Last week I spoke at a customer appreciation dinner for the Scoular Company near its facility in Hancock. I arrived a little early so that I could chat with the merchandisers about what they were seeing in terms of producer behavior. The tone was rather somber as they discussed the difficulty the market has experienced early in 2024 sourcing bushels from producers irritated with current prices. 

They did note, however, that in the past two weeks they had seen an uptick in activity as some producers “have just had enough” and realized the need to move some grain to pay bills and clear some space ahead of planting season. 

Switching gears, Dad and I put in 600 feet of 5-wire barbed on Feb. 18, using a skid steer mounted hydraulic pounder on both steel T and hedge posts. We found no frostline. Building fence in February was a first for me.