D22—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 28,1981 HARRISBURG Farmers who use the commodity markets as a management tool can gam some control over the price they receive for their prodcuts But they’d better beware tunng into speculators, cautions Merrill Lynch Commodity Executive Ellis E Grossmckle. ‘lf you compete with the speculators you are going to get iour head handed to you,” he told farmers at the Pennsylvania Ag Cooperative Marketing Association meeting held Monday On the other hand, the com modity markets will allow a far mer to establish a price for his product that he can live with. Grossmckle explained the futures market basically is a big auction with people on the floor both buying and selling goods What is traded is a contract to PACMA (Continued from Page D2l) >2 50 under market price, but ■avmg producers the trouble ot marketing cattle for themselves Ellis Grossnickle, commodity account executive foi Merrill Lynch, Harrisburg, talked about hedging farm commodities He drew a sharp line between the farmer who hedges tor management reasons and the speculator who is trying to make a fast buck If you compete with the speculators, you re going to get your head handed to you, he told the group —CH SELF LOCKING FEED THRU FENCE ★ All cows can be released at one * Heavy duty construction time or individually * Stabilizer on bottom of yoke for ★ When handle is in lock position extra strength cow automatically locks as if * Custom built to your specifications enters * You can release all cows or hold ★ No more chasing cows cows that need treatment PAUL B. ZIMMERMAN, INC. Box 128 R D #4 Lititz PA 17543 Wood Corner Rd 1 Mile West of Ephrata Phone 717 738 1121 Hardware • Farm Supplies Custom Manufacturing Crane Service Broker explains hedging opportunities deliver a given amount ot goods of a given quality at a specific point in time for an established price The speculator, he said, plays the market for a change of a penny or two on a huge volume of con tracts The hedger, on the other hand, looks at trends and watches price movements over a longer period of time on a commodity he actually buys or sells. There are two types of hedge, a sell hedge and a buy hedge Farmers usually use sell hedges In these cases, the hedger actually is holding the grain, cattle or hogs When a farmer sees a price he can live with, he can place a sell or short hedge It is safest for a hedger to maintain a position until the actual gram is sold Then he can buy back the position A buy hedge would be used to buy a product ahead of time on the futures market An example would be a tarmer who tears a jump in soybean meal pi ices but can t stoi e sufficient meal on the home tarm That tarmei would take a long position, buying a contract, ex pecting the price to go up In that wav, even though the mill charges the fanner more tor the feed, the tarmer will be profiting from his hedge and the price will even out It also is possible to hedge on the basis in a given market Basis is the numbei ot cents per bushel •that, on a given day, the local cash price of a commodity is above or below the cunent price foi a CUSTOM BUILT BARN EQUIPMENT ★ LOOP STALLS (Southern Style Channel Front Welded Front) ★ STANDARD FREE STALLS ★ GATES (38' 48" 54 High) ★ AUTOMATIC GATE LATCHES ★ FENCING ★ FEED THRU FENCING pemen isiie Catalog toi the cattle pioducei looking toi poven progeny in the Ixmghom breed Dickinson Ranch Semen Sue Catalog otters frozen semen from touiteen bulls oi multiple sue semen in a wide puce lange stalling fiom s>b to $5OO The top bulls ot the Longhorn industiy, Texas Kangei J F and Impressn e will be ottered Ihe catalog also gives the THREE SIZES: SMALL - For Calves UpTo 15 Months Old ADJUSTABLE- For Heifers & Cows 8 Months And Older (Pictured) LARGE - For Cows 15 Months And Olde' SERVING THE FARMERS FOR 108 YEARS Exit fefKitir tisirri li HOG 000 HAMBURG SAVINGS Cn|C and 17M15* TRUST COMPANY Hamburg, PA Phone: 215-562-3811 A FULL SERVICE BANK r Maybe its lime you switched fertilizer tanks Switch to a Calumet Liquid Manure Spreader Compared to today's and tomorrow's sky high fertilizer prices, manure is lust too valuable to waste A hundred cow dairy herd for example, can save thousands of dollars every year in fertilizer costs Take full advantage of this liquid gold with a Calumet liquid manure spreader teamed with a 4 shank soil injector Injecting can help retain four times the nitrogen that s usually lost with surface spreading in addition to reducing odor and run off problems SEE US AT THE FARM MACHINERY EXPO MARCH 5, 6 & 7 - Booths 230 & 241 c Si;i. F. ERNEST SNOOK RD 3 - Box 84, Mifflinburg, Pa. 17844 - Phone: 717-966-2736 pioducei complete data toi each sue including calving bath weights, extended pedigiees, sue weights at different ages, hoi n and height measurements and other impoitanl mtoimalion toi selecting a sn e lexas Longhorns aie populai -among the bleeder and the com meiciai cattlemen looking toi genetic U ails ot calving ease, high teitility v disease lesistance, high btowse utilization and haidiness Longhorn sues aie recommended tor last calt heiteis in herds with calving pioblems " - i SvTp.-X %'- " V &*•„ ♦'V * * < - ' ~S * ■*• Calumet spreaders in capacities from 1625 to 4500 gallons are engineered for efficiency and longevity Heavy duty steel alloy tanks are coated with epoxy to resist corrosion Double reinforced A frames and support skids add strength for heavy loads All Calumet liquid spreaders are backed by a 12 month warranty bach unit ot Un Kinson nozen semen is piocesjeJ lo aveiage thaw 20 million live mobile spenn 2o lo 50 peicenl more semen than minunum trade standards This years catalog tealures irozen semen from Jimm> the bwede, a purebied Atncan Walusi bull The Walusi cattle can develop hoi n gi owth up to 12 teel, and ai e being introduced in the United stales toi the pioduclijn ot loping cattle 1* oi a ii ee catalog wnle, Dickinson Kanch Dalhan, cu auaua Make the best use of the fertilizer produced on your farm with a Calumet liquid spreader and soil injector Call for information on the value of manure— and some good reasons why you should switch fertilizer tanks Look For The Right f J One! The Calumet Co Inc USED CLAY 2250 gai. (2) 10 ft. Chopper Pumps. I ■if