Selling During Times of Rising Commodity Prices

Jun 15, 2021

Commodity markets have risen substantially with wide fluctuations from day to day and week to week over the past number of months. Add in the fact that old crop prices are higher than new crop prices, and you may find it hard to decide when to market your new crop grain.

Farmers have seen volatile markets and upward moving prices in the past. However, the 2021 commodity marketing environment is not one we have experienced recently. As the U.S. farm economy comes out of an extended period of low prices, farmers are feeling the pressure to lock in higher prices but are hesitant as they do not want to miss the market high by pricing too early.

In this article, Extension professionals discuss how producers can make decisions about pricing new crop grain by understanding the forces driving the market, and also through defining their farm goals and objectives.

Source : unl.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.