Minuteman Marketing

Just 15 Minutes Daily Can Cover the Bases

During the growing season, you want to focus on growing, not marketing.  That’s why Mark Berg suggests setting aside just 15 minutes a day to farm marketing.

“Since 1988, farmers I work with have been using eight steps in our 15-minute daily market review,” explains the Northland Community Technical College farm business management instructor, based in Detroit Lakes,
Minn.  “It keeps us appraised daily of market pricing opportunities, even during planting and harvesting.”

Here are the different marketing aspects followed by Berg’s group; change and adapt them to your own style and farm situation.

1) Review the futures market. Is the price up or down, and why?

2) Review the options market. What is the current value of your futures contract option? Should you be in or out of the market? Should you own call or put options?

3) Review market chart trends. Do a quick analysis of current, weekly and monthly chart trends. 

4) Review current cash and forward contract prices on the Internet, daily newspaper, or through a quick phone call to buyers of your farm-produced commodities.   A number of grain elevators will e-mail prices right to your PC.

5) Review market analysis. Read opening/closing grain and livestock comments, and get an overview of bullish and bearish thinking, as well as technical and fundamental analysis.  Again, a number of grain elevators, professional grain market consultants, and brokers will e-mail market analysis right to your PC.

6) Review your cost-of-production per unit.  Compare to last year’s data. Take a look at your current year costs and review the profit opportunities the market is offering. 

7) Review USDA reports, which can influence markets even before and after their release.

8) This is something all farmers do anyway, check the weather! Make sure to review current weather patterns in other key production areas, not just in your backyard.

Resources for Minuteman Marketing

MGEX Daily Market Analysis – With cell phones so prevalent these days, a check on the markets can be made virtually any time, anywhere. For example, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange offers a toll-free “hotline” offering market commentary after every trading day.  You can call 1-800-827-4746 any time of day, and you’ll hear the recorded voice of an actual grain trader at the MGEX with a timely analysis of the markets. The line is updated daily after the market close, no later than 2:30 p.m. Central Time.

DTN- If you don’t already have a DTN setup, you can get DTN online at www.DTN.com .  You can sign up for a seven-day free trial.

Ag online – www.agweb.com and www.agriculture.com are two of the most comprehensive ag sites on the web.

Free charts – Find free daily, weekly, monthly, and historical grain pricing charts at futures.tradingcharts.com

Grain elevators/buyers online - Links to local grain elevator prices (currently available only for N.D.) and grain elevator contacts and web links: www.farmnetservices.com

“Toolshed” – One of the best sources for Northern Plains-specific weather and marketing related information on the web.  Developed several years ago by the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council, “Toolshed” offers regional ag news and weather information, futures and local market prices, local basis charts and elevator prices, Red River Farm Network radio broadcasts and archives, commodity marketing Q&As, LDP information, and industry contacts. Toolshed is available on the web site, www.smallgrains.org .