Ramsey County Ag Column

By Bill Hodous

February 11, 2008

Howdy!!!!

Well is it not fun to wake up on a Monday morning with commodity prices like this.  And does it not frost you that we sold most or all of our crop back when the price was more in the mid range or less.  We can not let these prices test our fortitude, of what may have been.  Every year we do our cashflow statements, Balance sheets and other financial statements and our cashflow statement was very  profitable with a wheat price of $5-6-7, using your farm yield history.  I only use wheat as a commodity knowing that most all commodities are also in the same state.  So even though looking back is very easy we need to be looking ahead towards the 2008 growing season.  Should we be locking in some new crop prices and if we do, how do we know what the weather will be, will the market go even higher or will we even have enough bushels to sell.  These are all good questions and can only be answered by you.  The real kicker in all of this is input costs.  I have talked about this a lot but we need to keep visiting our input costs.  Land owners are looking at these prices thinking their tenants are making a killing with most of them not knowing that probably two thirds of the crop was marketed much earlier and now with those higher input costs trying to cashflow a crop becomes not as lucrative.  We do have the possibility of a great year if we do everything right but as one producer stated just yesterday our farming has always been a gamble, but with the amount of input dollars we are working with we could easily be in huge trouble in one year.  On Thursday I visited with a elevator manager and he said 11-52-0 was over double last years prices, if he could even get any more.  Seed costs are more than doubled along with all other inputs.  The long and the short of this column today is to take advantage of the market place if your cashflow statement shows profitability.  Your lender and trading elevator can help you determine what marketing strategies would work the best for your farming business.

    Calendar!!!

                        February 19                 Ramsey County Crop Improvement annual meeting
                        March     4                   Ramsey County Shooting Sports (Archery)
                        March    17                  Private Pesticide, Starkweather 9-am
                        March    26                  Private Pesticide, Devils Lake 9-am
                        March    26                  Private Pesticide, Devils Lake 6- pm

524 4th Ave #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake  ND  58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu