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…
Category: Grain Marketing 101
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…
How using Offers to Sell Grain is similar to Accessory Shopping…
I’m a bargain shopper, and I’d be willing to bet money that you are too. Why am I so confident? Because you’re a farmer, and farmers live for a bargain and wheel and deal like it’s their job (which, it kind of is). The other day I was on the hunt for a new purse…
Crop Progress Reports – Why Are they Important?
What are Crop Progress Reports? Actually, this is one report name that really does describe what the report is all about–woo hoo! The report comes out weekly and describes where the crop is in the growing season across the U.S. (i.e. the crop’s PROGRESS) and compares each state’s progress to the previous week, previous year,…
When is the BEST time to Sell CORN?
When’s the best time to sell a boat? Answer…right before summer when everyone wants to go boating When’s the best time to sell ski pants?Answer…right before winter when everyone wants to go skiing When’s the best time to sell sweet corn?Answer…right before the rest of the sweet corn producers when everyone is craving their first…
The 4 Pieces of Information you need to Successfully Contract with a Grain Buyer!
Has your farmer ever asked you a question similar to this: I need to get some corn sold, and the price at the elevator is the highest it’s been in the past couple of months–can you call and make a cash sale for 20,000 bushels? What was your reaction? Depending on whether you’ve been asked…
Secrets to Reading a Bid Sheet Element #5: Cash Price
Welcome to the last post in our series: Secrets to Reading a Bid Sheet! By now, you should feel pretty comfortable navigating a grain buyer’s bid sheet. (If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, take a minute to review them by clicking the links below!) Secrets to the Bid Sheet SummaryDelivery DatesFutures Price Part…