It is the big unknown that farmers face each spring: what will the growing season weather be like? This year weather is even a bigger issue. Corn and soybean prices have fallen sharply following last year’s good crop, while input costs have not. This is squeezing the profit margins of most Indiana growers and will make the 2015 crop a pivotal one. Lower yields will send prices rebounding as world supplies tighten. Trend line yields will press prices even lower, especially for soybeans, given the large South American crop now coming onto the market. Jim Bower, with Bower Trading, states the weather is the key to which scenario we will see, “Weather is the one factor we have no control on, and mother nature can turn things around pretty quickly.”
Bower Trading is hosting a special free seminar this week in Lafayette focused on weather, featuring noted national meteorologist Drew Lerner. “Drew Lerner with World Wide Weather is one of the best meteorologists in the business today,” said Bower. “He will give about a 40 minute presentation on the early spring weather outlook and even forecast the trends for the critical early summer time period when corn pollination becomes the focus of the market.” Bower and his team will also present a program on market strategies, and Dr. Chris Hurt will present a program on the livestock sector.
Bower urges growers to be prepared to handle a very volatile situation this season, “We are positioning this seminar to present different options for growers so they will have the tools they need when the time comes this year to act.” The free seminar is this Thursday at the Best Western on I-65 at SR 26 in Lafayette, beginning at 4pm. The seminar is free, but an RSVP is requested in advance by contacting Bower Trading at 800-346-5634.