By Lacey Gerbrandt

I have never been so excited to help farmers as I am today!

At our CONNECT event there was one quote that stood out to me above many others; “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” This is a quote that speaks to me on all levels; however, it has really spoken to me in farming lately!

What would you do if you had no risk on the farm? Would you go all out and pour all the groceries to the crop in hopes that you yield higher than ever before? Would you pre-sell at profitable prices to make sure you have a percentage of your crop locked in to make money (despite buy-out and down-grading concerns)?

Global Ag Risk Solutions took data from all of their growers’ financial statements from years past and reviewed a few correlations. Their findings dictated that the reward on increased revenue from increased inputs is 1.73:1.00! So, wait a minute… For every dollar I spend on inputs, I get back $1.73? Yes.  According to results taken directly from financial statements, this is the average ratio of return on increased inputs!  Wow!

Gee, I would like to use a fungicide, but I’m worried that I spend all that extra money and then I get a hail storm or early frost, etc. Okay, so last year one grower that GARS was working with sprayed a fungicide (even though it was bone-dry and the crop looked like crap). We can admit that the crop ended up only going 12 bu/ac, but…what did the part of the crop that wasn’t sprayed with fungicide do? It went 7 bu/ac! That is a 5 bu/ac difference on a dry year!  In case you haven’t seen the price lately, it’s about $30/bu. Quick math: $30/bu X 5 bu/ac = $150/ac! Seriously!? Wow! Amazing! I wish it was safe to take on that risk and aim for the fence every time!

Another easy example of aiming for the fences is on situations of pre-contracting commodities. Right now we can sell 2016 lentils for off-the-combine delivery at a very profitable price. It’s not rocket science that there will be many, many additional lentil acres seeded this year. If we are to get a good quality crop and India doesn’t have another terrible monsoon season, what do we think will happen to lentil prices? Why wouldn’t we try to lock in a profit?  Right now we can even get a penny or two if we don’t take an Act of God contract. Let’s do the math: $0.01 X 60 lbs/bu = $0.60/bu; $0.60/bu X 40 bu/ac = $24/ac. That is just one very simple, straight-forward, realistic example.

Now, what would you do if you knew you could not fail? Let me make that easy. I know a way to take all of the mentioned risks off the table and allow you to aim for the fences! I’m an advisor for Global Ag Risk Solutions! I am also very pleased that Global Ag Risk is being encouraged by many financial institutions!  Ask me about FCC financing the premiums! If you were a lender, wouldn’t you be encouraged to deal with clients that have zero risk?

You have enough risk to deal with in your life! Let’s not make your crop/farm growth be one of them!

I am planning to have a series of grower meetings on December 14/15 and another round in January. Please don’t miss out!  I will be calling and emailing details.

For those of you who were on the program last year, or you were quoted, please attend the grower meetings! There are many new, exciting aspects of the coverage to review with you!  I will also add that it is absolutely free to get a quote!  So, why wouldn’t you!?

Please call/text/email me to discuss the program, the quotes, the meetings!

I would like to sincerely thank each and every individual who has put their trust in me throughout the last year! I genuinely appreciate your business! I am working hard to improve the services that I bring to the table at Emerge Ag Solutions, and I am so grateful for all the great people I have learned from over the last year!

I am very excited to take a little time over Christmas to spend time with my children and all loved ones!  I really hope you all do the same!

God’s Blessings for a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!