Monogram Foods Named To Inc. 5000 List For Tenth Consecutive Year
CHANDLER, MN - (August 21, 2018) – Monogram Foods, a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-quality meat snacks and other food products, announces that for the last decade the company has been named to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies List. Monogram Foods is the parent company of local Monogram Meat Snacks.
With a 40% compounded annual growth rate, Monogram Foods accumulated $640.8 million in revenue for 2017. The growth can be attributed to the acquisition of new customers, organically increased demand, and upgrades at all of Monogram Foods’ plants. In May of 2006, Monogram Foods purchased the Chandler facility from Sara Lee. Since the date of purchase, Monogram Foods has invested over $35 million in plant expansions and upgrades for our meat snacks facility. This year, Monogram purchased new production equipment to increase throughput efficiency at the Chandler facility. In 2006, there were 129 team members at the Monogram Meat Snacks Facility. Now, Monogram has increased the number of people employed to 409, creating 280 new jobs for the community.
“At Monogram, we attribute our outstanding growth to our dedicated team members. We are honored and extremely excited to be included on the Inc. 5000 list for an astonishing tenth straight year, and look forward to continuing our record of growth and job creation in the years to come,” stated Karl Schledwitz, Chairman and CEO of Monogram Foods.
The Inc. 5000 list is compiled based on percentage growth in revenue over the past three years of a company’s operation.
About Monogram Foods: Founded in 2004 with the purchase of King Cotton and Circle B brand meats from Sara Lee Corporation, Monogram Foods is headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. and manufactures and markets top-quality food products. Among these are a full range of meat snacks, corn dogs, pre-cooked bacon, smoked sausage, appetizers, sandwiches, pet treats and other value-added meats. Monogram Foods’ brands include Wild Bill’s, O’Brien’s, Trail’s Best, Hannah’s, Bull’s, Elvis & Lola, and licensed brands Bass Pro Shop’s Uncle Buck’s, Johnsonville, Butterball and Team Realtree. Monogram Foods is a major co-packer and private label provider for strategic partners throughout the nation. Monogram Foods operates facilities in Virginia, Minnesota, Indiana, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin and Massachusetts.
Sam Beech Shared His College Experience With The Careers Class This Past Week
Sam Beech recently spoke to students in the Mrs. Janet Opdahl’s MCC Careers class. Sam is in his fourth year of studies at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He is doing his clinical rotations and was at the Worthington Vet Clinic the past two weeks.
Sam shared with the students how he became interested in being a vet while milking cows for his neighbor Dave Schwartz. When he was in the Careers class, he took several career assessments and they all said that he should consider veterinary medicine for his career. He attended the U of M for undergrad and was accepted into the Vet Fast program for those who want to work with food production animals. After three years of undergrad, he went directly to the vet school. He explained to the students the cost of his education as well as the scholarship opportunities that helped him pay for it. He will receive his doctorate degree in May and hopes to get a job in an area that has a concentration of dairy farms.
Sam is the son of Mary Beech and the late John Beech. He is married to Ashley Beech and they currently reside in St. Paul.
Farmers Still Have Time To Sign Up For Corn Settlement Payments
A year with slumping crop prices seems like an odd time to leave money on the table. So far, that’s what’s happening with the $1.51 billion settlement of a nationwide class action lawsuit against Syngenta. Most U.S. corn farmers are eligible, and the deadline is October 12.
Last spring, 643,000 notices went out to farmers who can submit claims. Most haven’t.
Farmers who grew corn sold between September 15, 2013, and April 10, 2018, can submit claims by going to CornSeedSettlement.com.
Sign up only takes a matter of minutes and hopefully there will be a rush to submit claims before harvest. The Settlement may affect your rights if you are: (1) a Corn Producer; (2) a Grain Handling Facility; (3) an Ethanol Production Facility or (4) Landlords sharing in the risk of producing corn. To stay in the Settlement and get paid, submit an eligible Claim by October 12, 2018.
Each farm’s claim is based on the annual acreage report submitted to the Farm Service Agency (Form FSA-578) or crop insurance data as well as the county average corn yields. Growers don’t have to dig up those records. You just have to authorize the claims administrator to access them when you visit the corn seed settlement website. You also need to submit a claim for each FSA farm number where you grew corn.
Source: Dave Bau, Extension Educator, Ag Business Management, University of Minnesota Extension, 507-372-3900 ext 3906, bauxx003@umn.edu
Governor Dayton Secures Major Disaster Declaration for 27 Minnesota Counties and 3 Tribal Nations
Declaration delivers federal disaster relief for severe wind and flood-damaged communities
ST. PAUL, MN – Governor Mark Dayton announced today that he has secured a Major Disaster Declaration that will provide federal funds to aid in emergency relief for 27 counties and three tribal nations in Minnesota. Governor Dayton sent a letter to President Donald Trump last month requesting the declaration after communities around the state were impacted by severe storms and flooding between June 15 and July 12, 2018. The White House issued a news release this afternoon, announcing the federal government’s Major Disaster Declaration.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the use of federal public assistance funds to supplement state and local recovery efforts in areas affected by recent severe storms. Under legislation signed by Governor Dayton in 2014, the State of Minnesota will deliver aid for the 25 percent non-federal share.
Following this summer’s severe weather and flooding, Governor Dayton visited eight different storm-affected counties with Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Joe Kelly and Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson, surveying damage and coordinating the state’s response efforts with local officials. To ensure Minnesotans received proper federal assistance quickly, Governor Dayton directed the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to immediately begin preliminary damage assessments.
Minnesota counties and Tribal Nations covered under the Major Disaster Declaration include: Aitkin, Beltrami, Blue Earth, Brown, Carlton, Cass, Clearwater, Cottonwood, Faribault, Itasca, Jackson, Koochiching, Lake, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pine, Pipestone, Polk, Redwood, Renville, Rock, St. Louis, Sibley, and Watonwan Counties, as well as the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Red Lake Nation, and White Earth Nation.
Types of Aid Available for Storm-Affected Communities
The Major Disaster Declaration, and a disaster declaration recently announced by the Small Business Administration, make several types of federal aid available to Minnesota communities for flood and storm damage recovery.
Public Assistance Aid – Financial assistance to state and local governments for the immediate emergency work accomplished within the community, and repairs or replacements of disaster-damaged facilities. The 27 Minnesota communities and 3 Tribal Nations listed above are covered under Public Assistance Federal Aid.
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program – Assistance to state and local governments for actions taken to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards. All counties in Minnesota are eligible to apply for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
Small Business Administration Aid – On August 29, 2018, the Small Business Administration (SBA) also authorized a disaster declaration for the Minnesota in Lyon and Redwood counties, where at least 25 homes and businesses suffered uninsured losses of more than 40 percent of their estimated fair market value. As a result, residents in Lyon and Redwood counties, as well as the contiguous counties of Yellow Medicine, Lincoln, Pipestone, Murray, Cottonwood, Brown and Renville, will be eligible for low-interest loans to help with uninsured or underinsured losses from the declared disaster.
Willow Lake Church Fall Sing-A-Long Scheduled
On Sunday, September 16 at 10:30 a.m. Willow Lake Church will open its doors for a Sing-A-Long and a family history presentation of the area. All are welcome to enjoy this historic landmark and stay for a Subway ® sandwich box lunch following the sing-a-long.
The sing-a-long and family activities provide the Friends of Willow Lake an opportunity to share this beautiful rural historic landmark with others and surface interested individuals and organizations that would be supportive of donating to support and preserve this historic landmark as an important part of our rural community.
Located on the prairie, Willow Lake Church was organized in 1874, and the building was built in 1899. This is an opportunity for all who have never known of this prairie treasure to view and enjoy a simply built yet beautiful rural church and learn more about the history of this area.
Historic Area
Historic Slaughter Slough is located three miles south of the church, and End of the Line Museum and Lake Shetek State Park near Currie are six miles.
These historical opportunities are great additions to any family in the area, any stay-cation or if you are visiting the area.
Mark your calendars for 2019 dates for a fall gathering and fall family activities at Willow Lake Church. The dates are July 7 and September 15, 2019 at 10:30 a.m.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Connection
The July sing-a-long is held during a weekend of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant. There are similarities with the daughter of the couple who donated the land for Willow Lake Church. The daughter, Mary Mickelson, and Laura Ingalls Wilder were born the same year - 1867, married the same year - 1885 and died the same year – 1957.
To learn more about this historical landmark call 507-629-3488, email friendsofwillowlake@gmail.com or look up Willow Lake Church on Facebook.
