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Concept of making money agriculture
Columns, Markets

Locking your crop prices in early

Some farmers are afraid to take on the risks of pricing too early in the growing season

By
In my experience, most farmers will not price grains six months prior to seeding because it seems too risky — they’re concerned about delivery risk. How can you reduce or eliminate delivery risk so that, if prices are profitable early in the year, you’re not afraid to price some or most of your crop and […] Read more
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock, Markets

Understanding risk for feeder cattle: Pt. 3

The Markets: Don’t buy unless the basis is favourable for a profit

By
This is the third article in the ‘Understanding risk for feeder cattle’ series. I started by explaining the feeder cattle futures market and basic theory of hedging. The second column focused on average basis levels and using these basis levels to forecast an expected selling price. I analyzed the risk and reward of backgrounding 550-pound […] Read more
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock, Markets

Understanding feeder cattle risk: Pt. 2

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: You don’t want to be using marketing tools to lock in a loss

By
The feeder cattle market has experienced extreme volatility over the past three years. For this reason, I’ve been writing on managing financial risk for feeder cattle and particularly for backgrounding operations and cow calf producers. In the first column, I discussed the mechanics of hedging, explained historical basis levels and using these basis levels to […] Read more
Cow-Calf, Livestock, Markets

Important to understand the futures

Market Update: Learn to use hedging tools when selling calves

By
Over the past year, I’ve received many inquiries from cow-calf producers about hedging feeder cattle. Most producers calve during the winter or spring and sell their feeders in the fall or the following winter after backgrounding. We’ve all seen how the prices can change within a six- to 10-month period. One of the most common questions I […] Read more
Columns, Markets

Woulda, shoulda, coulda

Market risk strategies can lower the risk of pre-pricing grain early in the year

By
You can’t evaluate your grain marketing decisions until much later in the year, when you can look back to see what happened in the markets. What can you do to make it easier to make these decisions? First, knowing your costs of production is likely the most important aspect to helping you make good marketing […] Read more
coast guard during storm in ocean
Columns, Markets

The perfect (market) storm is upon us

Markets are roiling for many different reasons. Will you survive the ultimate storm?

By
In the movie The Perfect Storm, three different storm cells came together to create the a storm that George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and the rest of the crew didn’t stand a chance against. I can see something of a version of that happening in the grain markets right now. Storm 1: Weather The uncertainty as […] Read more
Marketing grain in a dry spring
Columns, Markets

Marketing grain in a dry spring

Understanding Market Bulls and Bears: Dry early season weather can bring marketing opportunities. Be ready to take advantage

By
Spring is officially upon us, though you could argue that it has been here since Christmas! I have seen equipment in the fields in Central Alberta since mid-March. Everyone wants to get the crop planted, but they realize the risks of seeding early. They may be out on the land more for their state of […] Read more
A six-month marketing check in
Columns, Markets

A six-month marketing check in

Looking back at recent market movements, what should you have done?

By
Looking back over the last six months, how did you do from a marketing perspective? The fastest way to assess this is to look at a couple of commodity price charts. You can find these charts and more online for free at tradingcharts.com. Wheat price First, let’s look at May Minneapolis wheat futures (see chart at […] Read more
New online grain trading platform
Features, Marketing

New online grain trading platform

Ag Exchange Group wants to match up farmers with grain buyers more efficiently

By
Developers of a new online grain trading system are hoping the technology will simplify the buying and selling of grains, and help expand export markets in the process. A desire to help growers focus their time more effectively and do a better job of bringing buyers and sellers together led Ag Exchange Group Inc. of […] Read more
Some speakers noted that when the U.S. dollar falls, the Canadian dollar is pushed higher. This won’t be good for grain prices.
Columns

Market outlooks at Farm Tech 2016

Understanding Market Bulls and Bears: Two farm marketing experts were analyzing the markets in Edmonton in January

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I attended Farm Tech 2016 in Edmonton this January to see the latest in Ag technology. This three-day ag information show was an early sellout once again, which shows just how popular it is. Those those attending the show are getting younger. On the technology side there continues to be exponential development in the areas […] Read more

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