Farmers need to go back to the basics to manage today’s markets, according to an economist

The markets have seen their share of ups and downs lately, making risk management all the more important.

One ag economist says all farmers need to go back to the basics.

“Let’s go back to some core basic strategies that we can pull out of the bag for our marketing plans. One of those is to recognize that, number one, you, as a farm manager, are not fast enough to chase the marketplace. Things are happening so quickly. The volatility is so high that you can’t chase the market, so the challenge is how do we try to get out in front of this?” said Frayne Olson.

Olson says farmers need to sit down and crunch the numbers, then decide what price they are willing to sell at.

“And a lot of that is based on your cost of production and the cost of storage. Those are things that you know and have much more direct control over.”

Olson adds that placing orders ahead of time can help you capitalize on acceptable prices, saying it helps avoid impulsive decisions during market volatility.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Mother-daughter RanchHER duo, Lyn and Sherrie Ray, joined us on Wednesday’s Market Day Report for a sneak peek at tonight’s brand new episode of FarmHER + RanchHER.
With new renewable volume obligations announced this year, the Iowa Soybean Association says they’ll be vital to a farmer’s bottom line.
The 2022 Census of Agriculture revealed a more than 30% decrease in U.S. dairy farms since 2017. The shrinking industry is now uniting to advocate for itself while also adopting technology to reduce operational strain.
The September WASDE report comes out on Friday at Noon ET. As always, we’ll bring you those numbers right here on Market Day Report along with our expert
Heritage Cup Begins Sunday, September 14th at 10 AM ET
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was once again on the national stage, front and center this week before the House Agriculture Committee.