Marketing Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated To Be Profitable

By Betsy Jensen, Ag Commodity Instructor, Northland Community and Technical College

As I often recommend, consider placing sell orders at your local elevator or with a broker. It’s much too difficult to try to watch the markets every day, and the direction may change drastically from open to close. A “good ‘til cancelled” order can help ensure that your marketing plan is executed. The GTC is a directive to sell at a specified price which remains in force until executed or cancelled by you, the customer.

If you want to sell wheat at $3.75, then call your elevator manager and tell him to sell at $3.75 “good ‘til cancelled.” That order will remain active until you cancel it, so if wheat rallies when you are busy with other things (like deer hunting, for instance), your order will be filled without your constant attention.

If you don’t have the time, interest, or comprehension of grain marketing, then try to keep it simple.  Sell when prices are usually at their seasonal highs. Ignore put and call options or other futures strategies that might be confusing to you.  Place a “good ‘til cancelled” order with your grain merchandiser to sell at a particular price. 

Knowing your cost of production – which can generally be calculated by dividing total cost (farm and family living expenses) by average or expected yield to arrive at a per-bushel-yield price – will help you arrive at a selling price you are comfortable with.  Grain marketing doesn’t have to be complicated to be profitable.