Wheat Growers Encouraged to Lock In Prices for Beyond Current Year Crop
Winter wheat planting in Michigan is one for the season, and it appears as though many producers have planned on planting more wheat than what they did in previous years.
Given the conditions of 2019, price are reflecting the adverse weather conditions from across the country and world.
According to Dennis Pennington, a researcher at MSU and a member of the Michigan Wheat Board, it appears wheat growers are in a position to take advantage of pricing.
“We may be a little shy of where we wanted to be, but I think our target in 2019 was higher than what our target was in 2018,” said Pennington. “When we were putting seed together to plant, my cooperators that put entries in the state yield trial program were telling me they were running out of seed for a number of varieties—that didn’t happen in 2018.”
With wheat futures in the mid-$5 range, growers have some opportunities to lock in some favorable prices.
“Farmers quiver a little bit when I say this, but don’t look at just locking in the current year crop—sometimes pricing next year’s crop, you can actually lock in a lot higher prices if you’re looking at a year and a half out,” said Pennington.
Pennington suggests not locking in all of your acres, but try to price one-third of your production.