Twenty-seven grain buyers from 18 nations learned how to make more effective purchases while decreasing their risk during the 2011 Grain Procurement Management for Importers short course at Northern Crops Institute, Fargo, Sept. 19-28.
“One of the things we have seen in the past few years is an increased amount of volatility in the marketplace,” says John Crabtree, institute assistant director and coordinator of the course. “The combination of price jumps, world economy and an uncertain grain supply from year to year have resulted in significant price volatility.”
Grain buyers from Algeria, Belgium, Canada, China, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, USA and Yemen attended the course.
U.S. Wheat Associates, U.S. Grains Council, USDA FAS Cochran Fellowship Program and the North Dakota Corn Council sponsored participants in the course.
Highlights of the course were lectures by academic and commodity trade authorities on cash and futures markets, and sessions with grain merchandisers who unravel the complexities of international grain markets. Participants also toured the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, a country elevator, Duluth Seaway Port Authority, an export grain terminal and a barge facility.
William Wilson, NDSU professor of agribusiness and applied economics, was the lead lecturer for the course. Featured speakers included Art Boline, GIPSA/USDA; David Bullock, FC Stone; Austin Damiani, Frontier Futures Inc.; Ron DeJongh, Columbia Grain; Russ Huntington, BNSF Railroad; Maurice Hurst, Cargill Inc.; Mike Klein, CHS Inc.; Brian McLaughlin, Trading Technologies International; Randy Narloch, ADM-Benson Quinn; John Oades, consultant, Vancouver, Wash.; Jim Peterson, N.D. Wheat Commission; Frayne Olson, NDSU Extension Service; and Darcy Rasmussen, N.D. Grain Inspection Service.
General manager Paul Skarnagel hosted a tour of Hunter, N.D., Grain Co. On Sept. 25, course participants traveled to Duluth, Minn., where they toured the Duluth Seaway Port Authority with executive director Adolph Ojard, and the CHS Export Grain Terminal with superintendent Dick Carlson.
During the second week of the course, participants met with grain traders at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. The traders discussed commercial grain export trading practices. Mark Bagan, MGE president and CEO, greeted the group. Rita Maloney, MGE, discussed the history of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange.
Superintendent Greg Oberle explained the grain transport system on the Mississippi River during a tour of CHS Barge Facility at Savage, Minn.
Course topics focused on the U.S. grain handling and transportation system; cash and futures markets; basis and spreads; U.S. grain grading standards; commodity analysis; basic hedging principles; options used by importers; trading game exercises; exporter merchandising, contracting and strategies; cash grain contracting; purchase quality specifications for importers; grain situation and outlook; role of railroads in U.S. exports; buyer/seller relations; commercial export trading practices; trader’s perspective; managing supply chain; international contracts and arbitration; electronic trading; procurement strategies by exporters; customer relations; and managing ocean freight risks.