MORE CORN Bigger corn crops call for beefed-up infrastructure and service delivery. By Peg Zenk MANAGING Overlooking thousands of acres of the most fertile soil in the United States, CHS Agri Service Center knows corn is king. Based at Holdrege, Neb., just 25 miles south of the east-west center of the nation and a few miles south of the irrigation-friendly Platte River, the cooperative is expanding in response to the steadily increasing corn crop. In the last four years, CHS Agri Service Center has built a new 28,000-ton dry crop nutrients hub plant, increased its liquid fertilizer capacity, added 3.8 million bushels of grain storage, upgraded grain handling and drying facilities at four locations, and dedicated 20 acres next to its main office to seed and agronomic test plots. “We’ve grown to meet the needs of our customers as their operations continue to get larger,” says General Manager Don Lien. This year’s projected 88.8-million-acre U.S. corn crop wasn’t in their sights several years ago when Lien and the cooperative’s management team began planning those upgrades, he says. But CHS Agri Service Center leaders do track long-term local and national trends, including increasing corn acres and higher yields. “That kind of information has helped our board develop our business model and plan for future growth.” This year, Nebraska corn production is predicted to be up 1 percent over last year, notes Lien. “And there is even more talk of 300-bushel yields. Last year, a few growers told us they had fields top that mark, so it is certainly achievable for more growers this season. But there’s a consequence to all that productivity. “More bushels of corn will continue to put pressure on our cooperative’s ability to receive it.” Your CHS Connection 7
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Managing More Corn
Peg Zenk
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