2017 Crop Marketing Update

Here is an update on where Wade Assurance grain marketing recommendations stand for the 2017 crop year.

Corn

Knowing the fundamentals of the corn crop were going to limit reasonable selling opportunities, I chose to trade in other markets that I believed would be easier to manage.  My contention was that corn would grind higher since calling the bottom in late August which is when I recommended the synthetic long position using oil which worked out very nicely for the 2016 crop.  Unless you have a day trading mentality, which I don't, it is very hard to make money long or short corn when the fundamentals are bad. 

​So here we are now already into the 2017 crop year.  I have made no physical corn sales yet, but have made a recommendation to sell wheat puts which I believe will produce a 35 cent boost to our cash sales, and I recommended shorting December oil, which I believe will produce around another 30 cent boost.  I expect to have a 65 cent premium on top of our cash sales.

Soybeans

I have made several recommendations on soybeans:
​June 8, sold 10% of expected 2017 production at $10.05
​Nov 28, sold 10% of expected 2017 production at $10.36
​Jan 12,  sold 30% of expected 2017 production at  $9.95
​Jan 12, bought serial puts on 50% of 2017 for .10
​This should have us 50% cash sold for an average of 10.05.  The options premium will come off the next 50% to be sold. 

I prefer selling at peaks, but this last sale had some major consequences to be felt if prices had gone down.  Rather than take the gamble, I chose to spend some money and manage the position.  We are still 50% unsold, and soybeans are again making a run for $10.40.  Expect more sales at that level.  If you have yet to sell, its time to catch up!