Marketing

The second presentation yesterday was on marketing. I DO NOT PRETEND TO BE AN EXPERT but some things were discussed that make sense. First off, some things that might help to make some sense of the market are things such as the value of the dollar, energy prices, and supply and demand. I don't keep track them much because I consult on tactical matters and marketing falls into the strategic realm. One thing I do tout the importance of is knowing your cost of production. If you know your cost of production then you can look at parts of your fields that are producing below the break-even point and try to figure out what to do about it. Drainage, additional fertility, disease or insect management are all things that might help a producer to avoid those no-profit zones. Getting back to the marketing issue, knowing the break even point also can help you decide when to sell some of your crop. you also need to account for a bit of profit so that your family can make it through the year without maxing out the credit cards. Everyone wants to hit the peak of the market, but that is a hard target. Hitting the price where you make a decent profit on the other hand may be a bit more realistic. I would not say to sell it all at once, but just keep in mind what your are trying to do. Remember this old gem. "You can't lose money making a profit."