From 1974 to 1999, the average increase in the price of corn from harvest until July was 19 cents per bushel. However, the storage cost was an estimated 32 cents per bushel. However, prices went down 40 percent of the time by an average of 36 cents per bushel. Soybeans show a similar pattern, notes Weness. This was not enough to offset the years when prices increased.
Storage returns on corn are very hard to capture.
Anytime you can get a price that's more than four cents per month per bushel you'd better be emptying bins. It's a little easier to capture storage returns on soybeans, says Weness. The best marketing plans, says Weness, are based on historic probabilities of price occurrence, seasonality of prices, and normal price ranges. Put a plan in place for the 2000 and 2001 crop now if you haven't already done so. Smith's plan is not going to please everyone, but may carry more weight since he is chairman of the Senate Environmental Committee.