2017 Fall Farm Outlook

2017 Logan County Fall Farm Outlook Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS Oct. 25, 2017 Page 37 Grainster is owned by Layne Fortemberry, who serves as Chairman of the Board and CEO of the company with wife Crissy Fortenberry being his Vice Chairman. The company is physically located in Arkansas. Grainster website: http://www.grainster.com/ ecosphere/ Looking at what is available online, sellers should ask themselves if they are first, ready for a “long distance relationship?” Logan County is a strong farming community with many top notch grain handlers within driving distance of any farm. The local elevators are staffed with people sellers can deal with one- on-one face-to-face. That in itself can be a big benefit. The producer should also ask him or herself if they want to take on the extra concern of being a seller and/or warehouseman. How many sleepless nights are they willing to put up with for 10 to 20 cents per bushel? Are they savvy enough to deal with direct selling or would they be better off to let someone else do the strategizing…and the worrying? And finally are they big enough to get into direct sales. Buyers will more than likely be looking for high volume deals, and price negotiations may be built around just how many bushels the seller has to offer. Big contracts should earn better offers than smaller ones. So the best advice to come out of this may be to shop around, be cautious, and confident in yourself as a marketing person before you jump into an online matching service. Sometimes, what you have in your own backyard is as good as it gets!