WASTE AWAY TREATMENT AUTHORIZED DEALER

Five Star Co-op is now an authorized dealer for the Waste Away manure treatment product which is an inexpensive biological product designed to eliminate crusting, reduce sludge, crash fly populations, help prevent foaming & increase air quality.Call to find out more!

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

Five Star will be closed on Tuesday, December 24, 2013 1/2 day Wednesday, December 25, 2013 & Wednesday, January 1, 2014

RECENT SEMINARS & INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS

UPCOMING....Beef MeetingDecember 19th at the Pinicon in New Hampton

We hope you were able to attend:2013 Winter Seminar SeriesBrock Associates Maximizing ProfitsDecember 4th at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City

Crop Production SeminarsDecember 4th at the Borlaug Center in Nashua & the Pinicon in New HamptonDecember 5th at Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood & Best Western in Clear Lake

Another harvest season has come and gone. Most people went through a fair amount of propane in their dryers as crops were unusually wet and hard to dry compared to prior years. Due to this heavy demand, the local terminals had a hard time keeping up with their supply which caused long delays and outages at many terminals. In addition, the entire Midwest was harvesting which tied up many trucking companies that could’ve otherwise assisted. Overall, Five Star was able to keep gas in the tanks the majority of the time. If you have questions or concerns about delays, please call.

Our fuel haulers have been very busy. We added a new refined fuels tandem truck in our Western region which enables us to efficiently haul more gallons and keep our customers satisfied with their fuel demands.

A friendly reminder to keep a clear path to your tanks, free from snow for quick and safe deliveries. We do most of our propane repairs and moving of tanks during the spring and summer.

If you are not on our propane scheduled routes, to avoid extra charges, please keep an eye on your tanks and give us enough notice for fills.

Call us about our programs on tanks and budget bookings.

Our next bulk oil route will be in March of 2014. At this time, fuel storage regulations on the farm remains at the 1,320 gallon threshold. There has been information regarding a possible increase in the gallon threshold, however it has not yet passed. Feel free to call with questions.

PROPANE & REFINED FUELS

WINTER 2013

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We have gotten through another harvest which, for the most part, was not too bad considering the weather conditions we went through this Spring and Summer. The Fall was ideal for getting the crop out of the field, and the weather cooperated with all the trucks we had hauling for our farm pick up service.

Both crops were high moisture when harvested, compared to the last few years. The corn especially was very wet and tended to slow down the handling process. At Five Star Co-op, the grain dryers have been updated to service our customers and take care of wet grain. Unfortunately, we experienced an obstacle this year with a propane outage for a short period of time. We got through this the best we could under the circumstances. We apologize for delivery delays, but we serviced your needs as efficiently as possible. The big propane demand this fall doesn’t happen very often, but this season, it was more than the pipeline could accommodate.

We are just finishing the 2013 crop harvest, but it is also time to consider your needs for next year. Please check with any of our agronomy salesmen to get your products locked in by the end of this year.

Contact any Five Star location to assist in your booking needs, we are here to provide great service to our customers, with our knowledgeable employees, expertise and state of the art equipment to handle all your agricultural needs.

This coming year , you will see the Joice location expanding. We are adding a newly constructed dry fertilizer blend plant. This will be done with help from our regional cooperative, CHS. This will be a 22,000

ton dry fertilizer storage facility. It will have the speed and space that, looking forward, we determined we must have to service the needs of our customers. We look forward to providing dry fertilizer from this modern and high technology plant. This plant is to be done in time to put product out for Fall 2014. We will put pictures on our web page as we progress with construction this coming year. This will not only help service the Joice area, but also Hanlontown, Lake Mills , Scarville, and Ventura.

This January, your board of directors and I will be attending our yearly Board Retreat where we try to look into the future of Five Star Co-op. We hope to always consider what is currently needed and what is needed for future growth. We look at internal and external growth ideas. We have really improved our internal growth the last few years. Is external growth something that is needed to maintain the strength of a cooperative to survive in the coming years? This is always discussed, whether anything comes of it , or not. If anything looks feasible, we will let you know of our thoughts on this.

Have a safe and joyous holiday season! We are excited about being of service to you again this coming year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Ron Pumphrey General Manager

LETTER FROM THE BOARD DIRECTOR

LETTER FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER

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I grain farm near Rockwell, Iowa and my wife Sherry is employed at Mercy Clinic Billing in Mason City. We have three daughters, two of them are married, and the youngest one is in her last semester of nursing school. Our oldest daughter is a kindergarten teacher in Creston and has one son. Our middle daughter lives in New Hampshire and works for an insurance company.

Five Star Co-op has had several major projects this year, one of the most visible ones is the bin project at Scarville. What was originally a seasonal location with tired assets is now a full-time modern location. We, as a board, had some discussions on the future of the Scarville location, but it was not until we held a customer meeting at Scarville that gave us a clear idea of what the future of the location should be.

At that meeting, which was attended by approximately 50 people, was an indication to us that there was a lot of support for improvement of the facility.

While construction was slower than anticipated, the facility is doing well and the future looks good for continued growth there, such as, adding a cardtrol, pending a state grant. After conducting a study of markets in the area, this will provide a service to the community and be beneficial to servicing the fuel needs for Five Star’s trucks.

If you did not make it to the open house we had, stop by Scarville and visit with the employees there to see how the new facility can be a benefit to your operation.

Terry Thomas Board Secretary

PLANTING PRACTICES: BOOST CORN YIELDS

January brings lots of things going on at your cooperative offices. First, Deferred Grain payments are printed at our New Hampton grain office and go through a review process before they can be distributed. The checks will be available in the afternoon hours on 1/2/14. Our route delivery truck delivers these checks to our branch locations, so you may want to call your location to be assured our route truck has stopped by before you leave your home. If you are interested in direct deposit, contact your location personnel for the form providing necessary bank account information.

Along with prepayments of inputs coming in, we are preparing 1099s for your gross amount of patronage dividend income. Grain sales dollars for members will be reported in Box 3 of this form. The gross dollar amount of grain sales is reported. If you are comparing the Box 3 amount to your records, there may be a variance, as you may be recording your net grain check amount. We can help you with reconciling this difference, please

contact us. Watch for the 1099s to come in the mail, if you have address changes, please notify us as soon as possible.

Speaking of address changes, we have a few members that need to update their addresses with us:

David Costigan Robbins, IA

Brent Garlock Fort Atkinson, IA

Gilbert Krause, Jr. Modesto, CA

Mau Farm Inc. c/o Gordon Mau New Hampton, IA

Norman Leff Leroy, MN

Some of these individuals have patronage checks that can not be delivered if we can not locate them. If you know these individuals or their family, please contact Sarah at (641) 394-3052.

PAYMENTS, PATRONAGE & SALES

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NEW SALES MANAGER

My name is Travis Thomas. I am the new Five Star Cooperative Sales Manager. I will be working with the sales team at all of the coop’s locations in the agronomy, petroleum, feed, grain, and hardware departments. This is a new position and I look forward to helping the sales team assist our customers in being as profitable and productive as possible.

I’m familiar with the cooperative system and especially Five Star Co-op, as I spent 11 years working as a Beef Specialist based out of New Hampton from 1994 until 2005. Then, for 7 years I worked for an animal health company calling on livestock accounts in Iowa. The past 6 months I’ve helped the feed department

put together a HACCP plan for both the New Hampton and Klemme feed mills compliance with their certification process.

I live on a small farm in the Floyd area. I’m a proud Iowa State University Animal Science graduate and love to cheer on the Cyclones when given the chance. In my free time I enjoy traveling, boating and motorcycling.

I’m pleased to be associated with such a customer focused group like we have at Five Star Coop. I look forward to working with all of our customers and professional sales people in my new position.

Potential Yield Increase

37% - 64%

5% - 19%

5% - 9%

6% - 15%

5%

2% - 5%

1% - 2%

1% - 2%

0% - 4%

Agronomic Practice

Hybrid Selection

Crop Rotation vs Continuous Corn

Uniform Emergence

Tillage System for Continuous Corn

Late vs Early Maturity Group

Early vs Late Planting Date

Population

Uniform Plant Spacing

Narrow or Thin Rows vs 30-inch Rows

Hybrid selection, crop rotation, and uniform emergence can account for up to 90% of corn yield increases according to research from the University of Minnesota.

source: www.cornandbeandigest.com

Into the last half of November, harvest was finally starting to wind down. One for the record books I would imagine. Who would have thought we could have ended up with yields like we did given the growing season we went through? With the government shut down during October, USDA did not release any crop report so we went through a good chunk of harvest with little or no direction from USDA. The crop report released on November 8th confirmed what the trade was anticipating- much better yields than what was shown on the September report. Corn yields were increased from 155.3 bushels per acre to 160.4 bushels per acre. Planted acreage was reduced by 2.1 million acres, while harvested acres were reduced by 1.9 million acres. The result was a record corn crop of just short of 14.0 billion bushels. Usage was pegged at just short of 13.0 billion bushels, so ending stocks grow by near a billion bushels to 1.9 billion bushels. Initial reactions to the report were not negative in that the market was expecting 2.0 or larger so some minor short covering was noticed for a few days after the report. Then, there we were a little over a week later and testing contract lows again.

Today’s market took us down to levels not seen in the last three years. There is nothing friendly about a 1.9 billion bushel carryout. Typically this type of carryout

would be associated with sub $4.00 corn prices. So, here we are, a record corn crop, harvest is all but put away, yet basis levels are still positive to CME futures prices. The two don’t seem to go together in a normal market. This market is anything but normal, the pipeline was empty going into harvest and current basis levels would suggest it hasn’t been filled yet. How long this positive basis lasts remains to be seen, but my guess would be that it lasts until producers come to the realization that $5.00 corn is probably not going to happen unless we run into severe growing problems next summer.

Looking ahead to next year, there have been some private estimates for 2014/2015 acreage near 4.0 million acres less than planted this year. Throw 160 bushel yields at that type of acreage and we have more than adequate stocks of something close to 2.0 billion bushels again, pointing to sub $4.00 corn.

On the bean side, acreage was reduced slightly and yields increased to 43.0 bushels per acre, bringing production up to 3.258 billion bushels. Crush and exports both increased to partially offset the increase in production. Ending stocks were increased to 170 million bushels up from 150 million on the Sept. report. Demand for U.S. beans remains very good and is likely to remain good until South American crop comes

to the market next spring. This should somewhat limit downside potential in beans. However, as of this writing, weather in South American remains conducive to growing a big crop which likely limits upside potential, leaving us to remain range bound for a while yet.

Now that I have all the good news out of the way- corn drifts lower and beans sideways, let’s focus on some positives. We are very happy with how the improvements made at various locations ahead of this harvest worked out. Timing could have been a little better on some of the projects but all in all, everything worked out like we had expected. The new receiving pits and storage space worked out very well at Ionia and Scarville. The added space at Galbraith allowed us to take beans without any hick-ups and corn space is all but full there. Improvements at Nashua help improve drying capacity as well as increase receiving speed. Even though the Burchinal project was completed last year, I don’t think we got to appreciate the full value of speed and space added there until this year. The increased drying capacity helped, not just Burchinal, but other locations on the western side of our trade territory as well.

Thank you for your business and as always, be sure to call the Grain Department with any questions or concerns.

GRAIN UPDATES

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MONSANTO’S FIELDSCRIPTS CREATES SEED PRESCRIPTIONS FOR VRT PLANTING

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FieldScripts could take us to the next level of yields.

Monsanto is bringing a triple cross of technologies to the field in hopes of taking that hybrid’s productivity to a new level. Dubbed “FieldScripts”, it is the first product released by Monsanto’s Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) research platform. It involves more precise hybrid recommendations, precision seed placement and variable rate technology (VRT) planting.

FieldScripts is about using science to build better prescriptions for seeding rates. That science includes in-depth knowledge of how the company’s DeKalb hybrids react to a wide variety of field conditions. It’s about more than just the seed. How the seed is handled and positioned in the soil is a key component and the reason Monsanto acquired Precision Planting. Since the mid 1990s, Precision Planting had been at the forefront of fine-tuning seed placement. That included precise depth, seed to soil contact, and spacing. It also included the ability to change seeding rates rapidly and accurately.

source: www.agprofessional.com

YIELD PENALTY FOR UNEVEN CORN EMERGENCE CAN BE SUBSTANTIAL

When emergence is delayed by one leaf stage on every other corn plant, the field’s overall yield potential drops by 6%, compared to a field where all the plants emerge at the same time. Yield potential drops by a similar amount when emergence is delayed by 2 leaf-stages on every 6th plant. Yield potential drops significantly for the late plants, compared to uniform emergence (80% for a 1-leaf stage delay on every other plant), while the early plants compensate a bit with greater potential yield compared to uniform emergence (107% when every other plant is delayed by one leaf stage).

source: www.agprofessional.com

Emergence Pattern

Uniform a, b

1 leaf-stage delay-every other planta

2 leaf-stage delay- every 6th plantb

2 leaf-stage delay-every other plantb

4 leaf-stage delay- every 6th plantb

Yield (% of control)

Avg of all plants Early Plants Late Plants

100% -- --

94% 107% 80%

95% 103% 65%

83% 118% 49%

91% 107% 28%

aLamberton, Minn., (32,000 plants/acre)b2 locations in Ontario, 2001,2002 (27,000 plants/acre)

source: www.cornandsoybeandigest.com

Effects of uneven emergence on corn yields

SWINE SALESWow! We can’t believe we are dealing with the reality of winterizing swine buildings already but we can’t look forward to spring without winter first either! The business of the season that harvest dictates has also been realized within the Five Star Co-op Feed Department.

We have had numerous calls for swine barns from inside and outside of the territory we work in. If you have a building, or are looking to invest in a building and have any interest in what it takes to own and feed pigs, or feed pigs on a contractual basis, please contact us so we can discuss the options with you.

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDV) has been a very hot topic since early summer this year. There have been many sow production units affected by this virus and have experienced the 100% loss of piglets for a few weeks before being able to save them after the sows gained immunity to pass to the newborns. In some cases, the same units had a break out multiple times with this virus. There have also been finishing sites compromised by this virus, although not with the high death losses as in the cases of the piglets, but with loss of performance which translates to less pounds sold in a strong cash market. Disinfectants like Tek-Trol, 1 Stroke Environ, Virkon S and Clorox have been proven to work against this virus but need the drying time to do

their job. The virus is easily transferred, so bio-security measures need to be put in place. The effects of PEDV on the U.S. will tell us more into the first 6 months of next year. If you have any questions concerning this virus, please contact one of the Swine Team members.

We have the pleasure of introducing Mark Umble as the newest member of the Five Star Co-op Swine Sales Team. Mark has a long history in swine production and management and will be a great addition to the Swine Sales Team. We look forward to introducing him to you in the very near future.

Please check the Five Star Co-op web page to see some of the new products being offered which might fit your swine feeding operation to include the Waste Away pit additive that has a money back guarantee.

SWINE FEED TEAMJeff Hageman Swine Business Development Coordinator (641) 512-1273

Joe TrygstadPurina Pork Production Specialist (641) 425-0281

Tim Maas Purina Pork Production Specialist (641) 512-4067

Mark UmbleSwine Sales (641) 512-5493

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As far as I am concerned, I am glad the 2012 drought stress feedstuffs are used and a better quality feedstuff was harvested this fall. We have been sampling some feeds, please call if you need yours tested.

An issue some had this season, was prevent plant acres which had a cover crop that couldn’t be harvested until Nov. 1st. We were very fortunate that the first frost waited until the last half of October. There were customers with acres planted with Rye Grass, Sorghum, Oats, Peas and Barley, and even early season corn which all made good forage for the cows or feedlot cattle for 2013 and 2014. The product that impressed me was the sorghum; I think we tend to overlook this forage because it doesn’t quite have the same tonnage as the corn silage. By the nutrient reports and tonnage, it will be forage that some producers will look at again.

With the drop in corn prices, most projections are showing some profit. The bad part is we are in the lowest supply of cattle available to purchase. Therefore, we have to pay more for these calves and still make the same margin. One concern is the price of Distillers Grains in their diets; the plants are holding the price up to support their bottom line. I am constantly running a pricing matrix to see if they are pricing the DDGS to work in the diets.

Thank you to those who attended our November Fall Beef Meetings.

If you have any questions or need to check your DDGS price, give Terry a call at (641) 860-1177.

RUMINANT REPORT

With winter just around the corner Five Star Co-op hardware department has a wide selection of winter products in stock for you.

We have Wintermaster premium diesel fuel in our stations in New Hampton, Lawler, and Hanlontown. It will keep your diesel engines running past -30 degrees and give you up to 5% more power than other No. 1 blends, and you will have quicker more efficient starts.

Some other winter products we stock are:

Ice melt – 20# and 50# Antifreeze

Engine starting fluid Heet gas line antifreeze

Power Service Diesel Supplement Power Service 911

Kerosene LB White heater parts

Ice scrapers and snow brushes Sand tubes

Windshield washer fluid Stock tank deicers

Howes Diesel Treat Leather and cloth gloves

Electric, propane, and kerosene heaters Heated pet bowls

Snow shovels and ice chippers Insulated boots

All of these items are available at all of our Five Star Co-op locations delivered by our daily route truck.

FEED MILL

Harvest was done for some and just about for others by the end of November. Yields have been all over the place, but ok for most. Feed business has been growing with prices for feed down and prices for livestock holding steady. All phases of our business have been growing from integrators to independent livestock producers. With this we have hired many new faces to the feed department and will be adding more as our mills are moving to a flex schedule that will include a 6 day work week. We are looking for good men and women who have a good work ethic, like good pay, and will be willing to work a flex schedule that will include nights and/ or weekend work. We need drivers, mixers, and/or a combo of both. If you are that person please call John Winter at 641-

330-3543, Steve Glaser at 641-426-6511, or Paul Larson at 641-860-0482. Positions will be open at both the Klemme and the New Hampton mills.

In the past few weeks we have been hiring. In New Hampton we have hired Jim Brannon as a feed mixer/driver, Michelle Onken as a feed mixer, and Larry Hrdlicka as a driver. At Klemme we have hired Matt Chambers as a driver, Colter Klesel as a feed mixer, and John Renner as a driver.

We also hired 3 specialists to help out. Mark Umble in Sales, Brian Logan in production at Klemme, and Wendy Stevens as our HACCP coordinator/office help. Please welcome all of these people as we move forward.

With the colder weather, the Holiday season is coming fast. Christmas and New Years are both on Wednesday so please plan your feed needs accordingly. We will need a 24 hour notice and would appreciate a 2 day window when possible for delivery. This will help not only for the Holiday schedule but also when Mother Nature decides to slow us down with bad weather. We may start delivering on Sunday night when needed, and will finalize the week on Saturday morning if needed.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Season and especially a Merry Christmas.

HARDWARE DEPARTMENT

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P.O. Box 151 - 1949 North Linn AvenueNew Hampton, IA 50659

QUESTIONS? NEED MORE INFORMATION? Contact us:Five Star Cooperative • P.O. Box 151 - 1949 North Linn Ave. New Hampton, Iowa 50659 • 641.394.3052

Ron Pumphrey – General Manager ................................................. 641.394.6144 Bob Lynch – Assistant Manager / Controller ................................... 641.394.6142 Wayne Steven – Operations Manager .............................................641.896-2610Steve Breitbach – Hardware Department Manager ........................ 641.394.6141 Olin Amundson – Agronomy Department Manager ........................ 641.394.6140 Laura Schwickerath – HR/IT/Project Manager................................. 641.394.6145 John Winter – Feed Department Manager ..................................... 641.330.3543 Bruce Halvorson – Petroleum Department Manager ..................... 641.394.6148 Scott Gudbaur – Grain Department Manager ................................. 641.425.3985 Matt Litwiller – Eastern Region Manager / Safety Director ........... 641.394.6149 Bob Wagner – Marketing Manager ................................................. 641.394.6151 Travis Thomas - Sales Manager ........................................................ 201.988.5526

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W W W. F I V E S TA R . C O O P

PICTURES FROM 2013 FALL HARVEST