FALL 2026
NEWSLETTER
TABLE OF CONTENTS 03 CEO Update
Jeremy Wilhelm, Chief Executive Officer
04 Safety & Innovation Center Cody Hull, Assistant VP of Safety & Compliance
06 Nutrition Update
Jeremy Wilhelm, Chief Executive Officer
07 Agronomy Update
Seth Huenink, Business Development Manager
08 Member-Owner Referral Rachel Niemann, VP of the Frontier Experience
10 Grain Marketing Update Bryan Choutka, Senior VP of Grain
CEO Update Welcome to Harvest
As we close our 2026 fiscal year on August 31 and move into the fall harvest season, Frontier is ready to help you move your crop from the field to the bin safely and efficiently. Harvest began to trickle in during the first week of September, though cooler temperatures and recent moisture have slowed progress in some areas. With disease pressure showing up later in the growing season, we are also monitoring stalk quality as we move into the second half of harvest. Every season brings its own challenges and opportunities, and this year is no exception. We have seen a welcome improvement in corn and soybean prices, and many producers have taken advantage of those opportunities by making sales and marketing portions of their crop. At the same time, global conflicts have contributed to higher energy and fertilizer prices. I encourage you to visit with your Frontier Advisor about developing a farm plan that fits your operation and helps you prepare for the season ahead. We have also put together competitive financing programs for seed, chemicals, and fertilizer to help manage input costs and support your planning for 2027. Strength Through Diversity The diversity of your cooperative continues to be one of our greatest strengths. Our involvement in grain, agronomy, energy, and nutrition—combined with our broad footprint across eastern Nebraska—helps provide stability from year to year. We are fortunate to operate in an area with productive soils, reliable water resources, and strong transportation and agricultural infrastructure. Those advantages allow our farmer-owners to continue doing what they do best: producing the food, feed, and fuel the world depends on. The cooperative model remains strong because of partners like you. Your business, trust, and participation are what have allowed this cooperative to serve eastern Nebraska since 1915, and they will continue to guide our future. Looking Ahead Your cooperative had a strong year and enters 2027 in a solid position, supported by a strong balance sheet, quality facilities, and a dedicated team of employees. Like many of you, we continue to work through higher repair, insurance, and interest costs. Even so, we remain focused on operating efficiently and investing wisely. Thank you for your business, your trust, and your partnership. As harvest activity picks up, please stay safe in the field and on the road. We ask everyone to slow down, be patient, and watch for the large equipment moving throughout our communities this fall.
safety center BUILDING A STRONGER CULTURE OF
SAFETY, TRAINING, AND INNOVATION CODY HULL, ASSISTANT VP OF SAFETY & COMPLIANCE
A New Investment in Safety Construction of Frontier Cooperative’s Safety and Innovation Center began in April and was recently completed. The facility was developed to provide employees with a dedicated environment for hands-on training, practical learning, and continuous improvement. The center reinforces our commitment to ensuring every employee returns home safely while supporting operational excellence across the organization. Focused on High-Risk Safety Training The center allows employees to participate in realistic training scenarios that address some of the most critical hazards faced in our industry. Key training areas include anhydrous ammonia safety, grain engulfment prevention and grain rescue, fall protection, preventative maintenance practices, propane safety, CPR and AED certification training, and DOT and truck driving education. Demonstrating Immediate Value During Frontier Cooperative’s recent Fall Safety Training, more than 300 employees participated in training over five days. The facility provided the capacity and resources necessary to conduct large-scale, hands-on instruction while maintaining consistent safety messaging across multiple disciplines. A group of employees taking part in our Fall Safety Training.
Committed To Our People, Our Communities, And Your Operation. We work alongside you every day. That’s why safety isn’t just an internal policy it’s a commitment to the farmers and communities we serve.
Strengthening Our Commitment to Safety The Safety and Innovation Center is one more way Frontier is investing in the people who serve our members every day. It offers a dedicated space for learning and practice, while complementing the hands-on training and mentorship that happen throughout our cooperative. Built for Today and Tomorrow Our industry is always evolving, and so are the skills needed to work safely and effectively. The Safety and Innovation Center helps equip employees with the knowledge and experience they need to support their teams, their communities, and our member-owners for years to come.
nutrition CENTRAL PLAINS MILLING
JEREMY WILHELM, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER This year, we made an important change within our nutrition business. As many of you know, Frontier previously held ownership in Central Plains Milling, which operated feed mills in Columbus and Howells, Nebraska. The Columbus mill, located next to Frontier’s grain facility, produces feed for show animals, cow-calf operations, and the Central Plains Milling line of feed products. The Howells facility was designed primarily to produce full truckload quantities of swine feed for integrators. Effective July 31, Frontier sold its ownership interest in the Howells feed mill and became the 100% owner of the Columbus mill and the Central Plains Milling brand. This transition positions us to focus our nutrition business around the Columbus facility and continue serving the livestock producers, show-animal families, and customers who rely on those products. We remain committed to delivering high-quality nutrition products, trusted expertise, and exceptional service to our customers for years to come. Thank you for your continued business.
agronomy SOIL SAMPLING & REPLACING NUTRIENTS SETH HUENINK, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
It’s that time of year—fall weather, harvest, football—and of course, time to start thinking about planning for the 2027 crop with fall soil sampling. To be candid, the last couple of years have really made us sharpen our pencils due to an uncontrollable beast that we often reference as “the economy.” Although the input side has not softened as much as we’d like to see, a shimmer of hope has presented itself on the output side with some new crop opportunities hovering around $5.00 cash corn. Nonetheless, this is a great time to begin finalizing and executing your fall fertility plan. When ROI is more critical than ever, we must spend smart and produce efficiently. Of course, we also can’t underestimate the role that maintaining yield plays in the ROI discussion. After all, wouldn’t we rather add 10 bpa vs. save $10/ac on input costs? There comes a point where cutting expenses too far can reduce yield potential more than it saves in input costs. Often, we can forget when in tighter economic environments that we can’t expect to produce the same with less. Forgetting that often leads to the unintentional backfire of the very thing we’re strenuously trying to achieve. We can’t forget that the power of having the bushel must remain a top priority if we want to maximize ROI. When it comes to the blueprint, establishing a Fertility Vision is a high priority. In fact, there are only two things that arguably have a greater impact. That is, planting it right by executing the Top 5 Factors and harvesting it right by executing the Early Harvest Advantage. The right question would be, where do you want your yield efficiency to go in the next 4 years? For the amount of money invested in crop production today, it is surprising how often fertility decisions are based on assumptions rather than data. Many operations struggle to track what was applied, where it was applied, and whether nutrients are being replaced efficiently. We can’t correct overapplication or underapplication if we don’t know where we stand. Fall soil sampling is the first step in uncovering those answers. It allows us to evaluate nutrient levels, develop a nutrient replacement strategy, and build a plan that supports both yield goals and longterm soil productivity. Understanding what your fields need, and just as importantly what they don’t need, helps ensure every fertility dollar is working toward a return. Lastly, we rely on every acre of the operation and every crop year to pay the bills. We shouldn’t neglect to uncover any area of inefficiency. This is where your Frontier ag advisor would love to sit down with you, create a multi-year Fertility Vision for your entire operation, and help you execute where you want your operation to go. Please reach out to your ag advisor today!
member-owners INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE, TOGETHER RACHEL NIEMANN, VP OF THE FRONTIER EXPERIENCE
At Frontier Cooperative, our greatest strength has always been our people. For more than 100 years, member-owners have invested in this cooperative, helping build an organization that exists to serve local farmers, families, and communities. Today, we’re excited to launch a new opportunity that allows us to give back to those who continue to invest in Frontier while helping us grow the next generation of leaders in agriculture. The Member-Owner Referral Program recognizes something we’ve always known: great people know great people. By referring someone to join the Frontier team, member-owners can now earn a $1,000 reward when their referral is hired and successfully completes six months of service. This program is about strengthening the cooperative for years to come. As a member-owned organization, the success of Frontier depends on having talented, dedicated employees who live our values and are committed to serving our owners. Who better to help identify those individuals than the people who know Frontier best? Together, we can continue building a strong team, a strong cooperative, and strong rural communities for generations to come.
Thank you for your partnership, your trust, and your continued investment in Frontier Cooperative.
grain MARKET UPDATE
BRYAN CHOUTKA, SENIOR VP OF GRAIN 2026 has been a year defined by uncertainty across multiple fronts. Uncertainty drives volatility, and volatility creates opportunity. The key is being prepared to act when those opportunities present themselves. Early in the year, the Iran conflict introduced significant uncertainty into energy markets, pushing fuel prices higher. Elevated fuel costs increased demand for biofuels derived from corn and soybeans, which in turn helped support stronger grain prices. Spring planting benefited from dry conditions that allowed for an early start and rapid progress. However, uneven moisture led to inconsistent germination in some areas. After planting was completed, timely June rains improved crop prospects and weighed on markets, which moved lower for nearly two months.
Your grain deserves a marketing plan that is unique to your operation.
43 GRAIN ELEVATOR LOCATIONS 90 MILLION BUSHELS OF LICENSED STORAGE
As rainfall tapered off and July temperatures climbed, market sentiment shifted. Concerns about pollination, yield potential, and rising fuel costs provided support, while several crop forecasters added to the bullish tone with yield estimates below USDA projections. By early September, futures markets had pushed to new contract highs. This rally created excellent opportunities for growers to add to existing contracts and improve their average sales price. It also opened an attractive window to begin making sales for Harvest 2027. While predicting markets is not our role, we strongly encourage producers to consider initiating some 2027 sales, especially as many have already locked in input costs to raise next year’s crop. Since January 1, new-crop soybean futures have risen more than $2.50 per bushel, an increase of nearly 24%. New-crop corn futures have climbed more than 70 cents, gaining over 16% during the same period. Although we cannot know what this year’s harvest, or next year’s, will ultimately produce, we continue to encourage disciplined marketing when the market offers favorable opportunities. As the saying goes, “When the plate comes around, take a cookie, because it might not come back.”
Let Frontier’s Grain Advisors help you create a strategy tailored to your needs.
7 TRAIN LOADERS 900,000 BUSHELS PER HOUR OF DUMPING CAPACITY
EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE 4665 Innovation Dr, Lincoln, NE 68521 www.frontiercooperative.com