A co-founder of AgMarket.net says the current economic outlook means farmers need to take advantage of every opportunity.

Matt Bennett, who also farms in central Illinois, says this month's USDA supply and demand report was one of those.

"They extracted a lot of stocks out of the balance sheet, which gave us a shot in the arm and so now we're getting back closer to profitability." He says, "Get your numbers polished up, and your pencil sharp. Make sure you know what your situation is and then maybe try to do something about it."

He tells Brownfield economic down cycles are when marketing plans need the most adaptability.

"You don't want to get too crazy on sales, at least without some sort of flexibility." He says, "So maybe you buy a call option just in case the market gets carried away to the upside. Maybe you buy a put option and that way it protects you if the bottom falls out."

Bennett says several factors are still at play this marketing year, so producers need to manage their risk accordingly.

"On some of this strength, a guy's got to step in and at least respect it." He says, "Make a sale or two and keep himself flexible enough that if he's made a 'bad decision,' he'll be able to live with it due to the other measures that he's taken."

Brownfield spoke with Bennett at a recent Farm Credit Illinois Fielding Forward event in Champaign.