Tips on Input Buying
Talk to your suppliers now to ensure better service later
Mike Wilson
Published: Feb 8, 2010
Farmers and their input suppliers are bracing for a topsy-turvy spring, thanks to the epic 2009 harvest.
"We still have 5 to 8% of our corn in the field and will probably still have some out there until May," says Brad Mikelson, Grain agronomy supervisor at Countryside Co-op, Durand, Wis.
Mikelson is not joking. His region of northwest Wisconsin still has two feet of snow on the ground. The dust will be flying by late April, long after when you should be talking to your input suppliers, he says.
"If you don't commit to what you need, you can't be sure we'll have the supply when you need it," says Mikelson, whose co-op sells chemicals, fertilizer and seed, along with merchandising grain. Because of rising prices last year, most retailers have lowered their risk exposure and will be 'spoon-to-mouth' on inventory. Now is the time to talk to your input supplier and commit on the supplies you'll need, so they in turn can commit on the backside.
Working with input suppliers must be a win-win for both parties, he says. "I wouldn't say you will always get a better deal, but a grower who communicates and works well with us, I make sure they get service and product when they need it," he says.
Mikelson suggests hedging your risk when buying inputs. Most people who sell grain don't sell it all at once, and the same principle applies to inputs. If you know you will need 200 ton of fertilizer, buy it in smaller blocks over several weeks or months. "By feathering in your fertilizer, that's really the only way you can protect against the big price swings," he says. "If everybody did that it would make everyone's life easier."
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Tagged: fertilizer, SURE, Harvest
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