Grain Marketing Grid | Pricing Decision Grid, Consultants Can Help You Pull the Trigger

MARKETING CONSULTANT HELP

Northern Ohio farmer Gary Harrison has experienced most marketing situations offered by a particular futures or basis price trend. The 58-year-old takes the knowledge to heart.

Harrison and his son Travis farm about 4,000 acres of corn and soybeans at Wayne, Ohio. On-farm storage capacity is about 300,000 bu. With a trucking company as a side business, they can sell and deliver corn and beans to markets 100 miles away if the price is attractive.

If he had a lot of time, Harrison would probably spend it all on marketing. “Technically, we should spend 100% of our time on marketing. But that’s impossible,” he says.

He has learned some of his marketing skills by observing decision grids. However, he leans on marketing consultant Mike Mock with The Andersons, Inc., a multi-state agribusiness company with a grain division headquartered in Maumee, Ohio, to help him make sale decisions.

“He taught me that you have to pull the trigger,” Harrison says. “If you can make some money with $6/bu. corn, make the sale. I consider it hitting a lot of singles and not waiting on a homerun.”

Harrison started making 2012 corn sales two years ago. Why so early? The market offered a profit, so he took it. “Our lowest corn sales were about $6.35,” he says. “They were through The Andersons’ marketing programs. We also made some $6.90-8.65 cash sales to deliver off the September futures contract this fall. Overall, most of our corn will average about $7.70.”