At the annual membership meeting of New Vision Coop, held December 10th in Worthington, it was announced that New Vision will close the elevators in Adrian, Reading and Beaver Creek as full time elevators and have them operate as seasonal facilities. For Adrian and Reading, that decision went into effect on December 14th and Beaver Creek will close at the end of this year. According to Frank McDowell, CEO of New Vision Coop, it was a decision driven by the markets. “It’s a part of what we have to do to keep the Coop moving forward,” he said.
McDowell commented that more than half of the Coop’s employees have been working for the Coop for ten years or more, and some as long as 30-40 years. New Vision is encouraging employees to fill in where and when help is needed.
John Palaschak is one of those employees from the Adrian terminal. John will be working out of the Magnolia feed mill, but will still come to Adrian to load grain out or when something is needed here. There are 10 to 15 positions that have not been filled, and it’s possible for employees of these elevators to fill these jobs.
As part of the seasonal operations, Adrian, Reading and Beaver Creek will no longer be selling bags of feed for cattle, pigs and pets. These products will still be available at Magnolia and Ellsworth. The New Vision elevators is Hills and Magnolia will continue to take grain, or the farmer can use New Vision’s on-farm pick-up service where possible. This service is becoming more widely used every year.
So far these three terminals are the only ones to be moved to this seasonal schedule. McDowell stated it was important to note that these locations are not closing, and will be open full time during harvest. “It was a management responsibility that we asked our members to support,” McDowell said. “Our strategy is not to close elevators…it’s to get work done.”
