Remember that volatility can mean opportunity. Where there’s market volatility, there’s opportunity. The key is in knowing your farm’s numbers, understanding what it looks like for your farm to be successful, and then working on a marketing plan that’s best for your operation. That plan will look different for each farm operation because every operation is working with different factors and different breakevens. You need to know your costs or have very accurate estimates of them so you can get the best possible marketing plan in place. That way, it’s mainly a matter of watching for the opportunity within the volatility.

Remember your end goal. One of the toughest things in a volatile market is that the emotions of any market swing seem to multiply. It’s hard to watch as the market moves in roller-coaster fashion at these levels – and it can also make decision-making or pulling the trigger that much harder. The key is remembering what your “end goal” is – your farm’s bottom line. The bottom line is that you want your farm to achieve financial success – that’s why you create a marketing plan and then execute on it. Remembering this can help when weathering a market like the current one that seems to swing on any little thing that happens – or doesn’t happen.

Remember you don’t have to go it alone. When the market is so volatile and there’s a great deal at stake, it’s a good time to find a partner for your marketing plans and decisions. There’s a reason that good pilots have a co-pilot there to help them make the best decisions, especially in tough situations. The pilot (the farm leader) remains in control of the final decision – but it can be a major help and source of peace of mind to have someone else, like a market advisor, as your co-pilot to bounce ideas off of and to help watch for opportunities in a market like this.