managing risk
Farmers like Gene Blankenship know about taking risks . That ’ s what farming is all about . But , how to manage that risk is another story . A longtime customer , Blankenship was looking to lock in the price of his corn when he went to FCS Financial for his crop insurance needs .
“ Corn was high then ,” Blankenship says . “ You could actually lock in a profit by insuring it .”
And , investing in crop insurance has become a good tool for helping him manage risk , he says .
“ It gives you some freedom to market with a little more confidence ,” Blankenship says . “ That ’ s the main reason I use it .”
Blankenship farms about 2,000 acres of corn and soybeans near Platte City and also manages a Pioneer seed agency .
Running a farming operation like a well-oiled machine is no easy task . Blankenship knows a little help goes a long way — both in the field and out .
“ You have to have the right people in place because you can ’ t take care of everything yourself ,” he says . “ I use FCS to take care of some of my financial needs , and I don ’ t worry .”
Already an established customer , working with FCS Financial has also been convenient for Blankenship . “ It just made more sense to have everything in one house ,” he says . “ FCS has been a key part of our operation .”
Crop insurance for many farmers is that safety net in times of disaster . While Blankenship was fortunate to report good yields in
2012 when drought plagued many other areas of the state , last year his crop insurance came in handy on some prevent plant acreage . Blankenship had rent to pay , chemicals to spray , and he ’ d already applied fertilizer . “ We had a hard decision to make in 2015 ,” he recalls . “ We were into July and it was still too wet to plant beans .” Blankenship says he also thought yields would not be profitable if they moved forward with planting that late . “ Having crop insurance helped make that decision easier . It also gave us the opportunity to plant cover crops to try to improve the soil .” It became a ‘ lose less money ’ situation by having the crop insurance , and Blankenship says it helped his operation tremendously .
“ The prevent plant payment came promptly and the whole process was simple .” Maintaining a production guarantee helps reassure Blankenship , too . He works with a market advisor to establish an expected yield to work with each year . “ It ’ s never going to be a complete disaster ,” he says . “ So , you can market further out there with confidence and that is critical . For input costs , you know what your expenses are and can relate that back to the production guarantee .”
“ Everything with FCS makes you sleep easier at night ,” he says . Wilson remembers the 2012 drought as a near disaster . While he failed to plant his soybeans deep enough , a May rain surprisingly allowed a majority of the soybeans to come up giving Wilson a good stand . The late emergence allowed him to still put a good bean crop in the bin that year .
“ We had 40- and 50-bushel beans in 2012 when a lot of guys didn ’ t ,” Wilson says . “ That was just dumb luck on my part .” Corn , though , was another story . “ The whole farm might have averaged 20 to 25 bushel an acre ,” Wilson says . “ Without that crop insurance , we probably would have had stuff lined up for sale .”
Wilson says keeping their operation diversified is a key element when times get tough . “ We have to be diversified ,” he says . “ Some guys are doing all row crops . That ’ s good , but they ’ re farming a lot more acres than we are .”
While the Wilsons would normally plant half their 1,550 acres in soybeans , the 2015 crop year proved extra challenging .
“ Last year we planted no beans whatsoever due to heavy rains in May , June and July ,” Jim recalls .
Crop insurance at least helps cover some of their input costs , he adds , noting that is a big portion of farm expenses .
Working with a financial cooperative that understands their business is critical for the Wilsons . And , even though a lender still has to protect itself , Wilson says FCS Financial specializes in agriculture , which is not always the case with other lending institutions .
“ They have been around this area a long time , and they know what goes on and how people handle their operations ,” Jim Wilson says .
Mark adds , “ They ’ ve always been good to work with and interest rates are reasonable . They know our operation like we do .”