What will you do with corn above $4? We thought it a fair question for our latest Farm Progress PANEL, a mobile-based survey of key subscribers to the Farm Progress NOW mobile text service. That market price for corn hasn't been seen on the Chicago board for months and offers some hope that 2020 isn't a total bust. The PANEL, conducted Oct. 21, offers a snapshot of what farmers think about $4 corn.

We thought it might be nice to get a sense of what farmers think about that price, and what they'll do even as they continue combining the crop. Of course, the PANEL is designed as a quick take tool on what's happening, and we appreciate members offering their insight.

There's a little bit of skepticism among PANEL members given that more than half say they'll check basis to see the "real" price for their crop. While $4-plus on the Big Board looks good, it's that local market where the rubber meets the road. So that reality check has value.

About a fifth say they're waiting to see corn hit $4.50 to sell. That's a common response when prices are on the rise, and for these respondents it's apparently a risk worth taking.

And there's a core group, about 15% that are cautious noting they're going to lock in the higher local price. That's a safe bet if you know your cost of production and basis isn't too wide.

Of course, the PANEL does plant tongue firmly in cheek when asking some questions, so we wondered about one thing – what you might do with that money. About 6%, a small number, told us that they were planning on going to DisneyWorld (when they can). When corn crosses a magic number, it can feel like a win worth celebrating.

Best way to become part of the Farm Progress PANEL is to subscribe to Farm Progress NOW, our mobile text service where we share a hot news item to your mobile phone every day. Once in that group, feel free to subscribe to the PANEL, instructions will be included in future texts.

To subscribe to Farm Progress NOW, just text FARM to 20505, then respond to the answer text you receive. And thanks for subscribing.