Communicating regularly with buyers will make it easier when you go to sell. “Guys will call me, via cellphones, from the combine,” says Linda Feltz from Wallenstein Feed and Supply near Guelph, Ont.
Farmers who make a point of keeping connected to market information and buyers seem to come out ahead. They know their cost of production and market information. Before they call the buyer, they know the price they want. Willpower, patience, confidence and a little tenacity go a long way.
Feltz says she likes dealing with farmers who watch the market and sell based on a price decided beforehand. “Those guys watch the board and if they come in at lunchtime and corn is up $0.30, they’re going to make the call,” she says. “The other ones say I’ll call later and by 2 p.m. the market is down $0.30.”
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They follow price movements on the commodity exchanges and they act on market intelligence. Feltz says she can tell when a popular newsletter advises a sell position; she’s inundated with calls.
BlackBerry at the ready
Motiuk is in constant contact with the merchants at two local elevators and has a group of buyers for his canola and peas. They know what he has and what price he wants.
Instead of using call options, he stays in touch with the market daily and contacts buyers when cash prices meet his targets. He takes his BlackBerry wherever he goes — even on holidays with his wife.
“Having this (mobile connection) allows us to travel as much as we do,” Motiuk says. “I can know what’s going on with the markets even when I’m far away.”
“Everything is by e-mail,” Motiuk adds. “That’s the quickest.”
Half sold before seeding
At 26 years old, Ian Lepp is part of the e-generation, used to quick, immediate, continual feedback and communications. So it’s no surprise that this is exactly how he markets — sending and receiving price offers by text-messaging, e-mail and cellphone.
Lepp says today’s electronic communications tools makes cash pricing much more effective. For example, Bunge or Viterra who bought a nearby crushing plant have their daily cash price posted on the Internet. “They’re pretty transparent with their prices,” Lepp says.
More demand from elevators, processors and livestock industry for his crops hasn’t hurt either. “If a buyer has a premium, they’re eager to tell you,” he says.
All the Lepps work at marketing. Sometimes three heads are better than one — especially with six ears glued to cellphones. Connected together, they’re able to sell to many grain companies, processors, feed mills and directly to livestock farmers.
“On my BlackBerry, I get prices daily from various different locations,” says Lepp.
