From a grower also running for the state legislature to another with interest in a forklift business, winners in MarketMaxx 2006 had a host of backgrounds. And all of them used a plethora of pricing techniques to price their 100,000 bu. of corn and 50,000 bu. of soybeans at the top of the competition.
And the winners, farming fields across Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, Minnesota and Tennessee, are ready to try their luck at winning again in MarketMaxx 2007.
The third year of MarketMaxx began on Jan. 2. To sign up, go to www.MarketMaxx.net. While you're there, check out the list of big prizes offered to winners in 2007, including grand prizes of the use of an AGCO Gleaner R5 or A5 series combine (not to exceed 100 combine separator hours) and an AGCO RT or DT tractor.
MarketMaxx 2006 contestants had to be farmers above 18. They also could not have served as a licensed commodity broker the past five years. (Similar rules are in place for 2007. Check the Web site.)
With the e-mail nickname of “Elvis,” corn contest winner Brian Roh surely was “all shook up” when learning he was grand prize winner of one year's use of a Massey Ferguson 9000 series combine, a $12,000 value.
Roh, 35, Dodgeville, WI, used the MarketMaxx market trade links to sell his simulated 100,000 bu. of corn for an average price of $3.61.9/bu. He turns to the “Profits” section of The Corn And Soybean Digest as part of his program keeping up with grain markets.
While Roh will drive home the new combine, Chris Schnell, winner in the MarketMaxx soybean contest, earned a grand prize of one year's use of a Massey Ferguson 7400 or 8400 series tractor, also a $12,000 value.
Schnell, 50, Sully, IA, marketed his simulated 50,000 bu. of soybeans for $8.01/bu. He farms with his dad and brothers. He keeps up with marketing pages of The Corn And Soybean Digest and other publications. He also studies the www.MarketMaxx.net site and other Internet sites at least an hour a day to help hone his marketing skills.
Second place in the soybean market contest went to Richard Oswald, 56, Fairfax, MO. His overall bean selling price of $6.70.9 won him a new computer system from Syngenta Crop Protection.
Oswald claims he might have had an even higher price if not for spending the final three months of the contest on the campaign trail running for state representative (which, unfortunately, he lost).
Proving again that marketing is not limited to younger guys, 69-year-old Dale Good, Medina, OH, was second in the corn marketing contest. He sold his overall corn allotment for an average of $3.37.47.
His marketing savvy also netted him a computer system courtesy of Syngenta Crop Protection. He counted on early call options trades “and didn't look at them all summer,” before getting serious the final two months of the contest, which ended at midnight Oct. 31.
Jim Spahr, 56, Seward, NE, sold his corn allotment for an average price of $3.31.28. That was good enough for third place and a new Grayhill-manufactured TitanRT from Farm Works Software. Owner of D&S Forklifts, Inc., Spahr was high on corn all year and anxious to check the MarketMaxx site daily to view the leader board.
Third place in the soybean marketing contest was won by Michael Brass, 38, Rochester, MN. He also won a Grayhill-manufactured TitanRT from Farm Works Software for getting his beans sold at $6.62.21. He took advantage of early year bean prices and had his entire allotment sold by the end of March.
Other winners in MarketMaxx 2006 included Ben Moore, 29, Dresden, TN, who sold his corn for $3.26.49, and Kevin Hull, 45, Hallsville, MO, who garnered $6.52.66 for his beans. Both growers will receive a high-speed Internet system from Agristar Global Networks.
Some 5,000 players nationwide took part in MarketMaxx 2006. Many more are expected in the 2007 version.
For further information on MarketMaxx, go to www.MarketMaxx.net — and get signed up today.
If not, then go to www.MarketMaxx.net and sign up for the game that can help you become a better marketer at a time when corn and soybean prices are as unpredictable as ever.
MarketMaxx 2007 from The Corn And Soybean Digest is in its third year. It is designed to help corn and soybean producers improve their marketing skills by taking advantage of the many marketing tools available. MarketMaxx ties in with our mission to help you maximize production and marketing for profit.
The contests are made possible by another list of outstanding sponsors: AGCO Gleaner, AGCO Tractors, Syngenta Crop Protection and Cargill Certified SolutionPro.
Again, grand prizes are the use of an AGCO Gleaner R5 or A5 series combine (not to exceed 100 combine separator hours) in the corn contest and use of an AGCO RT or DT tractor in the soybean contest. The second place prize for each category is a complete computer system plus software from Syngenta Crop Protection. Check the MarketMaxx Web site for the final list of prizes available.
How does MarketMaxx work? Players each have a simulated 100,000 bu. of corn and 50,000 bu. of soybeans to sell between now and Oct. 31, 2007.
Sales are made by going to the www.MarketMaxx.net site and clicking on the account tab on the MarketMaxx menu. Access to your account is made using your secure username and password.
You can use Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) futures and options, forward contracts and other marketing tools. Trades can be made daily, and transactions will be posted a short time later during CBOT trading hours. Market moves made after hours will be posted when the next CBOT trading session opens.
The MarketMaxx Web site is again being managed by Cash Grain Bids, Inc., Bozeman, MT. CashGrainBids.com posts market commentary to help guide users through the various basis movements across the Corn Belt and in all production areas.
Al Kluis, president of Northland Commodities, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, provides market commentary and marketing strategies. The site also features an extensive library of marketing terms, as well as a popular feature that helps walk you through developing, then writing a marketing plan.
MarketMaxx.net is also a great source for checking price movements throughout a trading session. An animated futures price chart shows the path corn and soybean contracts have taken.
A bi-weekly MarketMaxx e-newsletter outlines current market trends and lists the top 10 players in the corn and soybean contests. And, there's market commentary from Kluis and other university grain marketing economists, as well as ag news that can impact markets.
Again, only farmers 18 years of age or older are eligible to win. (A complete guide to MarketMaxx 2007 rules and regulations is available at www.MarketMaxx.net.) So get started on MarketMaxx 2007 today. Learn how your hunches about market trends play out without the risk of facing margin calls.
It other words, you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Go to www.MarketMaxx.net today.
The game is on.