Logan Ag News 1

Logan Ag News December 2018

L O C A T I O N S

* Griggsville, IL 217-833-2375; 1-800-LOGAN AG

* Pitsburg, OH 937-692-5181 (JACK BAKER)

* Paris, MO 660-327-1111 (DEAN OSBORN, MEGAN

MORGAN)

www.LOGANAG.com

Pre-Pay And Financing Logan Ag crop specialists will have pre-pay prices for crop protection chemicals and fertilizer very soon. Take advantage of year-end prices and lock in production costs for 2019 before January 10. Many crop protection chemical companies offer low rate financing programs to entice purchases of their particular brands including fungicides for corn and soybeans. Check out all the available programs with your crop specialist to determine the best deal for you. The Logan Ag financing program offered through John Deere Financial provides a locked-in rate of Prime -1% with payment due in December 2019 and can be used for pesticides, fertilizer, custom application, seed and petroleum products. Visit your Logan Ag crop specialist soon to discuss 2019 weed/insect and fertility programs! Logan Ag Donates $5000 To GP Pre-K Program Following the completion of a two-month fuel sales blitz at the company’s 24/7 Fuel site in Griggsville, Logan Ag donated a total of $5000 to the Griggsville-Perry Pre-K. The Pre-K program lost its funding grant from the State of Illinois, and Logan Ag was instrumental in jump-starting a community effort to provide funds to continue the program. Logan Ag contributed 5 cents per gallon for each gallon fuel sold at the Griggsville retail site during the months of September and October plus $25 for each new proprietary fuel account authorized during the period. Company president Edward Logan said, “My mother, Betty, and my wife, Ronda, devoted their careers to public education. Mom taught in the Griggsville/Perry area for 38 years and Ronda worked as a teacher and administrator in western Illinois schools including Perry for nearly 35 years. We recognize the importance of providing our youngest students excellent educational opportunities and feel the Pre-K program at GP is vital. My goal in this project was $5000 and while our overall sales volume was just a bit short of the mark, Ronda and I ‘rounded up’ our total to make it happen. We want

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Dicamba Label Update The U.S. EPA announced on October 31 that registration of the three dicamba herbicides used on Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybeans will be extended for a period of two years to 12/20/20. This is good news for users of XtendiMax®, Engenia™ and FeXapan™ on dicamba tolerant soybeans. However, there are label revisions for post-emerge application of these herbicides that must be followed. A few notable changes are outlined below. Prohibits application of dicamba on soybeans later

than 45 days after planting Application allowed only from 1 hour after sunrise

until to 2 hours before sunset A downwind buffer strip of 110’ must be maintained

in all fields. In counties where endangered species are present, a 57’ buffer strip must be maintained on all other sides of the field

Only CERTIFIED applicators may apply dicamba over-the-top (those working under the supervision of a certified applicator may no longer apply)

Retailers and applicators have serious reservations about these label changes, especially the provision for “certified” applicators as this requires new licensing for all operators in the State of Illinois. The Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association is working with the U.S. EPA and the Illinois Department of Ag to clarify the licensing

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BUYING INPUTS AT YEAR-END

ü Best Prices ü Great

Financing Programs

ü Lock in Production Costs

Logan Ag News 2

continued from page 1 language. IFCA’s contention is that every commercial spray operator in Illinois has already passed a 100-question written exam which pre-qualify him/her for the application of dicamba products. More information is anticipated on this topic over the next several weeks. If additional testing of commercial and/or private operators is required, multiple training sessions and exams will be necessary before application season begins in a few months. Logan Ag will monitor this situation closely and provide updates as necessary. Dicamba labels continue to annual training of spray operators prior to application. Logan Ag will host training sessions as needed for Illinois and Missouri customers to meet this important label requirement. Xtend and XtendiMax are trademarks of Bayer. Engenia is a trademark of BASF. FeXapan is a trademark of Corteva.

Input Prices Trending Higher For 2019 “Should I buy now or hold off for lower prices later?” That’s the question many growers asked throughout the fall application season. It appears at this time many crop input prices are trending higher for the 2019 season. Following is an overview of the current situation for inputs. CROP PROTECTION CHEMICALS: Prices for major crop protection chemicals will likely increase 3-5% over 2018 levels. Some, however, will be significantly higher due to trade restrictions and production issues in China. This list includes some insecticides, post-emerge grass herbicides, paraquat, fungicides and several other products sourced primarily from Chinese production facilities. SEED: Seed prices should be about the same as 2018. New corn hybrids/soybean varieties command a little more money, but these can be mixed in with older proven hybrids/varieties to keep per acre cost steady. FUEL: Fuel markets are the most difficult to predict of all crop inputs due to daily trading and price fluctuations resulting from OPEC comments/actions and supply disruptions in the Middle East. Many analysts forecast strength in fuel prices over the next several months as U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports are enforced. FERTILIZER: All major nutrients – NPK – have increased significantly compared to year-ago levels. There is little reason to believe these markets will decline in Spring 2019. Per acre increases of $15 to $35 over 2018 are in place now depending on crop and application rate with nitrogen prices expected to rise further next spring With little fall anhydrous ammonia application, there is price pressure on all nitrogen sources as suppliers lick their chops in anticipation of huge profits based on their current production costs. Anhydrous ammonia suppliers have indicated their intention to cancel contracts on all fall pre-pay tons not pulled by December 31.

The chart below shows year over year price trends for fertilizer and petroleum. Logan Ag recommends making fertilizer application now if possible, and lock in prices for Spring 2019 application before suppliers test the waters for additional price increases during the spring application season. Petroleum contracts for spring usage provide price protection against increases and are available. Logan Ag recommends contracts with downside price protection in the event market volatility pushes oil prices lower before use season. The Role Of pH In Dicamba Application Researchers studying dicamba movement (drift) have detected a possible link between pH – both soil pH and water pH of the spray solution - and dicamba movement. Agronomists regularly advise raising soil pH to facilitate better availability of nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Soil pH at or above 6.5 helps maximize availability of these nutrients. Dr. Kevin Bradley of the University of Missouri believes there may be a correlation between low soil pH and off-target movement of dicamba. Bradley, in the initial stages of his study, has confirmed two field tests where volatility of dicamba was greater when soil pH was low. Bradley indicates soils in the southern portions of Missouri and the southern U.S. in general tend to have lower pH and that may be a contributing factor to higher incidence of dicamba drift. Tennessee studies reveal lower pH in the spray tank solution (water and chemicals) is a probable factor in dicamba volatility. Whereas some herbicides such as glyphosate perform better in lower water pH levels, the goal of a dicamba tank mix is to keep pH levels more in the normal water range of 6.0 to 7.0 to prevent volatility. That is the reason many pH-reducing adjuvants commonly used with post-emerge herbicides are not approved for use with dicamba products. There is no adjuvant labeled to increase pH of the spray solution when applying dicamba.

Season’s Greetings

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PRODUCT Nov 2018 vs Nov 2017

DIESEL FUEL +29¢ per gal NH3 +$150/ton 32% UAN +$69/ton UREA +$75/ton DAP +$72/ton POTASH +$60/ton

Lower soil pH

and spray solution pH may

increase dicamba

drift potential

Logan Ag News 3

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continued from page 2 Final Comments Edward Logan, Logan Ag President On behalf of the entire team at Logan Agri-Service, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your business over the past year and wish you a joyous Christmas season! Our new Paris warehouse/office complex is expected to be completed in early December and we anticipate moving into the facility during the month. A grand opening will be held at a later date. The photo shows the south side of the building as visible from U.S. Highway 24 north of Paris, MO. We receive many positive comments from customers about Logan Ag Power-Max diesel. Farmers tout reduced fuel consumption and increased horsepower; truckers rave about better fuel economy and more pulling power on hills. Power-Max truly is a premium diesel fuel! Try a tank on your next farm fill-up (biodiesel blend or #2 diesel) or at our 24/7 Fuel sites in Griggsville and Milton. Logan Ag has E15 ethanol blend available in Griggsville and Milton. E15 boasts increased octane and better fuel economy than E10 blends. E15 requires 50% more corn to produce than E10. Burn what you grow and buy E15 at Logan Ag 24/7 Fuel for your 2001 or newer auto or truck. I am extremely excited about the work our soybean seed treatment team has done in preparation for 2019. The addition of a plant growth regulator promises to add bushels at harvest. I used a plant growth regulator on my 2018 soybeans in the starter fertilizer application to help achieve over 100 bushels per acre in trials. Applying the plant growth regulator on seed makes it much easier to utilize and we plan to add it to our base treatment program at no additional cost per unit. Our entire retail sales team and many of our associates will attend the 2019 Product Training Seminar hosted by Logan Ag in Springfield, IL in early December. This seminar enables our staff to familiarize themselves with herbicides, fungicides and insecticides available for 2019, as well as grower rebates and reduced rate financing programs. Representatives from all major crop protection chemical manufacturers and some private label manufacturers will be on hand to make presentations. Diesel fuel cold flow improver is available at Logan Ag. Cold flow improvers lower the cloud point of diesel fuel to improve operability in cold weather conditions. To avoid fuel-related issues in cold weather, always fill the diesel tank in your truck or tractor at night and keep it full to prevent condensation that occurs during temperature changes. Cold flow improver should be added at the time of fueling. Keep a quart handy at all times!

to thank our customers for their support of our endeavor. I believe Mom would be proud!” Seed Treatment Critical To Soybean Yield Success Growers spend time with their seed rep to review soybean varieties to determine if the genetic and trait package offered is appropriate for their farm. Then, the seed rep asks if you want the beans treated. Shouldn’t your soybean treatment package get the same in-depth review? Logan Ag’s seed treatment team spent countless hours this fall reviewing soybean treatment options to determine our program for 2019. The goal of this project was to find fungicide and insecticide treatments that not only provided outstanding control of disease and insects but that also could be applied evenly on each seed. The team researched inoculation products in an effort to determine differences in rhizobia levels, the length of time inoculation remains viable on the seed after treatment, and distribution systems to retain product integrity during the treatment process. Finally, they reviewed several plant growth regulators that could be used as seed treatment to foster better root growth to enable the soybean plant to have season-long access to available nutrients and moisture. The result of this work? Logan Ag’s 2019 soybean treatment program promises to provide superior disease and insect protection, outstanding inoculation for increased yield, and an aggressive plant growth regulator for greater early season growth and plant vigor. When you buy treated soybean seed from Logan Ag, rest assured we’ve done our homework to provide you outstanding benefits from your investment. If you purchase seed elsewhere, ask us about our custom treatment program and get the best seed treatment package available. Inoculation is NOT included in the base treatment program. Holiday Hours Please note Logan Ag office hours in Griggsville and Paris for Christmas and New Year’s. Monday December 24 – CLOSED Tuesday December 25 – CLOSED Monday December 31 – CLOSED Tuesday January 1 - CLOSED Merry Christmas!