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The Grain Business IS the Relationship Business

The Grain Business IS the Relationship Business

rogerelevatorSuccessful businesses, no matter what industry, know, develop and practice the art of maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with their customers. Typical business relationships strive for a win-win situation -- a transaction in which the activities of both parties serve one another’s goals.  As a grain buyer or seller, this axiom holds true; each party works with the other to accomplish their own goals. However, this type of relationship will only work when the needs of both parties match up exactly. In the grain industry, the needs of the farmer to sell when cash prices are high, when it is logistically convenient for him to sell, or when he just needs to free up some cash flow very rarely coincides with the needs of the processor to source cheap grain based upon his production schedule, in a consistent manner year round.

As GRAIN MERCHANDISERS, we are uniquely positioned as we can use our skills to take and buy grain ANYTIME that it is convenient for the producer, and simultaneously can perform the duty of a supplier and seller of grain ANYTIME that is demanded by the end user, AND make great margins in the process. This WIN-WIN-WIN relationship doesn’t only apply to logistics, but also with regards to helping the farmer and end user each achieve their pricing goals. As practiced GRAIN MERCHANDISERS, we have the ability to pay the producer a high cash price that meets his profitability goals AND at the same time offer grain into the user market at price levels that enable them to operate their businesses profitably, all the while realizing our margin goals in the process. This is an outcome that cannot be reached without an expert GRAIN MERCHANDISER having a role in a successful grain marketing and delivery system.

The effective use of GRAIN MERCHANDISING techniques lead to a relationship of TRUST between you as the grain merchant and both your upstream farmer customer as well as your downstream end user customer. When the producer trusts that you are working for his interests and not competing with him on price, you may become his first and only call to handle his business. Likewise, when your buyer customer trusts that you will be able to source grain for him based upon his needs and that you have a realistic knowledge of values, you may also become his first and only call as well! GRAIN MERCHANDISING is the vital link in not only the grain supply chain, but in the relationship chain of trust that our industry relies so much upon.

The best case scenario for the tried and true GRAIN MERCHANDISER is paying the farmer the highest price available for his grain when he wants to sell AND selling the end user the lowest priced grain that he can find when he wants to buy.

If you are questioning the sanity of the preceding statement, or would like to know how to develop and hone the skills necessary to operate your grain business in a WIN-WIN-WIN style, check out our online grain merchandising courses for every type of grain trading education you need.

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