Ryan Tungseth

There is a question producers ask all the time: What should I do? Should I sell? Should I hedge? Should I buy a put? Should I use an HTA? Should I store it? Should I wait? It would be nice if there were one answer. There isn’t. The right decision depends on your operation, your risk tolerance, your storage, your cash needs, the structure of the market and, importantly, what the market is giving you right now. That last part gets overlooked. Good marketing isn’t about deciding that you’re an...

For the last couple of years markets struggled to sustain rallies. Upside was limited. When opportunities showed up, producers had good reason to take them seriously because another chance might not come along anytime soon. Now the market has changed. Volatility is back. Corn has rallied sharply. Soybeans have strengthened up quite a bit. Wheat is also in that camp. After spending much of the summer questioning why the market seemed unwilling to acknowledge what was happening in parts of the...

A Different Market Requires a Different Strategy For the last couple of years, grain marketing has largely been an exercise in protecting against supply. Big crops kept coming. Weather cooperated. Production was able to keep pace with demand. When rallies showed up, there was good reason to use them. That environment trained producers to be defensive. This year is starting to look different. Demand remains strong, while confidence in another exceptional crop is beginning to fade. That doesn't...