During the 2011 Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies held in Malcom, IA, growers watched the taping of a U.S. Farm Report show, hosted by John Phipps. That show will air this weekend. Guests included Sue Martin, Ag and Investments Services, pictured here with John. Sue had a pretty strong message for corn growers. She says, “I don’t think that we’re done trying to rally this market, that we’re just too vulnerable, late planted this year and all hopes are pinned on the old crop corn that is with the huge basis we’ve got.” She says there’s a good potential for a rally in September. Of course there are a lot of factors coming in the play when you look ahead to Dec corn.
You can listen to my interview with Sue here: Sue Martin Interview
Another guest on the show was Chip Flory, Pro Farmer. Chip told corn growers that the way the market uses crop condition information from USDA has changed a lot in recent years with hedge funds coming into the market. Most of them plug it into a model that tells them what to do. He says we’re probably going to see conditions continue to deteriorate in the next report and it will trigger another round of fund buying. But he says weather may not be the most important factor he says. It all depends on what they’re looking at that day. He says, “We’re in a corn economy. Watch corn. It’s calling the shots for the whole grain complex.”
You can listen to my interview with Chip here: Chip Flory Interview
I also spoke with John before the program got started. He says the message he has for corn growers is that if you’re not careful you’ll start thinking you’re disassociated from the rest of the world. He wanted to talk about the “end of the outside world.” We’re inundated with too much information and we need to realize that on the farm we’re part of the rest of the world. He finds it interesting that people seem to be unwilling to think about “what if things get better?” He has a very positive message for growers and says they need a backup plan for when things get better. He’s a pretty good “nonsense filter!”
You can listen to my interview with John here: John Phipps Interview