Apr 26, 2013

Recognizing Canada's 13.3 million volunteers!

This week was recognized as Canada's 71st National Volunteer Week and for co-operative businesses, volunteers play a significant role.

With the seventh co-operative principle being "Concern for community" it is no wonder why the co-op sector relies on the power of more than 49,000 volunteers, and of that 10,000 members volunteer for their co-operative's board of directors.

In honour of National Volunteer Week, The Canadian Co-operative Association has posted a blog that features personal stories and photos of 11 CCA volunteers that have made a difference at: I volunteer because....

Each year, GROWMARK and FS Co-operative employees give thousands of hours either on their own or through the GROWMARK Volunteer Network to assist with local community programs and organizations.

Thank you to all who have made a difference!

Apr 17, 2013

Don McLean named ABD for Ontario FS System

Effective April 29, Don McLean of FS PARTNERS will move into a new role with GROWMARK as  Agronomy Business Director for the Ontario Region. In this new role, McLean will serve as the key contact and interface for all agronomy business for GROWMARK and the FS System in Ontario.
 
Don McLean
 GROWMARK Ontario Agronomy Business Director
McLean has been a key contributor to the agriculture co-op sector since 1999 where he began his career at North Wellington Co-operative Services as a crop specialist/agronomist. In 2009, he moved to FS PARTNERS, a division of GROWMARK, as agronomist and most recently served as agronomy sales manager.

McLean is a University of Guelph graduate with a B.Sc. in Agriculture and has held a Certified Crops Advisor designation since 2000.

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Don in his new role.

Apr 16, 2013

A new look and feel for CYL 2013!

This summer, the Co-operative Young Leaders Program is in its 47th year of growth and evolvment. It has a new look that goes along with an enhanced program.

CYL is developing a new year-round engagement program, that will involve ongoing leadership activities and accountability for participants throughout the year after they finish their summer sessions. These expectations may include various events or projects that will be about promoting and educating others about co-operatives and acting in a leadership role. Some ideas may include volunteerism, speaking at a sponsor's annual meeting, writing a blog, creating a promo video or even giving a Co-ops 101 presentation to high school students.

Registration for summer 2013 is now open. To learn more about CYL visit The Ontario Co-operative Association. See below for this year's schedule and sponsors: 
If you have seen first-hand how CYL has impacted a young person and would like to share your story, we would love to hear from you in the comments section of this post.


Apr 4, 2013

Congratulations to our newest FS Certified Crop Specialists!


Dave Curry -FS PARTNERS

FS crop specialists Dave Curry with FS PARTNERS (Harmony), Bob Konert of Sunderland Co-operative and Jason Migchels of Wanstead Farmers Co-operative have all recently completed the requirements necessary to hold credentials as a Certified Crop Specialist (CCS) in the FS Co-operative System. All three are already Certified Crop Advisors in Ontario and this latest achievement of earning CCS status within the GROWMARK System is the next level up in their extensive agricultural training.

Jason Migchels-Wanstead
Farmers Co-operative

Bob Konert-Sunderland
Co-operative

To earn the prestigious title of Certified Crop Specialist, candidates must have their CCA designation to enrol and are required to successfully complete a series of comprehensive written and verbal exams designed to establish base standards of knowledge on the topics of nutrient management practices, integrated pest management, soil erosion and water quality. Among the skill sets assessed are technical knowledge; the ability to discover, identify and analyze yield-limiting factors from a grower’s field records; identify common pest problems and recommend economic treatment measures; discuss and analyze the economic aspects of crop production; and understand the need-identification process. 

The GROWMARK System prides itself in its commitment to provide employees with on-going training to ensure its farmer-customers are recieving the best technical expertise and recommendations to help them maximize yields and increase profits.

Curry, Migchels and Konert have now joined the ranks of 15 other FS Certified Crop Specialists throughout central and southwestern Ontario:
AGRIS Co-operative--Chris Snip (Cottam), Kent Wolfe (Dutton), Mark McKerrall (Tupperville), John Couwenberg (Brigden), Graham McLean (Glencoe) and Jeremy Tanner (Muirkirk).
FS PARTNERS--Stefan Dewaele (Delhi), Dave VanCasteren (Elmvale), Nathan Saarloos (Mitchell), Quentin Hopcraft (Drayton) and Tony Tennant (Ayr).
Sunderland Co-operative's Adam Bent and Brian Colville; Brent Troyer of North Wellington Co-operative (Mt. Forest) and Mike Parker of Wanstead Farmers Co-operative (Alvinston).

 

Apr 2, 2013

Great Lakes Grain On-Line Offer Centre from a customer's perspective

Grain handling and marketing has always been important to the GROWMARK System, and its importance continues to grow as demand for North American grain increases around the world. Perhaps nowhere in the System is the grain business booming more than in Ontario, where Great Lakes Grain has seen incredible success in serving farmers in the central and southwestern part of the province.

With Internet marketing on the rise, Great Lakes Grain's On-Line Offer Centre, a tool that has taken off along with an electronic payment function continues to get positive feed back from customers. See what this customer has to say about it....


This year, more than 10 million bushels of grain transactions occurred through the grain portal site.

Most recently, a mobile site was introduced for farmers, giving them more freedom to access the On-Line Offer Centre and keep track of bids while working in their fields.