If you're wondering what the government has in store for Crop Insurance for next season, check out page 2 of our newsletter.

September 2010 Crop Insurance Newsletter

The markets have been a little wild lately...enough to give any farmer a little indigestion.  But if you have a plan and stick to it, it's easier.  Back in March we talked about building a strategy around a good understanding of your numbers.  Today KRVN's Ken Rahjes checks back in with Water Street Solutions Market Advisor Chip Nellinger for an update.

August 16 2010 Staying on Strategy - Nellinger.mp3 (1.35 mb)

You have a lot of decisions to make on the farm, and some of those decisions are made by default as you run out of time before the next season.  Many times the timeline is set by others.  Imagine what would happen if you created the timeline by working ahead and being strategic about your farm - instead of being reactionary.  Water Street Solutions' Director of Development Dean Heffta talks about this topic with KRVN's Ken Rahjes.     

July 12 2010 Changing Your Decision Cycle for Better Strategy - Heffta.mp3 (3.39 mb)

A strong marketing strategy is not about having a crystal ball.  A good market advisor tracks the pieces of the economy and production that influence prices, but ultimately, no one can predict every market move.  History shows us that often good pricing opportunities come during the growing season.  Water Street Solutions Market Advisor Chip Nellinger talks here with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about marketing your crop during the growing season. 

July 6 2010 Marketing during THIS growing season Nellinger.mp3 (4.97 mb)

For the text of the interview, click here.  Marketing During THIS Growing Season

Marketing your crop is tough if you don't follow a strategy.  A good strategy involves knowing ahead of time what price you need to get out of the market because you know where you stand financially and what number you have to hit to handle your long term break evens, which include short term and long term debt, depreciation, family living expenses and profitability.  The next element that has to be in place is risk management.  KRVN's Ken Rahjes talks about this with Water Street Solutions' Market Advisor Chip Nellinger.

June 28 2010 Risk Management Key to Your Marketing Strategy.mp3 (4.58 mb)

For the text of the interview, click here:  Risk Management Key to Your Marketing Strategy

Farming is all about financial risk.  The capital needs are large and spring and summer weather is unpredictable.  This week KRVN's Ken Rahjes talks with Darren Frye, President and CEO of Water Street Solutions about using a financial analysis as a starting point and then layering crop insurance into the farm plan.  The process is especially important for growers in expansion mode.  Click on the link below to listen to the interview.

June 1 2010 Examining the Risk in Your Operation - Frye.mp3 (3.75 mb)

For the text of the interview, click here:  Examining the Risk in Your Operation

Do you have enough to do right now?  You want to be pro-active about your marketing plan, but it seems to get pushed to the back burner because you're just busy with fieldwork.  In the big scheme of things, now's really the time to be paying attention to this, as some of the opportunities for pricing can come during the growing season.  Take five minutes to listen to this interview and you can get a much better idea of how this works.  KRVN's Ken Rahjes talks with Water Street Solutions' Market Advisor Chip Nellinger.

May 17 2010 Marketing Discipline During the Growing Season - Nellinger.mp3 (1.43 mb)

For the text of the interview, click here:  Marketing Discipline

If you need some help through this process, call us at 866-249-2528.  If you'd like someone from Water Street Solutions to contact you, e-mail me at klang@waterstreet.org.

There's a video that's going viral that I just saw -- it's baseball sized hail hitting a swimming pool in Oklahoma.  While the affect is dramatic, the damage is certainly not as severe as what would happen with that hail hitting a corn field.  That's why we need to talk about preparing for the hail season.  KRVN's Ken Rahjes spoke with Water Street Solutions' Director of Crop Insurance Sales, Steve Jackson.

May 10 2010 Hail Insurance - Jackson.mp3 (920.54 kb)

You've heard that you can leverage your crop insurance with your marketing strategy.  But how does that work exactly?  Today we're sharing an in-depth explanation of how that works in bull and bear market years.  Keep in mind this was recorded in early March -- but the lesson's a good one.  Click here to watch the video.  It'll take a little over ten minutes of your day.

It's coming soon to a mailbox near you -- but if you prefer to look at it online, you can find it right here.

May 2010 Crop Insurance Newsletter