Is this the year to sell or store wheat?
If your marketing strategy has been to sell wheat in one-third increments between harvest and January 1, this may be the year to sell a higher percentage at harvest.
A wheat and corn weather market
Corn prices are dependent on corn production. Wheat prices are dependent on wheat production and corn production. Both wheat and corn production are dependent on the weather.
Some producers still own 2012 harvested wheat
Hindsight is nearly always 20/20. If prices could have been know with certainty, Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle wheat would have been sold on July 20, 2012 for about $9 per bushel. Wheat prices had increased from $6 on June 1 to $9 on July 20, 2012.
HRW Wheat’s moisture problem
A problem for hard red winter (HRW) wheat is that it has not had and does not have enough moisture. Yet, some HRW wheat may have received moisture too late. Winter wheat that is just now germinating has a low yield potential
Wheat’s supply problem
At this writing, the Kansas City Board of Trade March contract price is $8.00, and the July contract price is $8.20. Cash prices in Oklahoma and Texas are around $7.60. Wheat may be forward contracted for about 55 cents less than the KCBT July wheat contract price. The Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle average annual price is about $6.40.
Wheat producers boxed into a corner
The drought in the hard red winter (HRW) wheat area may have producers “boxed into a corner.” Some producers think that they want one of two outcomes. The preferred outcome is favorable weather, high wheat yields, and a good price. The alternate outcome may be zero or nearly zero production and then collecting crop revenue insurance. In economist language, these are called “corner” or “extreme” solutions.
Wheat’s corn price problem
The Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) December wheat contract price is about 43 cents higher than the KCBT March contract price. This implies that Kansas City wheat prices are expected to increase 43 cents between now and December.
Wheat prices and yields
Since prices broke out of the five-month sideways pattern on December 1l, KCBT March wheat contract prices have declined about 80 cents. At this writing, the Kansas City Board of Trade March contract price is $8.15. The KCBT March contract price has support at about $8 and resistance at about $8.50.
Wheat prices fall $1.47
On December 12, wheat prices broke out the bottom side of a five-month sideways trading pattern. Using KCBT March Wheat contract prices, the price spread from the top ($9.62 on Aug. 10, Sept. 14, and Nov 9.) to the bottom ($8.80) was 82 cents. At this writing, wheat prices are $1.47 below the $9.62 top and 64 cents from the bottom price.
The perfect 2012 wheat marketing plan
The perfect wheat marketing plan for 2012 harvested wheat would have been to sell all the wheat on Friday, July 20, 2012. The Central Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle price was about $9.05.
