Small wins with straddles

By Jon Scheve, Superior Feed Ingredients, LLC

Early corn yield reports from across the country are mostly good or great, and this includes areas that haven’t had any rain in the last month. The northern corn belt has had above average temperatures recently, which is helping advance crops quickly there too.

USDA estimates could still be too low, a national yield above 185 is still very possible. Corn prices may not decrease a whole lot more before the end of the year, but a rally could be very difficult. 

Market action

After the acreage report at the end of June, September corn was trading at $4.05 and December corn was around $4.20. Growing conditions across the U.S. looked favorable, so I thought it was unlikely prices would rally before harvest.

At the time, I had downside protections in place at $4.50 on the December for my entire crop. However, I wanted to add to my floor value in case prices went lower or stayed in a sideways pattern. … Continue reading