WIXLIB

December, 2021HAPPY FORTIETHMIDWEST BIO-TECH!Midwest Bio-Tech was founded by Jamesand Carole Miller in November, 1981, so wehave now been in business for 40 years.Like many people who celebrate landmarkanniversaries, we have spent some timethinking about the many changes in ourbusiness over the past 40 years. Forexample, we were reminded that the worldwas a much different place in 1981: President Reagan had been in officefor less than one year The national average corn price was 2.50 per bushel and the nationalaverage corn yield was 108.9 BPA Roundup had only been on themarket for five years, and herbicideresistant crops wouldn’t emerge foranother 15 years. So, many farmersused PVC pipes to build their ownrope-wick applicators in 1981. “Auto steer” meant running the fronttractor tire in the furrow whilemoldboard plowing.Mechanicalauto-steer was invented in the 60’s,but it was not fully practical until itwas linked to GPS in the mid-90’s. Very few farms had personalcomputers in 1981, and nobody hadcell phones, iPads, or ear buds Getting Bluetooth in 1981 meant anemergency trip to the dentist We only received three TV channelsby antenna, and cable TV was notavailable. We could get a fourthchannel if the weather between Erieand Iowa City was just right.We have also worked hard to developMidwest Bio-Tech and help more farmerssince 1981. In the past 40 years, we have: Grown from our original territory ineastern Iowa and northern Illinois toserve customers in 44 states Spent over three and a half yearsexhibiting at farm shows and otherindustry events Worked with 10 different people inthe show booth over the years Published 115 quarterly editions ofthe Midwest Bio-Tech News Started our first webpage in 2000,and we added a second site for theSoil Health Lab two years ago Used three different facilities for thebusiness, including our present officeand warehouse built in 2013We greatly appreciate the opportunity toserve you in the past, and we look forwardto continue growing with you in the future.30TH ANNIVERSARYNO-TILL CONFERENCEThe 2022 National No-Till Conference willreturn as an in-person meeting on January4-7, 2022. This will be the 30th annualconference, and it will convene at the GaltHouse Hotel in Louisville, KY. For thesecond year, we are supporting this eventas a title sponsor, and we will have anexhibit at the Galt House throughout theconference. If you will be at the No-TillConference, please drop by our booth tosay hello. Also, if you have not signed upfor the conference yet, you can still registeronline at www.no-tillfarmer.com/nntc.

PRICES UP FOR 2022 BUTVALUE REMAINS STRONGUnlike many other farm input suppliers,we do not adjust our product prices tofollow the latest bump in crop prices. BothChandler and Midwest Bio-Tech havealways based our pricing on the actualcosts of producing and distributing theproducts. Although we faced moderatelyhigher costs from 2016 to 2021, we held theline on our prices for nearly six years.However, we are now facing sharply highercosts for many of our inputs and packagingsupplies, we have had to raise our pricesfor the 2022 spring discount period.Effective immediately, the regular retailprices for the Chandler crop products aregoing up by 12% to 16%. Although ourshipping costs continue to increase, we willmaintain the same shipping fees that wecharged in 2021. Also, we still offer freeshipping on all orders over 800, and wecontinue to offer the same 3% to 12% earlyorder discounts. The spring discount pricelist is enclosed with the newsletter.Even at the new prices, the Chandler cropproducts still offer excellent value for cropproduction. To illustrate this point, weestimate the expected net returns fromusing the Chandler crop products in 2022.The net returns are based on the latestprojected farm prices for corn ( 4.50) andsoybeans ( 12). The per-acre costs arebased on the full retail price of the Chandlerproducts, and the net returns will be higherif you take advantage of our volume or earlyorder discounts.Dry Seed TreatThe new prices for Dry Seed Treat haveincreased by about 20 per bucket, so thisincrease is less than 0.15 per acre forcorn. One 15# bucket treats about 60 bagsor units of corn or bean seed at 4 ouncesper unit. At the new retail price for a singlebucket ( 180), the product cost is 3.00 perunit. If you buy six or more buckets underthe December discount, Dry Seed Treatcosts only 2.50 per unit. Accordingly, theper-acre cost ranges from 1.00 to 1.20for corn and 2.50 to 3.00 for soybeans.To be conservative, we compute the netreturn based on half of the expected yieldgain that we see from Dry Seed Treat:Yield gainRevenue gainCost per acreNet returnCorn 4 BPA 18.00 / A 1.20 16.80 / ASoybeans 2 BPA 24.00 / A 3.00 21.00 / ALiquid Seed TreatThe new prices for Liquid Seed Treat haveincreased by 14 to 19 per gallon, so thiscost has risen by less than 0.30 per acrefor corn. One gallon treats 64 bags or unitsof seed at 2 ounces per unit. At the newretail price for a single gallon ( 152), theproduct cost is 2.40 per unit. If you buy a2.5 gallon jug at the December discount,Liquid Seed Treat costs 2.05 per unit.Thus, the per-acre cost runs from 0.75 to 0.95 for corn and 2.05 to 2.40 forsoybeans. The expected yield gains areidentical to Dry Seed Treat, and LiquidSeed Treat still costs less per acre than DrySeed Treat because the liquid product doesnot include the dry carrier. The expectednet returns for 2022 are:Yield gainRevenue gainCost per acreNet returnCorn 4 BPA 18.00 / A 0.95 17.05 / ASoybeans 2 BPA 24.00 / A 2.40 21.60 / AChandler SoilThe new prices for Chandler Soil haveincreased by about 12 per gallon, which isabout 1.50 per acre when broadcast and 0.75 per acre for in-row applications. Ourrecent on-farm test results showed 5 to 12BPA more corn and 2 to 15 BPA morebeans with 8 ounces per acre of ChandlerSoil applied in-furrow or near the row. Ouron-farm tests also showed the same yieldresults when Chandler Soil is broadcast at16 ounces per acre.

The net returns for 2022 are based on thelower end of these yield increases for corn( 5 BPA) and beans ( 2 BPA):CornYield gainRevenue gainCost per acreNet returnBanded 5 BPA 22.50 / A 6.37 16.13 / ABroadcast 5 BPA 22.50 / A 12.75 9.75 / ASoybeansYield gainRevenue gainCost per acreNet returnBanded 2 BPA 24.00 / A 6.37 17.63 / ABroadcast 2 BPA 24.00 / A 12.75 11.25 / APlease note that these results only reflectthe yield benefits from a first-year treatmentand do not reflect the long-term advantagesfrom higher organic matter, better waterinfiltration, and improved soil health.Chandler Biocat 1000The new prices for Biocat 1000 have alsorisen by about 12 per gallon. Based onrecent on-farm trials, Biocat 1000 applied inthe spring can decay an additional 1.0 to2.0 tons of corn residue per acre (or more)by early summer. To estimate the value ofthese additional nutrients recycled fromresidue, we use retail fertilizer prices forseveral different sources of NPK and S andderive the average cost per pound. At thistime, the nutrients recycled from cornresidue are worth 30.90 per ton.After subtracting the product cost and 5per acre for product application, the netreturns from using Biocat 1000 in 2022 are:1.0 tonsNitrogenP2O5K2OSulfurTotal valueApplicationNet return1.5 tons2.0 tons 10.00 15.002.403.6018.0027.000.500.75 30.90 46.35- 16.00 - 16.00 13.90 30.35 20.004.8036.001.00 61.80- 16.00 45.80Undecayed soybean residue generallycauses less trouble with tillage and plantingthan corn stalks because there is lesstonnage per acre and it tends to decayfaster.However, soybean residue hashigher value per ton ( 41.70) than cornresidue because it has more nitrogen andphosphorus and nearly as much potash.By applying Biocat 1000 to bean residue,we can expect to decay an additional 0.75to 1.25 tons of residue per acre (or more).The expected net returns from acceleratedbean residue decay in 2022 are:0.75 tonNitrogenP2O5K2OSulfurTotal valueApplicationNet return1.0 ton1.25 ton 16.88 22.503.004.0011.2515.000.150.20 31.28 41.70- 10.50 - 10.50 20.78 31.20 28.125.0018.750.25 52.12- 10.50 41.62For both corn and beans, we expect Biocat1000 to net roughly 2 for each dollarinvested in recycling nutrients from residue.Chandler FoliarThe new prices for Foliar are 13 to 19per gallon higher, which is less than 1.50per acre. The expected net returns fromapplying Chandler Foliar to corn andsoybeans are based on the full retail priceof Foliar purchased in 2.5 gallon jugs( 340), and the net returns will be higher ifyou buy under the volume and early orderdiscounts. The new product cost is 10.65per acre. We also include 5 per acre forapplication cost, but you can save an extratrip across the field by applying Foliar alongwith pesticides or foliar fertilizers. Finally,we use conservative expected yield gainsthat are less than our recent field results:Yield gainRevenue gainCost per acreNet returnCorn 8 BPA 36.00 / A 10.65 25.35 / ASoybeans 4 BPA 48.00 / A 10.65 37.35 / A

PACKING MATERIALSARE RECYCLABLEIf you receive your Chandler productsthrough UPS or commercial freight carriers,please note that most of our packingmaterials come from renewable sourcesand may be recycled through local wastehandlers. For example, all of the cardboardboxes and wood pallets may be recycled.Also, the packing peanuts that we use to fillthe boxes shipped by UPS are made fromcorn starch. You can reuse the peanuts, oryou can dispose of them by dissolving thepeanuts in water.In most cases, the only component in ourpackages that cannot be recycled is thefoam base that is placed in the bottom ofthe box when we ship gallon or 2.5 gallonjugs by UPS. We use these Sealed Airfoam packs instead of peanuts to providebetter protection for the bottom of the jugs,and this foam must be discarded with yourregular trash.POWER PLANTERAUGERS FOR SEED TREATFor the past several years, we have beena dealer for Power Planter augers. Thesesteel augers were originally developed tohelp gardeners plant bulbs in soil, but ourcustomers like to use these augers as aconvenient way to mix Dry Seed Treat intheir planter hoppers and bulk boxes.The augers are 3 inches wide by 9 incheslong, and they can be operated with abattery-powered drill. The steel surface issmooth, so the augers can quickly mix DrySeed Treat with seed but do not damageseed coats when operated at low speed. Ifyou are interested, we list the augers on ouronline store at midwestbio-tech.com.DID YOU KNOW?To measure the impact of Chandler SeedTreat and Foliar on plant sugar, we use atool known as a spectrometer. For the pastseveral years, we have purchased all of ourspectrometers from Spectrum Technologies(www.specmeters.com).BACK TO OUR USUALWINTER SHOW SCHEDULENov. 30to Dec. 2Greater Peoria Farm ShowPeoria Civic CenterPeoria, ILDec. 14-16 Indiana Farm Tech ExpoGrand Park Sports CampusWestfield, INJan. 4-7National No-Till ConferenceThe Galt House HotelLouisville, KYJan. 16-18 Quad Cities Farm ShowQCCA Expo CenterRock Island, ILJan. 18-20 Fort Wayne Farm ShowAllen County ColiseumFort Wayne, INJan. 26-27 Midwest Ag ExpoGordyville USAGifford, ILMar. 1-3Hawkeye Farm ShowUniversity DomeCedar Falls, IAPlease note that we are returning to theIndiana show in December for the first timein several years, and we had to miss theIllinois Fertilizer & Chemical AssociationAnnual Meeting in January due to a directconflict in our schedule. If you want to pickup product at one of these events, pleaselet us know at least 5 days in advance.SeasonsGreetingsWe want to take this opportunity tothank you for the privilege of serving youin the past year, and we look forward toworking together in the future. We alsoextend our best wishes for the seasonand for the New Year!Sincerely,Jim and Doug Miller