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Volatile marketing ahead for corn in storage

An ag economist says farmers reluctant to sell corn at the end of harvest could complicate marketing plans this winter.

Tanner Ehmke with CoBank tells Brownfield farmers seem to be leaning toward a delayed strategy for selling corn.

“Farmers are coming into this marketing year with a fair amount of cash in their pockets and so they’re content to sit back and wait for still higher prices,” he says.

He says delayed pricing from elevators could get commodities to the marketplace and transfer ownership now but pay growers later.

“The elevator is giving up that opportunity to benefit from bigger carries in the futures market,” he says.  “They have to make up for that by increasing the service fees on the delayed pricing, so the farmer needs to know that and understand that.”

He says when the future market or local basis encourages farmers to sell, there are more bushels on hand which likely will make rallies very short-lived.