A four-session course will be offered starting June 2 to assist women in developing a plan for marketing corn and soybeans.

Women Marketing Grain is the name of the course that will be held on Thursdays, June 2 to 23 at the DMACC Hunziker Center in Ames. With unpredictable crop prices and tight profit margins, marketing can make the difference in the profitability of corn and soybean production. How well farmers get paid for a year’s worth of work can be wrapped up in just a few marketing decisions.

VERY HELPFUL: What is the Women Marketing Grain course? Participants work in a computer lab to access online decision tools and learn how to develop a marketing plan. Women learn marketing strategies and how to stay on track for long-term marketing success.

“Women Marketing Grain empowers women by offering a valuable set of business-based workshops. The program helps participants learn ways to make better marketing and financial resource management decisions,” says Madeline Schultz, manager of the ISU Extension and Outreach Women in Agriculture Program.

Participants in this class will learn how to manage price risk 

In this course, women will learn how to manage price risk using tools like forward contracts, futures and options contracts, alternative marketing contracts, and crop insurance. Participants will work in a computer lab to access online decision tools and to develop a marketing plan. Women will learn market strategies and how to stay on track for long-term marketing success.

Classes are from 6 to 9 p.m. with a free meal served at 5:30 p.m. Registration for each program is $75 with a deadline of May 26. To register now, visit aep.iastate.edu/womeninag/2016/ames.html.

The course curriculum includes learning how to identify crop prices and figure marketing costs. You’ll learn about sources of futures and cash market prices, how to use basis, and how to use the futures carry. It also includes:

Understanding price movements: Crop marketing terms, market fundamentals of supply and demand, technical chart signals, and seasonal price trends for futures prices and basis.

Utilizing a variety of crop marketing tools including: Spot cash sales, forward contracts, hedge-to-arrive contracts, futures hedging and futures options (puts and calls).

Developing a crop marketing plan: You’ll do this with price, time and financial goals in mind.

Women Marketing Grain is interesting and fun: You’ll explore topics of importance to your future in farming. There will be brief presentations and extended discussions, practical hands-on activities, decision-making resources available to you, all in a comfortable and supportive learning environment as you will be networking and learning with other farm women.