The Land :: www.TheLandOnline.com Grain Angles

Grain Angles: Kelly focused, passionate

2010-06-18T08:57:00-05:00

This column is a dedication to Dennis Kelly, who passed away last week as he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Dennis was the author of this column for many years, contributing his vast experience and knowledge to The Land.

Grain Angles: Fundamental case for lower prices

2010-06-04T12:48:50-05:00

The early planting and warm weather is optimal for developing crops. As always, the weather that follows will make or break the crop.

Grain Angles: Be a student of your business

2010-05-21T03:05:00-05:00

May has been cooler and is starting to remind us of last year as we had a cooler-than-normal growing season. Soybeans are going into the ground at a record clip and will likely be complete by the time many of you read this column.

Grain Angles: Hard knocks and lessons learned

2010-05-07T09:00:31-05:00

The spring planting season is a time of hope and new birth. New calves and lambs hit the ground, the rain falls and the sun shines on a new day. It is with optimism that one must enter this season, for it is the time when seeds of hope are planted in the rich soil that we are blessed to be stewards.

Grain Angles: Zig while others zag

2010-04-23T03:05:00-05:00

The seasonal grain prices tend to hold some volatility in the spring, before planting takes place. With the early snow melt and dry, open weather that has followed, grain prices have languished, drifting lower.

Grain Angles: Lessons on margin management

2010-04-09T08:29:09-05:00

The sunshine and warmer weather reminds us that spring planting is just ahead. With the lack of snowfall during March, fields have begun to dry out on the surface. Machine sheds are opening and field equipment is being prepared for the mad dash to get the seed in the ground.

Grain Angles: New year brings new promise

2010-04-08T14:28:59-05:00

It will not be long before the sun will begin warming the earth and new life will come forth demonstrating the power of creation. New wealth comes into the economy every time a new calf hits the ground, a litter of pigs is born or a seed sprouts in the soil.

Grain Angles: Don’t fall into ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda’

2010-02-26T11:16:05-06:00

With the last vestiges of winter challenging our resolve to embrace the cold, we know that a warm sunny beach sounds pretty nice. Wishful thinking can haunt us in the grain markets as well. With the steady decline that we have seen in the price of grain, we are tempted to fall in the trap of thinking, “woulda, coulda, shoulda.”

Grain Angles: Consider true cost of storage

2010-02-12T03:06:00-06:00

Now that we have the grain in the bin and we still feel tired and weary from the long harvest it is tempting to think our risks are well managed. Now we must remain vigilant on monitoring the grain quality in the bin.

Grain Angles: Record corn crop; adjustments coming?

2010-01-29T13:51:40-06:00

The folk wisdom in the grain trade that “big crops get bigger and small crops get smaller” was spelled out in the Jan. 12 U.S. Department of Agriculture report.