Make Postharvest Plans Now

PROTECTING UPSIDE POTENTIAL

If I store corn and sell the carry, that takes away my opportunity to benefit from a postharvest rally in prices. Ditto for selling my soybeans at harvest. Should I be worried about my upside potential?

The way I see it, you have two ways to protect the upside after harvest. The first is the ever-popular re-ownership strategy with call options. An at-the-money July 2010 call option will cost nearly 50¢/bu. in corn and more than $1/bu. in soybeans. Good luck.

Let me suggest a different way. Write a preharvest marketing plan for your 2010 corn and soybean crops — the crops you will harvest one year from now. Should the market rally, you get to make some early and profitable sales of next year's crop. This approach allows you to benefit from a price rally after harvest and it will not cost you a penny.

It's your choice.

Ed Usset is a grain marketing specialist for the University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management (CFFM). He can be reached at usset001@umn.edu.