We’d like to wish all our valued customers, employees, friends, neighbors, and vendors a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you for making 2017 a wonderful year!
To allow K & S employees time to celebrate the holidays, we will be closed the following days:
We’ll reopen for normal business hours on Tuesday, December 26th and January 2nd.
November is a month of Thanksgiving. It is a large reminder to give thanks to our Lord for the abundance he provides, our bountiful harvest and also to our family, friends, business associates, and more. This November we’re giving extra thanks for our veterans.
On Wednesday, November 15th a “Saluting Community Heroes” fundraising event is being held at the Crow River Winery in Hutchinson. K & S Millwrights is one of many sponsors for the event that has a goal of not only raising awareness, but raising $50,000 to go directly to the programs and services provided to the veterans by the American Legion Post 96, the Disabled Veterans Association, McLeod County Veterans Association, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. We’d love to see it be a huge success for those that have given so much for our freedom! What an honor it will be to celebrate our local heroes, we hope you will take the time to show your appreciate for all they have given for us!
Crow River Winery
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
5pm Social and cocktails
6pm Dinner and program
Guest speaker for the evening is Lt. Col. Ryan Yantis is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel. He will share is story of readiness, resilience, responsibility and service at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Yantis was assigned to the Army staff as a media spokesman on duty that historic day and was decorated for his actions.
The event is being organized by Shad Ketcher of New Era Financial. As a veteran himself, Shad has a connection with the cause. Tickets are available for $75 each. For tickets and sponsorship information, please contact Lisa Chernick at 320-533-3151 or [email protected].
We hope to see you there!
We would also like to wish all our customers, friends, and family a Happy Thanksgiving. To allow our employees to enjoy the day with family, K & S Millwrights will be closed on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. We’ll resume normal hours on Friday to support our customers who may still be wrapping up their fall harvest work.
As we pass through Thanksgiving and onto Christmas, please keep in mind that a Gift Certificate from the Hardware Store would make a very nice Christmas gift!
Thank you for being a part of K & S Millwrights, we truly appreciate your patronage and friendships we have made along the way!
The 2017 corn and soybean harvest in Minnesota is progressing with some farmers having better luck than others. Harvest is in full-swing, with farmers doing what they can around the weather.
Many areas of Minnesota are dealing with wet ground conditions which makes the harvest a bit of a challenge. Getting the large equipment in and out of the fields without getting stuck takes creativity in some areas. The growing season was cooperative in most parts of the state. Harvest time delivered large amounts of rain and more recently snow, ice and excessive wind.
When the weather cooperates and allows corn and soybean harvesting to happen the results are decent, which many farmers are thankful for. While some farmers could get a good start on soybeans early on, many areas of Minnesota and the Midwest have been impacted by the uncooperative weather. This makes the overall harvest go slower than expected.
Keep plugging on farmers! This time of year always seems to be full of surprises. And remember, if you need any parts or service on your grain and/or drying equipment, K & S Millwrights offers 24-hour service. Harvest time is very important to the success of your operation. We’re praying for pleasant weather, and a safe harvest season for all!
No matter what time of day, we are glad to be of service to you!
The local Buffalo Lake-Hector-Steward (BLHS) FFA chapter was just awarded a $25,000 grant from Monsanto’s “Grow Rural Education Fund.” The grant will be used to construct an 18’ x 36’ greenhouse for the school.
Jill Grams, BLHS FFA advisor, applied for the grant and 22 area farmers nominated them to receive it. What a great amount of teamwork and support shown by our community for our children and their agriculture education!
We are so excited to be one of six school recipients in Minnesota to receive this award! A HUGE thank you goes out to the local farmers who nominated our school in this process.
– Jill Grams, BLHS FFA Advisor
Learn more about the grant and greenhouse project on the school website.
Each fall the FFA (Future Farmers of America) Chapter organizes their yearly Corn Drive at harvest time to gather donations to support community and philanthropy. FFA members will be out and about on October 18th from 8 am to 3 pm searching for Corn Drive contributions.
Learn more about the details of the corn drives and how their contributions are used.
October is a busy month for FFA Members. The National FFA Convention is at the end of the month. The BLHS chapter has nine students attending convention October 24-28 in Indianapolis, IN. Students will listen to speakers, attend workshops and concerts, network with other students with similar interest and goals. It is a rewarding and exciting adventure or attendees. We wish the attendees a productive convention experience!
Our local FFA chapter is doing great things. K & S Millwrights enjoys seeing the energy and future of the agriculture industry in our community and are proud to support their endeavors.
As fall harvest time starts it is a good time to think about proper grain storage practices. Whether you are harvesting and feeding the crop to cattle or storing for sale later, maintaining quality conditions within your grain storage is imperative.
Following these basic tips will help ensure your harvest stays in good condition until you need to use or sell it. Regular monitoring will allow you to adjust the storage conditions if necessary. Each location and crop is different, so always use your best judgement. You know your storage conditions better than anyone else.
Contact K & S if need help setting up a grain bin or making repairs. We’ll help you ensure your storage facility is ready to go.
If you follow the grain handling industry you may have heard about a change in ownership of Global Industries, Inc (Global). In April AGI, Ag Growth International, purchased Global. Global owned brands such as MFS, York, Stormor, Brownie, GTS, Hutchinson, Mayrath, NECO and Sentinel Buildings.
AGI sells product internationally and acquired Global to expand its footprint and customer base in the US, along with key international markets. AGI continually strives to be the global market leader in grain handling, conditioning and storage equipment.
AGI and Global have a similar focus on customers and dealers, and they continue offer the highest quality products and service possible. K & S Millwrights is a dealer of the Global/AGI products and we’ll continue to offer those products without any major changes. The only change you may notice is the logo associated with the brands and products are being revised to match the AGI family of brands.
When you’re looking for grain handling and storage solutions K & S Millwrights is here to help. We have access to many brands and solutions to help you find the right product for your situation.
With the overwhelming support of raised garden beds last year, the Buffalo Lake Economic Development Authority (EDA) decided that all Buffalo Lake residents could benefit from a Community Garden. That garden now exists and K&S Millwrights helped make it happen!
The site, which was all grass, needed some excavation work completed 
before it would be ready for gardening. K&S Millwrights used their excavation equipment to haul in the needed materials and prepare the area. While we’ve done a variety of excavation projects, it is exciting to be able to participate in a community project like this. Supporting the local community that we live and work in provides an extra sense of accomplishment and community pride.
Plant Your Own GardenIf you need a place to plant your garden, check out the lots on the corner of West Yellowstone Trail and 5th Street NW in Buffalo Lake, MN. The community gardens are ready and some of them have been planted already! To get families involved there are free seeds available for any children interested in planting. It is a great learning experience to 
watching things grow and then be able to contribute to the family meal!
Anyone interested in planting in the community garden can contact Ivan (EDA Board President) and Maggie Wiggert at 320-833-5541 or Lorie Kirtz (EDA Executive Director) at 320-833-0000. We can’t wait to watch everything grow!
Did you know K&S offered Excavation Service?
The K&S Excavation Crew has a lot of experience preparing a location for the addition of a grain bin, dryer cement slab, site preparation or grain facility construction. They do many other types of projects as well. They have also cleared groves of tree and brush, taken down building stuctures such as barns and old farm houses, and repaired field intakes and drainage ditches.
Do you have a project that would benefit from the assistance of excavation equipment and skilled operators? Curt, Scott and Brad offers years of experience, and always look forward to a new challenge. K&S owns a variety of equipment including backhoes, dump trucks, packers, graders and more that allow us to offer many services. If you have a project we’ll figure out the best way to get it done for you.
The Excavation Crew completed a few interesting projects lately. They were working on a site in Burnsville, MN near the Minnesota River where they cleared cement to prepare for future construction.
Before that they were working on the local Community Garden. There are plans for it to be planted by the end of the month. We can’t wait to see it completed!
Think of K&S Millwrights the next time you have a project that requires excavation equipment. Think of K & S Millwrights, we are equipped to help you out!
May 2017 marks the 23rd anniversary of K & S Millwrights. Each year it is interesting to reflect on our growth and the changes that occur in the agriculture industry.
An example of one of our projects.
Starting on the farm site of Ken and Pearl Stressman in Buffalo Lake, with support from Warren Gerdes at the Buffalo Lake Farmers Coop Elevator and local banker Keith Fischer, the K & S Millwrights’ journey began. From the living room office to a renovated Quonset garage, we quickly were outgrowing every space we had. Over time the Scharmer Lumber Yard was purchased for more warehouse storage, along with more land for building expansions. Over the years, the original farm site evolved into the uprising of new buildings which has created the current site in the NE corner of Buffalo Lake.
The entire K & S team.
Starting with one employee, Brad’s brother Brian, the company has grown over the years to five repair crews, two designated for new construction, an excavation crew, certified crane operators, precise CAD drawings for planning and layout, to a sales crew and five employee’s at the office site. Many of these employees have been with us for years. Including Brad’s son Ahron, who does some sales for the company and manages the new construction sites. All of their commitment and knowledge are a huge part of the success of K & S Millwrights.
Donna Moraz, a long-time supplier for K & S, said it best,
There was no fabrication shop, no K&S branded trailers, no auto-cad engineering, no onsite inventory, and no cranes. Today, K & S has all of that!
The Hardware Store
In 2001, the local hardware store was purchased, moving this to K & S Millwrights at its onsite location was a win-win for everyone. It not only provides supplies for K & S and our regular customers, but is also a needed resource for our local community. Plus, Kent’s customer service is second to none!
K & S Millwrights has grown into a premier full-service grain handling enterprise, serving customers across Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois. It is exciting to see the business grow over all these years! THANK YOU to all our dedicated employees, and also equally important – you, our customers! K & S would not be what it is today without you. We are proud to be a part of our agriculture community!
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