Mid-County Newsletter MCnewsletter-fall14 | Page 5

Agronomy www.midcountycoop.com Page 5 Meet Mid-County Coop’s summer interns Rick Ancel, son of Bob and Cheryl Ancel of Savage, will graduate from the Uni- versity of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2016, with a degree in agricultural industries and marketing with a focus on crops and soils. During his summer internship with Mid-County Coop, Rick had the opportunity to do soil sampling and crop scouting for area farmers. Next summer, he hopes to return to Mid-County Coop for an internship focused on the marketing aspect of agronomy. When he’s not at work or school, Rick enjoys fishing, duck hunting, and motorcycling. Michelle Covington, daughter of Jim and Paula Covington of Belle Plaine, is a 2013 graduate of Belle Plaine High School. She is currently studying agronomy and agribusiness at the University of Minnesota-Crookston. After graduation in 2016, she hopes to work in the sales department of an agronomy co-op. This past summer, Michelle interned at Mid-County Coop, where she enjoyed scouting crops, hauling fertilizer, and helping farmers improve crop yields. In her free time, Scott Nelson Doug Kraska Tim Lieske Kenny Schwartz Mark Eggers Steve Salz Art Templin 79 YEARS Strong & Dale Schmitz The Mid-County Agronomy Team AGRONOMY Growing Your Locally Owned & Operated Coop (952) 466-3730 www.midcountycoop.com SOIL SAMPLING Steve Salz Agronomy (952) 466-3730 [email protected] Need to get soil samples taken quickly? Need a quick turnaround on results? Need quick, accurate, and respon- sible recommendations? Then you are obviously working with the soil experts at Mid County. The number of acres we soil sample each year con- tinues to grow. To ensure we continue to be the best in the market, I looked internally at our sampling program, and looked for areas where we can improve, turnaround time and accuracy were the two main areas that we felt we could do better. We have upgraded and replaced the mapping and soil management software programs to be on the cutting edge. We have fully redeveloped and re-organized how samples are scheduled, taken, shipped the to lab, and results returned back to us for faster results. We have also leveraged new technology from our soil lab to again help with accurate and timely recommendations results. Between Alex Klaustermeier, myself, and the rest of the Mid County team, we have been able to: 1. Schedule all fields for sampling so no fields are missed. 2. Get current on all sampling that is due 3. Implement new software and technology to provide the best results. 4. Improve turnaround time to make sure your fields are fertilized quickly, so you are able to perform your tillage on a timely basis. My 20 years of experience in the laser and GPS tech- nology field has really been beneficial to bringing Mid- County’s Sampling Program to a new level. Give me a call at (952) 466-3730.