Roggen Elevator Association and managing the challenge of water resources

1. Roggen Elevator Associationand managing the challenge of water resources

2. Roggen History • - Incorporated on February 11, 1955 • - Organized under the Statutes of the State of Colorado • - 7 member Board of Directors (all farmers) • - Fiscal year ends January 31 • - Annual meeting in April • - 750 members

3. Overview of our Operations • Large Grain Trading Operation – 2 locations and 4 put-through locations • Agronomy Sales • RFD – Cenex Refined Fuel Delivery Program • PDC – Propane Delivery Joint Venture with American Pride • Commerce City Grain – 50/50 Joint Venture with ConAgra Flour Milling - 7.3 million storage capacity with a BNSF shuttle loader and unloader. • Watkins Grain – 50/50 Joint venture in a Birdseed packing operation in Watkins, CO • High Plains Nutrition - Corn flaking operation in Brush, CO

4. Customer Base • - Dry land wheat farmers • - Prospect Valley to Fort Morgan is our main base of irrigated corn farmers • - Egg laying operations (Land O’ Lakes) • - Beef feedlots • - Dairies • - Urban propane users

5. Our Trade Area

8. How do water resources and policies impact our cooperative? • Agronomy gross sales dollars • Irrigated input dollars - $300 to$400/acre • Dry land input dollars - $50/acre • Grain Production • Irrigated corn – 250/bu/ac • Dry land wheat -40/bu/ac

9. Challenges of representing cooperative members on water issues • The water rights have an asset value – some members look at these rights as their pension / retirement plan. • Some members want to pass the farm and water rights on to the next generation to continue the family farm. • Some members would like to continue irrigation farming, but the leased farming acreage is owned by cities or investors wanting sell the water rights out of agricultural use.

10. Challenges of managing and growing a cooperative in a semi arid climate dependent on the access to water • Long term view to building assets. • Your very careful about borrowing money. • Your cooperative neighbors must look to work together to save capital cost in a declining irrigated water base. • Your agronomy sales mix is changing between irrigated and dry land. • Biotech changes in corn hybrid's to allow corn to be grown on dry land acres changes the production volume. • Look at opportunities and crops that will use less water – because this is the trend – do not fight economics.

11. Opinions/Questions to our Government Leadership about water policy • Can the agribusiness industry layout the long term economic impact of the loss of irrigated agriculture to the state economy? • Is the housing industry really the economic impact that the industry tries to credit itself to our political system? Was the housing credit bubble something that we need to drive our economy? • Without additional water storage projects, is the Western United States agribusiness industry going to die a slow death? • Water is getting a lot of press about being a commodity that is in short supply relative to demand. It is referenced as “LIQUID GOLD”. If it is a commodity demanded by society, should it not be priced at replacement value. Replacement value of water is the cost of building delivery and storage systems to add additional water supplies to society’s demand.

12. Opinions/Questions to our Government Policy Leadership • Society is getting the water at less than replacement value by buying up agriculture’s irrigated water at less than long term replacement value. • Society has the ability to raise finance money through government water district bond sales and pay those bonds off through water tap fees and monthly usage fees. • This financial equation puts the irrigated agriculture industry at a disadvantage.