Jack B. Davis, CPA
Crops Business Management Field Specialist
Four state area corn grain stocks stored in all positions on December 1, 2013 totaled 4.7 billion bushels, up 15.7% from December 1, 2012. Stocks stored in all positions by state are South Dakota; 0.644 billion bushels, Nebraska; 1.25 billion bushels, Minnesota; 1.06 billion bushels, and Iowa; 1.74 billion bushels. On farm stocks are; 410 million bushels South Dakota, 760 million bushels Nebraska, 760 million bushels also in Minnesota, and 1.07 billion bushels in Iowa. (Figure 1: Four State Grain Stocks Comparison by Position) On farm stocks in the four states is up 18.6% from 2012. Minnesota’s December 1, 2013 all stocks are down 89 million bushels from 2012. The Grain Stocks Report is available online.
Figure 1: Four State Grain Stocks Comparison by Position
Producers holding unpriced corn stocks will want to develop an exit strategy for those bushels. One example is the storage hedge and taking advantage of improving basis. A July futures contract at $4.39 is offering $0.15 carry over the March futures contract. Currently, basis in East Central South Dakota is close to the five year average (-$0.46 under the March contract). The five year average narrows to -$0.23 under in mid-June. By selling the carry and basis improvement this storage hedge example is offering $0.38 ($0.15 carry plus $0.23 basis improvement) less storage costs. South Dakota Basis Information is available on iGrow. Producers will want to evaluate their storage costs, carry in futures market, and the potential for basis improvement at their delivery locations.
Source : SDSU