As harvesttime comes to an end and our thoughts shift to next
year, one particular lesson, actually from summer 2008, stands
out in my mind: When producers had the opportunity to sell corn
two years into the future for historically high prices, they
didn't because they didn't know what their costs would be. As a
result, the first way producers can improve their long-term
marketing plan is to control input costs. The key is realizing
that prices are cyclical and using the highs and lows to prepare
for the future. Right now, two major areas of long-term exposure
are near historically low costs. The first is interest rates and
the second is natural gas, used to produce anhydrous ammonia or
nitrogen. Let's focus on interest rates. The big question is,
How much longer will the Federal Reserve continue to support
historically low interest? For perspective, let's look at what's
behind their decision making. First, they have implemented
policy to keep interest rates low in order to reliquefy the
banking sector. By ke