JAKE OLDENBURG, VP OPERATIONS
Jake.Oldenburg@NuWay-KandH.com
We are at the tail end of our fall season, and every fall is different in its own way. Spring brought frequent rains that interrupted planting and application. Finishing late, we thought we’d have a later fall. We were surprised when the crop was ready to be harvested a bit earlier than expected. It seems our growers experienced no harvest interruptions, and our application teams were not overloaded on work either. Both seemed to maintain a nice, smooth pace. Our employees and equipment kind of cruised along.
“With 90-foot booms, we spread the same acres with fewer trips across the field.”
Part of the smooth fall pace may be attributed to new pieces of equipment and services we’ve added. For one thing, we replaced some of our 70-foot dry spreading machines with 90-foot units, so we were able to spread the same acres with less trips across the field. We’ve also begun offering strip-till. We just dabbled in it last fall, but this fall we put more momentum behind it. With Tyler working on the FarmRx level and Colby Lyons operating the strip-till unit, we’ve heard good things from our customers.
We wouldn’t have guessed it a couple months ago, but propane demand in corn drying season was non-existent. So our drivers are doing other work—regulator replacement, leak checks, and the like. Our LP department also shared some labor with the agronomy teams.
We’ve added a 45,000-gallon storage tank at the Wesley East propane facility. That new tank and pumping system loads our bobtails twice as fast. With this fall’s low LP volume, we really haven’t realized the potential of the new system, but I’m certain we will look back on it as a good investment.
We’ve decommissioned the Woden refined fuel bulk plant. The tanks have been cleaned and inspected, and we plan to restore the site to its original state next spring.
As for fuel delivery, we’ve had zero issues at the terminals, and AFD has operated flawlessly. CHS has spent thought, time, and money in recent years to drive down delivery times and has developed a close relationship with our customers. Through our partner Best Oil, NuWay-K&H does have trucks and personnel of its own in case the AFD system struggles, but we haven’t had to use that option this fall.
In Fiscal Year 2025, we plan to purchase two semi-trailers from Best Oil. These trailers have been used to haul fuel, but we’re going to refurbish them to haul liquid fertilizer. In the past, we’ve used single compartment trailers. These are multi-compartment and should be more efficient hauling from the terminal.
Prior to the 2025 growing season, we’ll also be returning a piece of equipment to John Deere and replacing it with a new piece of application equipment with updated technology that could make us more efficient with See & Spray™. NOTE If you don’t know what that is, ask your Agronomy Account Manager.
Back to propane
- Last year’s warm winter resulted in a near non-existent propane season. This year’s prediction of a La Niña-type winter may play out differently. We’d ask our customers to cooperate with us in these areas.
- We’re continuing to perform leak checks on both our residential and commercial propane accounts. When NuWay-K&H requests to schedule a leak check, please arrange a time to be home so we can finish your check.
- We’re also working through regulator replacement projects. If you have a regulator that is past the manufacturer’s suggested replacement date, please set up a time to have it replaced. Otherwise, we may need to withhold service until the work is done.
- Finally, with the potential of more snow, please clear a path from where our truck is parked to your supply tank. Your driver must drag up to 150 feet of hose, and your cooperation keeps them safe and healthy and keeps us on time delivering propane to you and your neighbors.
Thank you!
