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)

Do you ever feel like some elements of marketing your crops or livestock are a little too risky for your comfort level?  If that's the case - it probably has a lot to do with what you know.  Water Street Solutions' President and CEO Darren Frye talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about the difference between hedging and speculating.

July 26 2010 Taking the Gamble Out of Marketing Tools - Frye.mp3 (2.75 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

No one can look in a crystal ball and really predict what the markets are going to do.  We can understand the fundamentals and track the technicals.  The best approach is to know just what you need from the market in order to achieve profit.  And that brings us to Understanding Your Break Evens.  KRVN's Ken Rahjes talks with Darren Frye, President and CEO of Water Street Solutions about how to get to a long term break even -- and the importance of knowing that number going forward into the growing season

June 7 2010 Understanding Your Break Evens.mp3 (3.66 mb)

For the text of the interview, click here:  Understanding Your Break Evens

The tools that we use to market our crops and livestock can seem overwhelming and even risky -- if you don't understand them.  Darren Frye, President and CEO of Water Street Solutions told farmers attending Commodity Classic this year that farmers need to take the time to learn the tools.  To watch this discussion, click here.

For the text of this video segment, click here: Taking the Gamble out of Marketing Tools

If you have a desire to learn some of these tools, it's a part of our process at Water Street Solutions -- making sure you understand the strategies.  Call us at 866-249-2528.

A panel at the Commodity Classic in March talked about Controlling What You Can Control with regard to the financial aspects of your farm.  At the end, Max Armstrong asked members for their best advice.  Click on this link to the video.  This video is 6 minutes long -- and the discussions are around using the financial tools available -- but understanding those tools first.  Learning, understanding and reflecting was another focus.  And there's some discussion here about the importance of succession planning.       

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.

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.