By Grain PhD
You just spent many long and demanding hours in the field planting your crops, and you are continuing to work hard to make sure all that effort pays off. Now is the time to take the next step of successful farming – taking control of your crop price and preparing your marketing plan. With inevitably busier days ahead, what can you do today to prepare your marketing plan and alleviate much of the stress and guesswork involved in executing marketing decisions?
- Update your GrainBridge account as expenses change from budgeted numbers to actual payments (i.e., rent, fertilizer and crop insurance). It is important to reflect the actual cost of expenses as they are solidified to ensure marketing decisions are being made based on accurate breakeven numbers. GrainBridge is an easy-to-use software program designed to help you organize the ins and outs of your farm including tracking cost of production and projecting profitability. It is a free tool that is offered to anyone who chooses to become a part of the Grain PhD community on www.grainphd.com.
- Evaluate your breakeven to determine realistic price levels you’re willing to sell grain at based on profitability and the current market. If you need help with this or don’t have a grain marketing plan in place yet, call Grain PhD at 1-844-GRAIN-01 (1-844-471-4601) and an Ag Risk Specialist will be happy to assist you. When determining price levels, be sure to consider the overall percentage sold prior to harvest you desire. Consider making incremental sales as the market rallies in the spring and summer, each time selling a specified percentage of production that will allow you to get to the overall percentage sold goal. For example, if you aim to be 60% sold by October, establish a plan to make sales in 5-10% increments at each of your pricing objectives.
- Work with your Grain PhD Ag Risk Specialist to determine what time of the year your sales need to be made. Establish how much grain (old and new crop) you need to move at certain times to ensure sales or offers are established in the right delivery periods. If you do not yet have a Grain PhD Ag Risk Specialist on your team, contact us at 1-844-GRAIN-01 or info@grainphd.com and we will be happy to connect you with one. They will provide you with customized and insightful information that will help you make the best decisions possible for your operation.
- Place firm offers with your Ag Risk Specialist and/or local cash grain buyer for the price levels and percentage of production determined in numbers 2 & 3.
So how does creating a marketing plan with a Grain PhD Ag Risk Specialist help you have a year with less worries and more success? The specialists will not only help you with all of the above steps, but they will also work for you every second of the day and execute if the market trades through the established price. This allows you to think about the things that need to be done in the field and spend less time worrying about your price since you know that you can trust your marketing strategy. Don’t get stuck with any more sleepless nights in 2018 – create a grain marketing plan with Grain PhD. Call Grain PhD at 1-844-GRAIN-01 (1-844-472-4601) to talk to an Ag Risk Specialist or sign up for a free Grain PhD subscription at www.grainphd.com.
*There is no cost to subscribe to Grain PhD and use our educational resources, market information, farm management software, risk management consultation services, quotes and charts and “Ask an Expert” service. If you choose to open a trading account with your Ag Risk Expert and employ risk management strategies that involve futures and options, you will incur reasonable commission rates.