GCC Insight: Developing a Season Long Crop Plan

By Bryan Moser

           I’m Bryan Moser, Grain Originator, here at Garden City Co-op. Today I would like to discuss with you the importance and benefits of making a crop plan with your origination team here at the co-op.  From preplant, through the growing season, all the way to harvest there are many important decisions that have to be made on your farm.  With unpredictable weather and uncertainty in the grain markets these decisions are becoming harder and harder to make. This is why its important to meet with your garden city Coop originator and develop a season long plan.  A plan that is adaptable in this ever-changing environment and that is customized to your specific farm to give you confidence going into the season. Let’s talk about some different crop stage periods and show you how planning with us benefits your operation.
            Prior to planting is when, together, we develop the plan that you wish to follow throughout the season. We know the plan needs to be adaptable for different scenarios, but this is where we can get the real direction for what you are trying to accomplish. We will discuss things like how many acres of each crop you want to plant. We can work on budgets to find your breakeven pricing, or if you already know your breakeven pricing, we can start to set price targets. We will figure out how much of your crop you would like marketed before planting and during the season. We will go through the different contracts and structured products to help find the ones that manage your risk best. After we have developed your plan it is time to execute it. We will start immediately and stay in constant contact to let you know as price targets get hit or just have general discussions of market trends and see if we need to adapt the plan.
            During the season when you are hard at work in the fields, we want you to have confidence that the originators at the coop are still executing your marketing plan in the background. During these busy times in the field it is easy to overlook the marketing side. However, historically, it is in these time that you have the best opportunity. Market volatility is at its highest and while volatility can be a cause for uncertainty it is also a time for opportunity. Opportunities that you will not have to worry about missing because your origination team will be watching the markets for you and keeping you up to date on what is happening. They will continue to execute your marketing plan and have your orders on for you so you don’t miss a chance to hit a price target. While you are busy working on growing this years’ crop it may also be important to start looking ahead and taking advantage of high crop prices for future years as well. You can depend on Garden City Coop grain team to keep you informed on the future years so you can continue to focus on this crop without missing out on a great opportunity for the next one.
            Finally, as we approach harvest it is important to stay in contact with your originator on what your plans are for delivery. With the amount of crops being grown now, space can be hard to come by. At Garden City Co-op we are focused on making sure that you are able to bring your crop to the elevators you want and in a timely manner. In order to do this it takes a great amount of planning and logistics from our grain team. The better we can communicate and plan ahead the more seamless this will be. It is our goal as originators to have an idea before harvest how much you will be bringing and to what locations. This will give our merchandisers a chance to develop a plan and keep your locations ready for your bushels. We will stay in contact with you as harvest progresses to make sure we are able to continue to meet your needs.
            Having a well executed plan is vital to any farming operation. As we approach this offseason there are a lot of things we can do to help you develop your 2020 crop plan. If you have any questions or are ready to get started today on your plan please give us a call at the Garden City Co-op at (620) 275-6161. Thank you, and have a great day.