The Elevator’s Cut Podcast

The Biggest Lie About $5 Corn

S2E16 - Disclaimer: There is a risk of loss in futures and options trading. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

 

May brings bad weather, planting stress, and $5 corn, but should you actually be selling right now? Today, we're breaking down why FOMO is destroying your grain marketing strategy, the hard truth about elevator margins, and why the commercial side is pushing you to lock in basis. 

 

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Check Out Our Website - https://www.whitecommercial.com/

 

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In This Video:

 

Jeff Reardon's CFO Insights - https://www.whitecommercial.com/cfo-insight

Bloomington Meeting Details - https://www.gfai.org/upcoming-events.html

What Position My Position Was In - Featuring Michael Kaeb

S2E5 Join hosts Roger Gattis and Jason Wheeler on this episode of The Elevator's Cut as they welcome back old friend and former grain elevator manager, Michael Kaeb of White Commercial. Michael, now a consultant for grain elevators across the western U.S. and Canada, shares his surprising observations about the vast diversity of crops—from milo and sunflowers to various wheat types—and the unique hedging strategies employed in these regions, including using corn futures to hedge barley.

 

The conversation then dives into common, often misused, phrases in the agriculture industry. Michael helps demystify expressions like "the way the market is right now" and "out of position," offering a candid look at what these colloquialisms truly mean (or don't mean!) in the fast-paced world of grain trading. Plus, get a behind-the-scenes peek at elevator life, including the unexpected challenges of painting wood paneling and hilarious college student excuses. Tune in for insightful discussions, industry anecdotes, and a few laughs!

Widening Your Horizons (or is it narrowing?)

Ashley Bettenhausen (@TheFarmWifey) joins the guys all the way from up north to share her trials and triumphs as a female grain originator from a non-ag background. And of course, she sets the record straight on just exactly how proper spread terminology do.

 

Interview with Chad Felderhoff

What does grain merchandising, family business transition, and dog food have in common? More than you might think. Join the guys as Chad takes us down his professional pathway and sheds some light on that ol grain business chestnut, "its different around here."

(Spoiler Alert: it ain't)

Make Spreadz Great Again

2020 has been the most unique year we’ve had in a while, and spreadz are not immune to this year’s wonkiness. While we haven’t seen this type of spread action in the grain biz in a few moons, they are not unheard of and in fact, once understood, flat & inverted markets can provide the astute merchandiser with both profit and fun. Probably.

From the Ivory Tower to the Drying Tower: Interview with Rob Cogdill

Family grain business operator, blogger, and friend Rob Cogdill of Cogdill Farm Supply in Dunlap, Iowa joins us to share his journey into the family business from the halls of academia, as well as some of the ways he’s been able to de-complicate grain merchandising. Find more info about Rob at  www.cogdillfarmsupply.com and www.bullsheet.blog or on twitter @BullSheet_Blog.

Grain Policies for 2020: Pitfalls and Solutions

Today, we delve into the policies and contracts that haven’t had a great year (namely rolling basis contracts) and how to improve them in the future. We also get into some of the popular contracts for new crop and which ones you should be tweaking, eliminating, improving, or promoting in the current environment.

The Hanse-cast

In this episode the guys social distance with Scott Hansen, long time WCC employee and fixture of the Iowa school board world. Scott shares with us his take on what is and is not new in the grain business, as well as sharing a few of his stories from the road. 

What Even Is Ag Tech?

The guys hop on the line with Luke Swenson and Joe Solinger from Bushel to get learnt on how ag tech is being driven in the commercial grain business, all while adhering to proper social distancing guidelines. To learn more about how Bushel is helping the grain industry, please visit them at bushelpowered.com 

Harvest Marketing Alternatives

Like sands through the hourglass, the days are drawing nigh for growers to take advantage of no-cost marketing alternatives for their 2019 fall crops. As an elevator, how do you both help farmers make wise decisions on cash flow & costs AND ensure your ability to generate suitable returns to your space? Delve with us to find out these answers and more!

Market Makers

Many of us in the grain business know that one of the functions of the futures market is price discovery. Lesser known, however, is that price discovery is also a function of the astute grain merchandiser. In this episode we shed some light on how the country elevator can make markets both upstream for the farmer and downstream for the end user, all while getting paid for doing so.

Successful Farmer-Buyer Relationships

The guys sit down with Blake Early, founder and CEO of Agrihound to discuss the peculiar particularities of the interactions between farmer and buyer. If you'd like to learn more about Blake, his company or his grain contract education platform, we invite you to check out his website at agrihound.com.

Funny Stories with Industry Veteran - Scott Hardy - Part 2

This is part 2 of our conversation with Scott Hardy, Grain Industry veteran.  Join us for more laughs and deep insights!

Funny Stories with Industry Veteran - Scott Hardy - Part 1

Our guest this week, Scott Hardy, an industry veteran.  Coincidentally, he's the man who brought Jason and Roger into the grain industry!  He shares some funny stories from his time in the industry, and brings us more than a few laughs!  

Who sets the basis?

In this episode we're joined by long-time White Commercial basis nerd Phil Luce.  Here we attempt to answer the BIG question:  Who sets the basis?  Listen in to find out!

Bad Grain Policies

The biggest tragedy in the grain business today. We delve into how the misuse of existing market signals costs everyone opportunity and forces folks to seek the grain marketing equivalent of Shan-gri-la.

5 Anchors of Successful Merchandising - Anchor 3

Successful grain traders have a few key things in common. This episode explores one of those: Creating Meaningful relationships with their farmers. We discuss how originators have successfully created a point of difference from their competition and turned that into an effective and profitable origination program.

North Dakota Beans & the NY Times

What happens when you combine sensationalism, national elections and mountains of soybeans in the great north? Nothing short of an event that causes folks on the coasts to double down on their pity for fly over country. 

Market Disruptors

Disrupty McDisruptface, or, how things aren't always as they seem. In this episode we gently hash out the age old maxim "if it ain't broke, disrupt it...then it'll break".