Market timing

[Ache4Acres]

What crops are the best for very long term storage?

I am thinking why not time the markets a bit...just wait it out. How long could I store canola for example and sell in the future. Is it possible to store safely for 10 years?! What about other crops. Which ones dont store well at all?

[furrowtickler]

Dry canary stores for a very long time

[farmaholic]

Green lentils will oxidize over time.
Cereals can be prone to bugs.
All grains are organic matter and prone to spoilage if moisture gets high enough from leaky bins.
If you are financially strong enough to sit on allot of grain, at what point do you have too much storage? Grain bags are a short term solution to a long term problem if you plan on storing grain long term. I would say you can't just bin it and forget it, be prepared to monitor it or possibly run into trouble.

[farmaholic]

"....10 years?"...... I would think the market would have gone through a couple of high/low cycles in that time frame and the grain should have been sold.

Hoarding, the TV series will be in touch...

[Guest]

are you quitting farming ? where will next years crop go ? re: canary seed , we strored it one time for a year and just before its bday it started to heat . it was dry and opi cable was showing 40 degrees. never hurt it , that's one of the bins that our opi cables saved the day . lucky we checked cable after that long

[iceman]

Mustard & bird $hit can be stored for 10 yrs if dry. No biggy

Taxi right to Kilo

[BreadWinner]

Why would you store grain? It is very prone to spoilage thus you can loose it all. It cost $$$ to store grain,bins,fans, and electricity. If you sell it all in one year income taxes will take a huge chunk. Who says grain prices will go up, they could also go down. As a buisness you have to have some type of income per year. You hate to become a grain hoarder, they can't seem to part with it even if prices are high. Everyone knows one of those guys. I grow grain to sell it. I figure out a profit margin after my costs and try to stay above that line.

[ajl]

Most old guys die with grain in the bin. I do know where there is 10 yr old durum. Unfortunately drought doesn't have the same impact I did many years ago. Compare 2015 to a drought year like 2001 or 2002. In the spring it looked like a good old fashioned drought but then there was a pretty good harvest in 80% of the areas. Stats can found 17 million tonnes of canola. There are going to have to sweep the bin bottoms pretty hard for that but still 15.5 MMT after the start we had this year? Pretty amazing, and good if the good crop happened on your farm but untold misery if it didn't.

[farming101]

When there is a surplus someone has to store it. Or use it up in some unconventional way.
Some farms are self insuring, which can include a stocks on farm component.

[hobbyfrmr]

I agree with Breadwinner. I know more people who lose a bin of canary or canola because they are waiting for the big dollar. Price goes high, they wait for the tippity tip tip top price, and dooooown it goes, not to recover for another five years..
After about 200 days people forget about turning the bin they get busy doing other things and its not very amsusing to turn bins of grain.
If/when they decide to sell they get the contract, order the truck, pull the chute and nothing comes out. Then there is the awkward moment of realizing they now have to buy their way out of the contract.
I have two brothers farm neighbors. They grow good yeilds, usually make a pile near the road, then they dont sell or do anything with the pile, then It heats and rots. It takes about 18 months, the pile shrinks. They easily give up $10-20,000 of value in spoiled piles. They farm around the piles until a custom seeding neighbor brings his own tractor/ loader and spreads out the rotten pile instead of seeding around it.
This is simply an opinion from a farmer who always needs to sell grain because he needs the money. I always need the money.