Even
though grain-marketing plans should be formulated earlier in the season,
it's never too late to start, an Illinois farmer and grain marketing
educator says
"It's never too late, and actually a plan can simplified
into three things," notes Rosemary Hartter, a Eureka, Ill., farmer
and co-owner of H & H Marketing Skills
"One is your cost of staying in production. The
second is how many cultivated acres, and (third) is the five-year
yield of what you are going to plant.
"That's the start of a marketing plan right there.
That seems too simple, but that's a start and you can go out from
there. 12 months. 18 months," she says.
Ideally, a marketing plan
should be in place from the time ground is secured, says Don Roose,
president of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines.
"The
day you start to take on risk for a crop…that's the time to start
a marketing plan," he says. |
A plan will include a decision on how aggressively to market.
For example, with talk of a drought, some may want
to lean in that direction. However, the possibility
of a drought does not mean it's a good idea to base the entire plan
on this, Roose cautions.
While forming a marketing plan should start once
risk is taken on, it's not too late to create a plan, Roose says.
"You do have more opportunities than a year ago,"
he adds.
As of mid-morning April 12, December
corn futures were 16-17 cents higher than a year ago, while November
soybean futures were 54 cents higher than the same time last year.
"You do have some definite
opportunities," Roose says.
There has been some rain recently, much of the Western
Cornbelt remains dry, he notes. |
