two companies into one. Starting with personnel structures of the staff and office, our accounting procedure had to be consolidated together along with our inventory procedures, even new account numbers for half of our patrons had to be reassigned. Not to forget re-identifying all our buildings, offices, trucks, roadside signs, along with our letterhead, statements, envelopes and our uniforms had to be replaced too. We knew we had all these tasks to accomplish, we just forgot that we needed to go to sleep sometime, in those 31 days, also.

Today, as I am writing this report on Columbus Day, I’m thinking about Columbus sailing in uncharted waters. Southern FS is sailing into their first year of business. We have charted our course well and are sailing along, however, there has been some rough water, as would be expected, but we have had smooth sailing too. We know like Columbus did that the world is round and not flat and Southern FS will sail through the year, like he did around the world.

This cropping year like most has had its challenges. Your cooperative was all ready for an early spring, all the inventory was on hand, people in place, just to end up waiting until the first of June before we were able to get the majority of the crops planted even with a reduced amount of acres planted. Then the majority of us waited the rest of the summer for a rain that never came.

Over all, our corn and soybean sales were very good for the combined company, seeing an increase in our FS corn and soybean lines. Dry weather in July reduced the number of post application of herbicides, due to concerns over the effectiveness and the economics given potential yield reductions. As we enter the fall season, dry weather has affected yields as well as soil conditions. Along with aflatoxins and stalkrots are potential harvest issues we are dealing with.

Our energy department at Southern FS, along with the GROWMARK system, and the efforts to develop retail markets for ethanol and soy bio-diesel, continue to improve. We are proud to be supplying B-2 fuels for our customers to use in the fuel and help reduce our dependence on foreign oils. Be sure to ask your Energy Specialist for your Bio-diesel fuel along with Ethanol gas. GROWMARK’s commitment to researching and marketing bio-products continues with our latest endeavor, Home Grown Lubricants. Within the next month, we will be promoting a line of biotech based Lubricants formulated from soybean oil.

I would like to close my report with the mission statement of Southern FS; it is to provide the highest quality of Products, Services and Solutions with committed, professional employees, focused on the best economic value, which will enhance patron profitability.