There’s no question that big profits were made during the boom times and balance sheets looked wonderful. The problem is that money is now going out the door at an alarming rate, and those balance sheets can change quickly in this environment.It was easy to make money in the grain business from about 2007 through 2014. Markets were always going up, and U.S. crop production was good except for the poor corn yield in 2012. We’ve often written that when prices are high, margins are also high. That was the case across the U.S. and world grain trade. Every level of agriculture from the producer through the suppliers, handlers, exporters, processors, etc. had great years. Of course big profits also allowed management to become sloppy, and budgets...

TAGS – Feed Grains, Farm Inputs, North America