Comfortable Changes

Below is a rough draft for a newsletter article that I did up.  Won't come out for a few weeks; but here is a sneak preview..........

Comfortable Changes

Ok…… I do really struggle writing an article for newsletters because of the fact that our grain markets are ever changing and by the time a newsletter gets put together, proofed, and sent out our markets may have changed dramatically.  No one really knows the future the only thing we know is that there be will change.  Our markets are called futures markets just for that reason; that we don’t know what is going to happen with them in the future.

All we know is that there will be change; and plenty of change in prices is what we have experience in the past few years.  Did you know that since our bull markets started in June of 2010 we have had well over 100 (I stopped counting at 100 with 10 months left) moves of 30 cents or more in a couple day period in the KC Wheat contract.  It was just a few weeks ago that we seen beans up about a dollar a bushel in a week or so; follow by down about a dollar a bushel a week or so later.  After a bullish crop report we seen beans move 85 cents from their highs to their lows.  Not mentioning the swings we have had for the other grains like spring wheat, sunflowers, and corn.  Bottom line is our markets are always changing.  So much so that I could never write an article for a couple weeks in the future without expecting some major changes.

Ok I think everyone knows that our markets are always changing.  That we determined and is well known.  What is more important is what we do with those changes; are we able to manage them.  In grain marketing with grain price outlook do we make decisions that are fearful or greedy?  Do we put our self in a situation where we are forced to make bad sales at the wrong time?  Do we fail to make sales when our gut is telling us to sell at nice profitable levels?

Each of you know your answers to the above questions; but with our every changing markets are you able to adapt in a comfortable way?  Do you have a marketing plan that leaves you comfortable at night?  A pro-active risk management strategy that allows you to be successful in the future whether the crop prices for corn, wheat, soybeans, and sunflowers go up, down, or sideways? 

At the end of the day the message is simply get comfortable in our changing market.  For some of you that might mean writing a marketing plan which is something we would be happy to help you with .  For others it might mean simply having a solid crop insurance plan.  Others it might mean making scattered profitable sales to help avoid the extremes price swings that we seem to have.  Many of you might use put options to help protect downside risk in our markets.  Some of you might feel you need to re-own grain sales in case you sell to soon or use min-price contracts.  We can help you with all of these.  Bottom line is your Midwest Cooperatives Grain Marketing team is here to help you find your comfort zone in our ever changing market.  Don’t forget we have all sorts of tools to help you in your grain price risk management; such as the min price contracts, weekly marketing meetings, helping of writing grain marketing plans with the ability to tie in everything from finance to inputs to the sale of grain, and a Country Hedging Branch Office.

So there you go; that is my preach. Get yourself comfortable!