Hello! I’m Adam Loker, a current junior at SIUC studying Agribusiness Economics
and Agricultural Communications. I am very grateful to be a recipient of the 2024 GFAI
Industry Immersion Scholarship, and in the past few months I have gotten to experience
a few very meaningful experiences because of it.
Growing up on a farm outside of a small town in southern Illinois, Wayne City
(about 15 miles east of Mt. Vernon), I have always been around agriculture. My whole
life has been spent around farming and agriculture. It hasn’t been until recent years,
however, that I’ve begun to grasp the true depth of the agriculture industry. Learning
about grain markets, trading, and the vast amount of knowledge there is to learn in the
grain industry has really opened my mind to the different possibilities in the grain
industry, and I am particularly happy to have gotten the opportunity to get a hands on
look at grain merchandising because of this scholarship.
On October 1st, 2024, I was able to go to the office of CGB at Mt. Vernon, IN and
speak with multiple people, where I learned about “the basics” and much more of the
grain merchandising world. Some of the most important lessons I learned revolved
around trade and futures markets, which are not-too-easy to digest topics when you are
just learning.
During my job shadow at CGB, I sat down with Paul Ernst, one of the originators.
Some key takeaways from our conversation and the day consist of the following:
● Understanding basis as the “barometer of demand at a given point.” In
commercial grain trade, it’s all about basis. It basically says, “This is how much I
‘want’ your grain.”
● Different types of grain facilities. There will be a different basis and differences in
operation depending where your facility is and what goes on there. For instance,
a river terminal functions differently than a rail terminal, and a soybean
processing facility has other important functions that separate it from the other
two.
● Freight spread: the cost of getting your product from point A to point B.
● The concept of carry, and how grain intrinsically gains value over time (which is
why farmers also store grain!).
● Price discovery: the price that “what you are willing to pay for” meets “what
someone is willing to sell at”.
During the conversation, we also talked about some of the most relevant topics in
agriculture. I asked Paul what he thought were some of the biggest risks to American
Agriculture. He responded with three different points: 1. Weather, 2. Competition
(particularly from South America), 3. Demand (it's important to not rely on mandates, the
free market is always best) ​Overall, I highly enjoyed the chance I had to visit with CGB. I am very grateful for
receiving the GFAI Scholarship, and look forward to my future in the grain industry!

​Hi! My name is Kaylee Blackford, and I am currently a sophomore at Lake Land College in
Mattoon, Illinois. There, I am studying in the Ag Transfer program as I pursue my Bachelors in
Animal Sciences. My goal is to work in animal nutrition at a feed mill, formulating rations for
farmers and serving as the middleman between the growers and the livestock producers. Today,
I was given the opportunity to shadow at Cissna Park Co-op under both Dan Martinek, the
General Manager, and Rowdy Murray, the Feed Mill Manager.
Cissna Park Co-op is both a grain elevator and a custom feed mill. Farmers can bring their grain
to sell at market prices or choose to hedge and store, like at many other facilities. This area is
Dan’s specialty, working with the farmers to help them make their contracts. As Cissna Park is a
co-op, each farmer has stock within the operation, which is overseen by a board of directors.
Besides the elevator, Cissna Park Co-op is also home to a custom feed mill. Built in the 1950s,
their daily goal is to produce twenty-five tons according to Rowdy. The process is still much the
same as it was back in the day. Operators weigh grains and supplements from bulk bins or bags
to add to the four-ton vertical mixer. Rowdy explained that as a local feed mill, they
accommodate the small farmers in the area, mixing feed for many species in a day from
pheasants and chickens to cattle and horses. A key piece to understand with this is the order to
mix rations, that “the previous batch must improve the next” as there is a small bit of
contamination between batches. Though it would be simpler to mix feed for specific species on
set days, they continue to mix a variety of rations each day to meet the demand of the locals,
some of whom have been getting their feed at Cissna Park Co-op for decades.
At the heart of their operations, Cissna Park Co-op is in the best interest of the people in their
community, as they proudly support their local FFA chapters and work hard to meet the needs of
those around them. The connections I made today are invaluable, and I hope to continue to
meet more great people through this scholarship opportunity.