What does it mean when a USDA report is BULLISH or BEARISH for a commodity? You hear it all the time in the industry, “The crop report is OUT! Everyone, it was a bullish report day for beans with yield at “insert yield here” and production at “insert reported production here.” Here’s the problem. If…
Category: Grain Market
Buying an Engagement Ring vs. Pricing a Contract…
Imagine this, you’re a jeweler selling an engagement ring. Yes, I did just come up with this analogy after looking down at my engagement ring. Stay with me, it gets more creative. A fine young man walks into your store and says he needs to purchase a ring. He has one hesitation about buying it…
Why you should stop asking “What’s the market going to do?”
Let me take you back to my days of buying corn and soybeans and calling on a customer list of farmers. I’d stop on the first farm of the day and I’d be almost immediately met with the following question, “So where’s this market headed?” Once I’d finish my meeting, I’d leave that farm and…
Are you planning to use commercial storage out of price stubbornness, or are you going to use a more strategic marketing option this harvest?
If you don’t have enough (or, perhaps, any) on farm storage, it may seem like a fairly good idea to pay for commercial storage at your local elevator. You’re simply paying a fee (typically $.03 – $.05 per bushel, per month) to use infrastructure you don’t have, in hopes that price rallies and you capture…
What does it Mean when the Funds are “Long” or “Short” in the Market?
I’m sure you’ve seen something similar to this in market news headlines: “Funds are record SHORT corn” or, “Hedge funds are now LONG soybeans — Where does the market go from here?” What does that even mean? “SHORT corn” or “LONG soybeans”??? And who are these ‘funds’? Let’s break this down using an analogy, my…
“Spot” Contract vs. “Forward” Contract
What’s the difference between a ‘spot’ contract and a ‘forward’ cash contract? You may have heard these terms before, or, they may be totally unfamiliar to you. In either case, we’re going to make sure that by the end of this post you feel comfortable with both of them! Consider this potential scenario: Throughout the…
Why is Grain Marketing so Emotional? (+ 3 ways to remove some of the emotion)
I’ve been there. You’re listening to the noon market update on the radio and hear corn is up $.10 cents. Your local elevator is paying $3.95. Do you sell?Is it going higher?What if you sell now and the market recovers in a month and you miss out?What if you don’t sell today and the market…
Basis is strong right now–How do you take advantage?
Corn basis in our area is reaching levels we haven’t seen in a long time. What does that mean? Well, we almost always see basis with a negative sign in front of it. To turn the table upside down and have grain buyers posting a positive basis doesn’t happen often. To give you a feel…
What is ‘Hedging with Futures’?
Have you ever sold a house? Even if you haven’t, imagine you’re selling your home today. The market has been good and you think you could easily get the price you’ve been targeting. That is…if you could list your house today. Unfortunately, you’re unable to list your house for 6 more months due to other…
3 Things to do…when you don’t know what to do with the Markets
Last week I stood in my house, which needed a SERIOUS deep cleaning in virtually every room, and felt as though I couldn’t move an inch. My friends were coming over the following evening, so there was an urgency behind me needing to start doing something. But instead, there I stood. Excited to host, yet…