Grain Gleanings

Be Aware It Is Harvest Time!

By Becky Johnson, Elevator Location Manager, Salem

Harvest has started in full throttle mode.  With above average temperatures and gale force winds, what we presumed would be a harvest filled with drying grain has become just the opposite.

Prices for both corn and beans may not be what you had hoped for, but they have been on the uphill climb the last week for the most part.  Will see what the markets do now that Iran aimed missiles on Tel Aviv Tuesday.

With farm equipment traveling the roadways more abundantly these days everyone needs to play their part keeping the roads a safe place.  Being more patient and more aware are two very important factors all of us need to adhere to.

Normal road travelers need to realize that the speed most farm equipment travels at is 15 to 25 miles an hour.  When you see a slow-moving sign on equipment this should be your clue to slow down for it only takes a few seconds for someone traveling 55 miles an hour to be directly behind a vehicle moving 15 to 25 miles an hour.

All equipment being hauled needs to be properly secured and have proper lighting. Maintaining one’s speed at an appropriate level to stay in control of the equipment being hauled is also very important.

Be alert to all hazards in the roadways.  Avoid major roadways during high traffic periods, bad weather and at night if possible.

If traveling long distances with machinery, if possible, use pilot cars in front and behind equipment to alert other drivers on the roadway.  Install mirrors on equipment as well to help improve your view.

If you decide to pass a slow-moving vehicle, try and follow these guidelines:

1. Pay attention to vehicles behind you to see if they are also attempting to pass.
2. When entering the oncoming lane make sure you can see clearly in front of you and the piece of equipment you are passing.
3. Do not pass on hills, curves, designated NO PASSING ZONES, or within 100 ft of intersections, railroad crossings or bridges.
4. Do not assume that when farm equipment slows down and moves right that it is turning right, it may be turning left and need to get over to make the turn because of its size. Watch for signals such as blinkers, hand signals and even approaches and driveways.

No matter what you are operating please obey all traffic rules. This also includes cell phone laws!

If we all do our part the chance of everyone making it to their destination safely is improved drastically!!

Have a safe rest of your harvest and thank you for your patronage.

10/4/2024

Bean Harvest

By Hunter Behrens, Grain Originator, Lyons

Beans have been the story for this week. Not only have we started seeing new crop bean deliveries at majority of our locations we have also had bean futures increase twenty-nine cents since the market opened Monday morning. Hot and dry weather in Brazil has the funds trying to cover in front of that potential issues. That has been the main driving factor for the rallies we are seeing. Export beans were in line with expectations at 58 million bushels. Corn exports sales were below expectations last week at 21 million bushels and 12 million of those bushels going to Mexico and Columbia. On to weather; Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska have been the driest on record. The last 80 days have been absent from heavy rain which has really dried down the crop in time for harvest. I expect the harvest to continue to ramp up through the weekend and into next week and might start seeing some corn being brought in mid to late next week. To help keep track of tickets, contracts, and offers download the Central Farmers Cooperative App. With the hectic nature of harvest the app can really help make sure splits are correct and bushels are going to the right account. Get in contact with an originator to learn more about the app.

9/27/2024

Harvest Season

By Jeff Moritz, Lead Grain Merchandiser

This recent stretch of weather has pushed up the anticipated date of harvest. In fact, we got our first couple loads of new crop soybeans this week. I would expect activity to ramp up meaningfully next week. With that in mind, do you have a plan for the crop that needs to come to town? We published our Delayed Price rates this week on both corn and soybeans. You get 10 days free storage. After that, rates are 7.5 cents on Corn and 9 cents on Soybeans prorated daily. So, the first 30 days of storage, your realized rate is 5 cents for Corn and 6 for Soybeans. This topic has been discussed in previous weeks’ newsletters, but it is worth repeating. As an alternative to DP, we do offer Basis contracts as well as Minimum price contracts. These products offer the ability to receive funds once the grain is delivered while allowing the opportunity to participate in a higher futures price environment. They are both customizable to fit your price horizon goals. Please contact your local CFC originator to discuss these products.

If you are new to doing business with CFC, we would like to welcome you and appreciate you considering us as a market and a trusted partner for your crop. If you are delivering to either of our two terminals, we have an RFID card scanner at each location. If possible, I would encourage you to pick up some cards ahead of the harvest season to make the delivery experience as smooth as possible. We can program the cards with the account information you need to start. These cards can also be changed to a different account, if necessary, at a later time.

I would like to take the opportunity to mention to current as well as new customers that Central Farmers has a mobile app that will be a very handy tool during this busy harvest season and beyond. It can be used from any smart phone and provides real time account information at your hands especially when you do not have time to call the elevator office or after CFC business hours. With our app you can:

• Access scale tickets virtually in real time, allowing you to know how many bushels you have delivered and how much still needs to be delivered. You are able to see the grade factors on each scale ticket such as Moisture and Test Weight.
• Access your contracts that you have with any CFC location. You will be able to see the status of any contract to find out whether it is filled or is still open.
• Access real-time bushel balances of your grain across all CFC locations.
• Access delayed cash bids for all of our CFC locations

You can find our App on Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for iPhones by searching for Central Farmers. Scan the QR code below for quicker download process.

Final thought. With the size of the crop that we appear to be blessed with coming off soon, please keep in mind that there will be some challenges during this harvest season. It is quite easy to feel the stress of making sure harvest gets completed in a timely fashion. When that happens the temptation to take short cuts to get the job completed faster can be overwhelming at times. That could have disastrous consequences. Please be aware of your surroundings in the field, on the roadways and on the elevator or farmyard. Practice safe work habits during your harvest tasks and operations. In the end we will all be working in earnest to get this harvest completed, we just need to afford each other a little patience and consideration in the process. On behalf of all CFC employees, I wish you a very safe and successful harvest!

9/20/2024

Central Farmers has a mobile app that provides real time account information at your hands. By partnering with barchart, we are able to empower you, our producers, to make informed and quicker business decisions with CFC. With our app you can:

• Access scale tickets virtually in real time, allowing you to know how many bushels you have delivered and how much still needs to be delivered. You are able to see the grade factors on each scale ticket such as Moisture and Test Weight.
• Access your contracts that you have with any CFC location. You will be able to see the status of any contract to find out whether it is filled or is still open.
• Access real-time bushel balances of your grain across all CFC locations.
• Access delayed cash bids for all of our CFC locations

You can find our App on Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for iPhones by searching for Central Farmers. Scan the QR code below for quicker download process. Download it today!