GROWMARK Gleanings: Posts http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/AllPosts.aspx RSS feed for the Posts list. Fri, 24 May 2013 21:32:58 GMT Microsoft SharePoint Foundation RSS Generator 60 en-US GROWMARK Gleanings: Posts http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/_layouts/images/siteIcon.png http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/AllPosts.aspx On the road with GROWMARK - Day 5 http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=204 Body:

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We finally made it home from our marathon journey around the GROWMARK System! We spent our final day at Midwood Agronomy Services, a fertilizer facility near Bowling Green, Ohio.

The Midwood facility was another exceptional stop. The people at Midwood went out of their way to show us their location and help us with our video and photo needs and talk about the facility's safety measures.

What really stood out about Midwood was the computerized custom blending operation for bulk loads of fertilizer. Midwood has the first system of its kind in the United States. With this system, one person is able to run the entire dry fertilizer operation with the click of the mouse from an office within the storage building. Midwood has six ten-ton hoppers and two one-ton hoppers (for micronutrients) which the computer can control to achieve the perfect custom blend for the customer. Altogether, the Midwood facility has storage for 7,000 tons of product! The new, clean, and beautiful facility was the perfect way to wrap up our trip.

This past week has been eye-opening and very special. I loved the GROWMARK System before I left and I thought I understood the breadth and depth of our organization. Tonight I am filled with knowledge of exciting efficiencies, loyal and warm employees, and a strong and well-positioned System. I am proud and humble to be a part of this organization and am so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet the people and see the facilities that I have visited this past week. We are truly blessed to be a part of the GROWMARK System! ​

Category: GROWMARK System
Published: 5/24/2013 4:27 PM
]]> Miller, Heather GROWMARK System Fri, 24 May 2013 21:21:15 GMT http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=204 On the road with GROWMARK - Day 4 http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=203 Body:

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Today we visited our final SEEDWAY location - the home office in Hall, New York. The people in Hall welcomed us like family. They were thrilled to meet us, happy to share their office with us, and to take the time out of their day to tell us about their jobs. Once again, I was left feeling fortunate to be a part of the System - our culture of warmth, caring, and integrity is truly beyond compare.

Hall has received a lot of rain the past few days so it was too wet for the staff to do any plot planting. We still had plenty to see in the seed germination labs, the warehouse, and the office. We also spent some time talking with staff about the upcoming festivities to celebrate SEEDWAY's 50th anniversary. The company was founded in 1963 and everyone is very excited to celebrate the rich history of the organization and the bright future that lies ahead.

Tomorrow is our last day on the road. We've had a wonderful time meeting the outstanding people and seeing the remarkable sights of the GROWMARK System. ​

Category: GROWMARK System
Published: 5/23/2013 8:58 PM
]]> Miller, Heather GROWMARK System Fri, 24 May 2013 01:54:09 GMT http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=203 On the road with GROWMARK - Day 3 http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=200 Body:

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Today was quite the day! We spent the morning on the SEEDWAY farm in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It was a beautiful setting and a beautiful morning. SEEDWAY staff were busy at work transplanting melons into the fields, planting seeds, and starting variety trials. After wrapping up at Hershey, we headed to Elizabethtown, PA, another SEEDWAY location. Here we witnessed the warehouse operations, some seed sorting, and packaging. I was impressed by the variety found right within our own System – SEEDWAY is very different from anything else I have seen since joining the GROWMARK System!

After leaving SEEDWAY, we hit the road again for Philadelphia. In the city of brotherly love we spent some time on the docks. The GROWMARK Philadelphia Fertilizer terminal is right on the Delaware River and the location is in the process of constructing a huge crane for unloading deep water ships. The crane was still under construction today but it will definitely be a sight to see when it is completed! We also checked out the dry fertilizer storage at Philadelphia, housed in four large domes, capable of holding 15,000-20,000 tons of fertilizer each.

Since leaving Philadelphia, we’ve been on the road for about six hours. Any ideas where we’re headed? I’ll give you a hint – it’s not home (yet)!
​

 

Category: GROWMARK System
Published: 5/22/2013 9:45 PM
]]> Miller, Heather GROWMARK System Thu, 23 May 2013 02:36:43 GMT http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=200 On the road with GROWMARK - Day 2 http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=199 Body:

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Today's adventure took us through two states (three if you count the fact that we woke up in a tiny sliver of West Virginia). We spent the morning with Jan and the amazing people at the East Liverpool, Ohio fertilizer location. They were unloading a barge full of MAP and I was so impressed with the efficiency of the unloading process. The crane operator moved the product directly from the barge into a large hopper and the hopper dumped straight into the trucks of the lined up customers. No middle man there!

Also at East Liverpool we got to check out the custom fertilizer bagging setup. The automation and precision of the operation was definitely a sight to be seen (don't worry, we took plenty of video so you can see it yourself soon)!

After wrapping up in Ohio, we headed to Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, where we visited our first SEEDWAY location of the trip. At Mifflinburg the cheery and accomodating staff were working with their own bagging operations - both turf seed and treated corn seed. We met some wonderful people, got some great footage, and saw some beautiful countryside.

As night two wraps up, I'm left excited about our day tomorrow and touched by the warm welcome we've received everywhere we've been so far. Stay tuned for more stories and photos tomorrow.

Category: GROWMARK System
Published: 5/21/2013 7:57 PM
]]> Miller, Heather GROWMARK System Wed, 22 May 2013 00:44:57 GMT http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=199 On the road with GROWMARK - Day 1 http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=198 Body:

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I've been with GROWMARK for four years and I've had the wonderful opportunity to travel a fair amount within the System. However, I'm still amazed at how much I haven't seen. This week, a few locations will be crossed off of that list. This week, myself and three of my corporate relations coworkers have loaded up a minivan full of cameras, notepads, and chocolate and hit the road. Over the course of the week, we will visit 8 different System locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Our trip will take us to fertilizer facilities, SEEDWAY locations, and more. You can follow our trip here on the blog and on the GROWMARK facebook page, where you can guess where we are that day based on a photo that I post.

Today, our first day on location, we visited the GROWMARK Fertilizer Facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. This facility, formerly a CF terminal, then a part of a joint venture between GROWMARK and Bunge, is now a wholly-owned GROWMARK location. Equipped for 60,000 tons of dry fertilizer storage and 32,000 tons of UAN storage, the terminal is located on the Ohio river and receives all product by barge. With a staff of 10, the incredibly efficient facility can load 120 trucks in an 8-hour day.  

While the statistics and process at the Cincinnati terminal are very impressive, what really stood out to me were the people. Throughout our visit, I had the opportunity to meet nearly all of the 10 staff members and spoke with several customers. I was proud to hear each and every employee remark about what an excellent facility it was and how pleased they were to work there, and to be a part of the GROWMARK System. Customers remarked at how much they liked doing business with the Cincinnati facility compared to competing terminals in the area. I left Cincinnati feeling honored to be connected to System of hard-working and loyal employees and members.

I will give a brief recap of the journey each day here at the blog but we will be using the footage, photos, and stories from our trip in a variety of ways, including in Spirit magazine. ​

Category: GROWMARK System
Published: 5/20/2013 8:57 PM
]]> Miller, Heather GROWMARK System Tue, 21 May 2013 01:43:38 GMT http://www.growmark.com/sites/Blog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=198