Employees of CHS Primeland on the South Palouse help provide transportation for 50,000 pounds of food from the collection site to two local food banks as part of the area wide food drive Palouse Cares.  Being involved in the community is serious business for all employees and on Dec 5 they had a chance to be involved in another great program.  Pictured here are (l to r) Ethan Slichter, Matt Kingsley and Caleb Bradway.  In addition, a number of employees helped purchase 2,000 pounds of potatoes for a donation, helping Palouse Cares reach its goal of stocking food bank shelves in the area.

Justin and Jodie Mink of Cambridge, Idaho, were the winners of the 2015 Idaho CHS Farm Family of the Year contest. They were recognized at the University of Idaho Vandal Football game this last weekend. The Mink’s are the 4th generation (and their kids are the 5th) on a 500 head cattle ranch. Both Justin and Jodie are graduates of the University of Idaho and Jodie is also the Ag teacher and FFA Adviser at Cambridge High School. CHS is proud to support farm families like the Minks and local communities. Pictured here are Justin and Jodie with their three boys and Ken Blakeman (right), CHS Primeland’s General Manager after being presented the Game Ball at the football game.

Progress at the Port of Wilma Agronomy Hub Plant continues at a thunderous pace! This week marks the beginning of part of the manufacturing infrastructure installation. While temperatures are dropping, crews continue to work full speed to make sure the plant is done to serve our member-owners as soon as possible.

Darrell Tyler has been selected to manage the Port of Wilma Agronomy Hub Plant for CHS Primeland.  Darrell has worked in several roles for CHS Primeland since starting in 2007, most recently as the South Palouse Area Manager based in Moscow.  Prior to coming to CHS Primeland, Darrell served 12 years as the Agronomy Division Manager for another area agriculture cooperative. He is a long time resident of Genesee, ID.

The Port of Wilma (Clarkston, WA) Agronomy Hub Plant is a state of art, multi-million dollar crop nutrient and crop protection product manufacturing and distribution plant.  With a capacity of 24,000 tons of dry fertilizer and 2.5 million gallon of liquid, the Plant is the largest of its type in the Inland Northwest.  The Plant will have the equipment to blend, react, and convert various types of crop nutrients products making it a complete manufacturing facility.

“I am excited about the Plant,” states Tyler.  “And I am looking forward to making it a success for our member-owners and farmers in the area.”  The Plant will provide better logistics and quicker deliver of products for area farmers and will increase the storage capacity of CHS Primeland, allowing for better buying power and improved inventory control.

“Darrell’s strong understanding of our customer needs as well as CHS Primeland’s business model will help us continue to grow our business in the future,” comments Ken Mingo, CHS Primeland’s Agronomy Division Manager.

CHS Primeland staff spent the last three days on campus at WSU and U of I recruiting at the annual fall career fairs. CHS Primeland is hiring Agronomy Sales Interns for next summer, Agronomy Sales Trainees (full time) as well as a number of service positions. And nationally, CHS has over 400 job openings. All positions can be found at chsinc.com/careers.

Construction on the new Port of Wilma Agronomy Hub Plant began in earnest this summer. Located at the Port of Wilma in Clarkston, WA, this facility will provide a significant boost to member-owners in the entire CHS Primeland trade area with improved logistics, better inventory and bigger buying power. Thanks to the CHS Primeland Board of Directors for their vision for the future approving this project. Keep posted for more exciting updates. The hub plant is scheduled to be operational in mid 2016.

CHS Primeland is proud to sponsor two upcoming crop tours. June 30 on the Camas Prairie and July 7 on the S. Palouse.

The Camas Prairie tours starts at 1:00 pm at the Craigmont office. Stops include the Prairie AnswerPlot, CHS Primeland’s fall and spring variety trials, a tour of the new Nezperce grain elevator and WestBred’s research plot. It concludes with a customer appreciation BBQ at the Cottonwood City Park at 6:00 pm.

The S. Palouse tour starts at 8:00 am at the Kendrick office. Stops include CHS Primeland’s fall and spring variety trials and Brocke’s legume variety trials. The tour concludes with a BBQ lunch at the Big Bear Ridge Community Center.

If you have questions, please contact a local CHS Primeland office. We look forward to seeing you at one (or both) of the tours!

Congratulations to Tyrel Fredrickson for his recent promotion to the position of S. Palouse Grain Supervisor for CHS Primeland. Tyrel has worked for CHS Primeland for seven years but has been involved in agricultural all his life, growing up as the 4th generation on a family farm in Troy. “I am excited about continuing to improve the safety culture surrounding the grain crew while still improving our efficiency,” states Tyrel. “I am also looking forward to improving my knowledge of the business side of the company.” Thanks, Tyrel, for your hard work and for helping our member-owners grow.

CHS Primeland is pleased to announce the addition of Tiffany Billigmeier to our staff! Tiffany will serve as the Admin Assistant at the St. John location. A native of Thorton, WA, Tiffany has worked in ag retail and the cooperative system in the past. Tiffany left the area for six years but moved back because of the quality of life of farming communities. “I wanted to give back to the community that supported me and my family through the years,” Tiffany says. “There is nothing better than raising kids alongside hardworking, sweat to the bone, work until the job is done, kind of people like famers.” Most recently she worked at The Courtyard in Colfax. And her father recently retired form an ag retail company, so she understand the important role CHS Primeland plays in helping producers grow better crops and their businesses. Please welcome Tiffany to the team!