Harvest is just around the corner, and we know it won’t be long before the trucks are rolling.
While Mother Nature has taken her time getting us here, we’re getting our locations, teams and systems ready for another busy harvest. Here are a few things to know before you hit the road.
Know Before You Go
Every Five Star grain location has its own traffic flow pattern, and our locations of Hanlontown, Dougherty, Nashua, and North Washington have updated patterns recently. Before harvest gets busy, take a few minutes to review the traffic flow map for the location, or locations, you’ll be delivering to. If you are new to delivering to Five Star, this is a great resource to feel comfortable on-site.
Locations Traffic Flow Maps:
- Burchinal Grain
- Burchinal Fertilizer
- Dougherty
- Dougherty – Sundays
- Hanlontown
- Ionia
- Klemme
- Lawler
- Lime Springs
- Nashua
- New Hampton
- North Washington
- Rockwell – In Town
- Rockwell – Offsite
- Scarville
- Ventura – In Town
- Ventura – North Site
Once you’re on site:
- 10 MPH is the posted speed limit at every location.
- Watch for pedestrians, our team members in hi-vis gear.
- Please check in with our team when you arrive on site.
- NO tarping on the scales.
- If your location uses RFID technology, make sure you have enough tags for all tractors and trucks delivering.
- Most other locations use large farm signs to identify which operation you are hauling for. Please make sure you have updated signs and enough for the trucks you’ll be using before harvest.
- Follow the posted traffic signs and all road laws while on site.
- If you see something that needs attention, let a Five Star team member know.
- Emergency contact information is posted near the main entrances at all locations.
A little preparation now can go a long way once the lines start moving.
Keep Harvest Updates at Your Fingertips
Harvest hours and grain receiving schedules can change quickly based on weather, traffic and location needs. We want to make sure you have the information you need when you need it.
NEW this year: Location hours are now posted and regularly updated in Five Star LINK.
Make sure you’re signed up to receive Five Star’s fall harvest grain receiving hours text messages. If you haven’t received these messages before, text your name, phone number and the locations you want to receive updates for to: 641.552.0896
You can also follow Five Star on Facebook for harvest hour postings and other updates.
Sign up to receive twice-daily cash bids by text and choose which location you want to receive bids from.
Save these numbers to your phone:
Five Star Cash Bids: 641.259.6103
Five Star Harvest Hours: 641.552.0896
We also recommend saving your local Five Star location manager’s contact information so you can quickly communicate any changes to your harvest plans.
If You Haven’t Used Five Star LINK Yet, Now’s the Time
Five Star LINK puts all of your grain information in one place. You can:
- View scale tickets
- Enter grain offers
- Manage grain balances
- Track grain settlements
- Receive messages from Five Star
- View harvest location hours
- Stay connected with your Five Star team
Sign up for Five Star LINK today!
A Quick Reminder on Grain Disposition
We’ve updated our grain policies for this fall. You can find them online or pick up a hard copy at any Five Star location.
Please let us know what you want to do with your grain within an average of 10 days of delivery, with a maximum of 15 days from your first load to your last load.
We’ll also be sending grain disposition text reminders through LINK.
If you want to do something other than storage with your grain, let a grain team member know in a timely manner. If we don’t hear from you, your grain will be placed in storage.
Need to defer payment? Please let us know ahead of time.
If you are unsure about receiving grain payment in this year or next for tax purposes, we can defer pay the grain for now and roll it back to this year at a later date if necessary. We would ask that defer payments be split into multiple lot sizes if this is thought to be a possibility. An example might be if someone is deferring 10,000 bushels of corn, we might suggest splitting this into two 5,000 bushel defer payments in case one of them might need to be rolled back. We do ask that any defer pay rollback requests be completed before December 18th.
If you have questions about grain disposition or deferred payment, please reach out to a member of your Five Star grain team.
Don’t Let Dry Beans Cost You Bushels
One of the biggest harvest decisions isn’t just where you deliver. It’s when you pull the combine into the field.
Soybean moisture matters.
At 13% moisture, you’re at the optimum revenue potential with no moisture discount. But as beans get drier, shatter loss and moisture loss can quickly eat into the bushels you’re actually selling. For example, at 60 bushels per acre and a $12.50 cash price, we’ve estimated an additional 1/2 point of shatter loss for every moisture point below 13%. That’s about 0.9 (0.3 from shatter and 0.6 from moisture) bushels per acre lost for every point of moisture below 13% with an average of 60 bushel beans. This is a conservative look at what waiting for dry down might cost you. See the chart below for different scenarios.
The point? Don’t wait on a premium bid if your beans are getting too dry. Getting caught in long wait times and lines or lack of hours during harvest while your beans are drying in the field could cost you more than just time and fuel. What might appear to be a 15 or 20 cent premium in a bid list may be fool’s gold to the net revenue of your farm.
What About Wetter Beans?
The other side of the equation is moisture discounts.
In the same example, harvesting beans wetter means less shatter loss and more water weight going across the scale. When those factors are considered, harvesting up to 14% moisture may not be nearly as costly as many producers might expect. At 14% moisture, the numbers in this example are essentially even with 12% beans. Below 12%, you could actually be better off harvesting at 14% and taking the moisture discount.
And there’s another reason to consider Five Star.
Five Star Soybean Moisture Averaging Advantage
Five Star is unique averaging soybean moisture at 14% and below. Some competitors do not and no soybean processors in our area do. This could be at an advantage to your bottom line.
For example at $12.50 cash price, if half your loads come in under 12.5% and the other half come in between 13.1% and 13.5%, those loads have a good chance of averaging out to no moisture discount at Five Star.
That can look very different from delivering somewhere that doesn’t average moisture.
If taken to some of our competitors, half these loads would receive a 19-cent discount, or if averaged among all loads, it would be a net 9.5-cent discount. This might be another way a processor bid could turn into fool’s gold at harvest.
One important note: soybean moisture averaging is specific to each location and open assembly. If you deliver to multiple Five Star locations, each location’s average would stand on its own.
So when you’re comparing bids this fall, remember that the number on the bid sheet isn’t always the whole story.
Harvest Takes a Team
We know harvest means long days, early mornings, and plenty of hours in the cab.
Our Five Star teams are putting in those hours too. Full-time and seasonal team members are working behind-the-scenes to keep trucks moving, grain receiving, and service running. We take great pride in retaining quality full-time and seasonal help and want to continue that into the future. Please be patient and gracious with our teams as we work through the busiest time of year.
And to everyone who takes the time to thank a Five Star team member, it means more than you probably realize.
Most importantly, be safe. A good harvest isn’t just about full bins. It’s about everyone making it home at the end of the day to your loved ones.
Once the Field Is Empty, Think About Next Year
When you’ve finished a field, let your Five Star agronomy team know. Getting fertilizer applied or delivered now can give you a head start on the 2027 growing season. You can also track your field activity through Five Star LINK.
Here’s to a Safe Harvest
Thank you for choosing Five Star Cooperative this fall and for being part of our cooperative.
If you have questions, ideas or something we can do to make your harvest experience better, reach out to any member of our Five Star grain team. Some of our best ideas have come directly from our members. As a member-owned cooperative, your opinions and voice matter to Five Star.
Have a safe harvest, and we’ll see you around the elevator!
