GRAIN MARKETS
Another year
in the books
Container loading offers new opportunities
H
By Lindsey Bowers
arvest 2015 is in the books. We
received 2.6 million bushels of
corn, nearly 2 million bushels
of grain sorghum and 100,000
bushels of soybeans. The crops
this year overall were not nearly as good as
we expected. This year will be the first year
that we have operated below storage capacity since 2011. By the end of the year, we
should only have corn in house.
The grain markets have been dismal
to say the least. Since harvest time frame
December 2015 Corn Futures attempted
to rally to $4.00, but have traded as low as
$3.57. Corn basis continues to gradually
strengthen, but with the short crop we
expect it to be easily above last year’s levels
in time. Milo basis at the port has quickly
diminished with the Chinese demand.
Please review the latest USDA Crop
Production Report on the opposite page.
The marketing pools are 100 percent
covered with futures and upside to $4.90 with
calls. The grain sorghum marketing pool is
100 percent contracted on basis and a portion
of corn is contracted on basis as well. By the
time you read this, you should have received
a progress payment for grain sorghum that
represents the majority of the equity.
Trucks and shipping containers are being
loaded with corn and soybeans out of the
Danevang elevator location. To date, United
Ag has loaded 50 shipping containers with
soybeans for export overseas and expects to
load out the remaining soybeans pending
the results of a federal grading. Overall,
the container loading was a great learning
experience and will allow opportunities
to capture new markets for various grains.
The addition of a new insect control, PBO8, seems to have increased the overall
effectiveness of our insect prevention thus far,
which should lower the cost of fumigation
in the spring. Since the completion of cotton
harvest, employees have been rotated around
to begin offseason tasks such as cleaning out
air ducts for more efficient aeration, daily
inspections and maintenance on equipment
throughout each facility, and improvements to
increase productivity wherever needed.
As of Monday, November 9, the corn
bagging plant is scheduled to be operational
by the end of the month at the latest. The
building is complete and construction of the
overhead bulk corn bin and elevator leg will
be finished by November 12. From there,
the final remaining items will be setting
the bagging line equipment, finishing the
insulation on the walls and roof, electrical
installation and training our employees on
operating the equipment.
Be on the lookout for the new United
Ag High Caliber Corn bags that will be in
stores throughout the area very soon!
United Ag
has loaded
50 shipping
containers with
soybeans for
export overseas
and expects
to load out
the remaining
soybeans pending
the results of a
federal grading.
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