FAQ

There is a combative relationship between the farmer and a commission-only commodity broker. Commission-based brokers only make money when the farmer trades and they seem to encourage farmers to trade only a portion of their production several times over the course of a year, instead of once. The farmer can easily lose focus of what he is trying to accomplish with futures and options, relative to his farm’s profit and loss for the year. The combative relationship between the farmer and commodity broker is significantly reduced when he/she is fee-based.

A commission-only broker only focuses on trading, Alkire Advisory focuses on the farmer’s profit and loss for the farm business.

There is a combative relationship between the farmer and grain buyers. Grain buyers try to buy grain from the farmer as early in the crop year he can convince him to let go. This gives the grain buyer more opportunities to make money with storage than the farmer.

Our local basis analysis helps each client maximize farm storage returns for various delivery periods. Our fall-forward basis analysis helps clients understand the value of owning farm storage and the most profitable delivery periods.

When a farmer understands how to maximize farm profits through on-farm grain storage, they often build more storage. Few farm assets have a two to five year pay-off with a 20 plus year lifespan like grain storage.

This is something no grain buyer will ever help a farmer do.

Newsletter services are good at reporting market noise, but not market information specific to each client’s profit/loss situation. Due to our relevant and specific approach to markets for each client, Alkire Advisory recommends and executes using the lowest cost marketing alternative to maximize profitability. Our 30 plus years of experience has shown us that farmers who understand the relationship between price, yield and profit/loss for the crop are the most successful.

When you understand risk, it is easier to make selling decisions to achieve a farm profit goal. We help our clients understand this with our annual Crop Marketing Plan and Local Basis Analysis that we create for each client.

Before we sign up a new client, we spend time to understand your business. We work with prospective clients for a month for no charge. If our service is a good fit after the first month, then the client pays his/her first quarterly advisory fee.

Early in the relationship, we visit the new client at his/her farm office. We have found this to be crucial for the success of a long-term working relationship. We are always available by telephone at (800) 767-6111. After hours, we are available by cell phone if a question needs answered or an open order needs placed or adjusted for an overnight trading session.

Each year, we email clients a Crop Marketing Plan Input Clients email the completed form back to us. We develop a new Crop Marketing Plan with price, basis and spread objectives for that year, considering the client’s logistics and cash flow needs.

As new crop sales are made, we update the Crop Marketing Plan. At any time, the client knows exactly how many bushels he has sold, and the price he needs on the balance to breakeven for the crop year, and the price he needs to achieve a certain profit per acre goal.

When it is time to execute sales based on the Crop Marketing Plan, we call the client. If he/she is hedging with futures and options, we place the trades for him. If he/she is making a cash contract, the farmer places those orders.

We track the client’s cash markets and provide basis charts and tables that help develop forward basis objectives for the best delivery period in each market, each crop year.

We are constantly educating clients on the best marketing alternatives and strategies, designed to get the best job done for lowest cost.

We do this in our Weekly Client Update 48 weeks of the year, every Friday. On Tuesday, our Early Week Update reviews weekend news and any new ideas that may impact our plans and strategies.

We provide Morning Comments on a daily basis, to review relevant overnight news and feature the best price charts of the day. In addition, we provide a daily basis update of 52 major corn ethanol plants and 44 major soybean processors split between the eastern and western Corn Belt.

Have additional questions? Contact Alkire Advisory today!