ANNA, Ohio — Many people say farming is a gamble. One company is trying to take some of the risk out of it.
Nexus Marketing, an affiliate of the National Farmers Organization, handles all aspects of risk management strategies involving fat cattle, forward contracting and hedging.
The company has experienced over 300 percent growth over the past five years.
Nexus Marketing is happy to report its biggest accomplishment in 2008 was the ability to take advantage of the high markets in the summer of 2008. When the prices hit record highs, the company didn’t wait long to grab onto them.
The greatest effect on business last year was the high fuel and feed costs every producer faced.
However, Nexus Marketing said its customers were able to cope with the increased input costs because of the increase in markets.
Nexus Marketing has several strategies it has implemented to face the financial downturn in the economy.
One of them is staying on top of input costs, knowing the break-even levels and locking in corn prices if possible or protecting it through options. The company is hoping by passing these key tips on, cattle producers will be able to lock in cattle prices at a profit.
Nexus Marketing also encourages producers to take advantage of the market when possible. They urge producers to know the costs and set strike prices.
The company’s success revolves around individualizing a contract on a specific situation. They believe there is no generic risk management strategy for all producers.
In the next five years, the company feels the business will lean toward risk management. The company currently does a large amount of cash business fat cattle and feeder cattle.
Nexus Marketing is located at 8490 state Route 119 in Anna, Ohio. They can be reached at 937-726-2341 or by e-mail at PLampert@nexus.org. The company’s Web site is located at www.nexusag.org.
