by John DePutter, Nov 4th, 2014
As part of our information services, the DePutter team routinely reports on the trends and cycles outside agriculture.
Why?
We think it’s important that farmers stay informed about the non-ag markets.
That’s because markets outside the farm can hold big sway on the prices for commodities you grow.
Today’s world is interconnected. Currency shifts, energy prices, the ebb and flow of spec money, economic growth and decay… all of these factors can affect the farming business.
Let’s take a quick look at how that has played out in recent history.
Here are a few examples:
– The crude oil upswing and ethanol boom of 2006 – 2008.
In 2006, crude oil soared up past $50 to a new all-time high. We saw this as a sign the grain markets could follow. After all, it suddenly made financial sense to use grain to make fuel, which sparked the ethanol boom. Grains did follow crude, with massive bull markets of their own, in late 2007 and 2008.
– The financial meltdown of the late 2000s.
Remember the financial meltdown in late 2008, early 2009? That slide took lots of crop markets down with it. A host of commodities declined as one.
– The recovery of 2010 – 2013.
To top it off, the strong comeback in non-ag markets following that hard break (supported by the monetary policies of the US Federal Reserve and other Central Banks) played a big role in the ag recovery of 2010 through 2013.
What about your off-farm investments?
Many farmers have off-farm investments.
If that’s you, well, this is a no brainer: you need to watch what the non ag-markets are doing.
The big trends outside the agriculture markets are likely to have a big influence on your financial bottom line. So make sure you’re monitoring the non-ag markets at regular intervals, and/or getting interpretations about market behaviour from sources you trust.
Our perspective differs from conventional investment advisors.
Very few advisors offer insight into the big cycles and trends. DePutter reports have a history of identifying cyclical swings in advance. We can actually get better results than the ivory tower analysts and widely-quoted economists.
How? Our secret is simple. We routinely step back and review the long-term charts.
To get our free report translating the current trends of the non-ag markets, subscribe to one of our free trials at the link below and we will include the special report as part of your welcome package.