Staying the course

By Devin Schierling, Grain Marketing Coordinator for TMA

 

Chaos at every corner! Webster's Dictionary describes chaos as, "A state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order".  This sums up the feelings of a vast majority of producers throughout the United States.

Producers are feeling psychological, environmental and emotional pressures that have the potential to unleash total chaos on their farms.  Whether it's the einvironmental pressures of rainfall and temperature, the psychological impact of making purchasing/selling decisions or the emotional effect of the past year's growing season, producers are looking for ways to eliminate the chaos in their life.

In times of chaos, people look for a magic solution that will cure whatever ails their operation.  The solution comes in multiple forms.  Some people will pay a marketing consultant that guarantees them their grain will be sold at the high of the market while others will choose to buy private insurance to insure against a specific peril.  These products, by themselves, have very litte impact on the bottom line of a farming operation.  However, when used in conjunction with a profit/revenue based marketing approach they can greatly improve the operation's profitablity.

It's important to remember to stay the course and not attempt to manage individual events that are out of your control.  Stay focused on the overall profitability of your farming operation.  By being mindful of your crop input expenses, using crop insurance to insure potential revenue and grain marketing programs to maximize profitability, you can stay the course and insure the profitability of your operation regardless of the chaos that is around the corner.