Marketing Plans 101

Don't put off making a marketing plan for the new year.

- Al Kluis

If you ever thought about making a marketing plan for your farm, it's time to make it happen. You can do it! Let's look at how you can make a plan that works best for your farm.

Every year, I enjoy teaching all the classes for my Kluis Grain Trading Academy, but I have a favorite: Creating a Marking Plan. This class brings together all the concepts we teach during the previous classes.

First, let’s review the basics: Simple is better. Yes, a more complex plan may cover more risks and scenarios. But a simple plan ends up being better, since it’s easier to understand, and easier to act upon.

One example of a simple but effective marketing plan is the “Auto Pilot.” It’s simple to set up and helps you avoid the lows. This plan takes the emotion out of marketing.

Here are some sample Auto Pilot plans:

Auto Pilot Plan Version 1.0

Goal: Make regular sales, but not during the months when prices are historically low.

• Sell 10% of your cash corn and soybeans every month except September and October.

• Sell 10% of your cash wheat each month except July and August.

Likely results: You get close to the year's average price and avoid selling a large part of your crop at the low.

This chart shows when Kluis Commodity Advisors made hedge and cash sale recommendations for the 2024 corn crop. The average price came in at $4.71. The new-crop hedges placed in July 2023 worked great, as did the May 2025 corn hedges that were placed at over $5.00.

Auto Pilot Plan Version 2.0

Goal: Make multiple sales but avoid historically low months and sell more during historically high months.

• Sell 20%—22% of your cash corn and soybeans in April, May, and June.