Farm Marketing Plans That Helps You Hit Above-Average Prices

If you ever thought about making a marketing plan for your farm, it’s time to make it happen. You can do it! Let’s look at how you can make a plan that works best for your farm.

Every year, I enjoy teaching all the classes for my Kluis Grain Trading Academy, but I have a favorite: Creating a Marking Plan. This class brings together all the concepts we teach during the previous classes. 

First, let’s review the basics: Simple is better. Yes, a more complex plan may cover more risks and scenarios. But a simple plan ends up being better, since it’s easier to understand, and easier to act upon. 

One example of a simple but effective marketing plan is the “Auto Pilot.” It’s simple to set up and helps you avoid the lows. This plan takes the emotion out of marketing. 

Auto Pilot Plans

Auto Pilot Plan Version 1.0

Goal: Make regular sales, but not during the months when prices are historically low.

• Sell 10% of your cash corn and soybeans every month except September and October. 
• Sell 10% of your cash wheat each month except July and August.  

Likely results: You get close to the year’s average price and avoid selling a large part of your crop at the low. 

Auto Pilot Plan Version 2.0

Goal: Make multiple sales but avoid historically low months and sell more during historically high months.

• Sell 20%–22% of your cash corn and soybeans in April, May, and June.
• Sell 10% of your new-crop corn and soybeans ahead on hedges or cash contracts in April, May, and June. 

For wheat: Sell 20%–22% of your cash wheat in November, December, and January. Also, sell 10% of your new crop during each of those months. 

Likely results: This plan has more risk, but also more potential for a higher average sale price. You are likely to get above the year’s average price in eight out of 10 years. 

Note that both plans do not work as well in years when grain prices rally right into harvest. That happens about twice every decade. 

These are basic plans. Those I make for my customers are more complex because I am not satisfied with the average price. This involves having price and time targets. 

How does that work? First, I study my long-term corn, soybean, and wheat charts to look at patterns, and decide on price targets. Then, I have offers in above the markets at all times to make sales. The goal is to make a series of 10% and 20% cash and new-crop sales as the market rallies.

This marketing year was unusual. We hit a lot of price targets to sell cash and new-crop corn and soybeans in January and February, when futures rallied up to test chart resistance. The time targets to sell in April and June worked, but those sales were below January’s and February’s. The key in our 2024/2025 plan (much like 2023/2024) was to avoid corn and soybean sales during August. For wheat, the forward sales made in November and December of 2024 looked great in 2025. The last cash sales in May and June were at lower prices than the late 2024 sales, but the average price was great.  

A variety of plans can work. Sometimes, you just have to find a plan that works with your personality, your operation, and your experience.