What Smithfield may want to consider is that they are buying hand to mouth from the farmer.. but say we get into a weather scare and the farmer selling STOPS.. Then what??

Like it or not.. they are gonna need a basis trader middleman to pull from when that occurs..  

Over half the corn crop is priced by the end of January.. ( http://agmanager.info/crop-insurance/risk-management-strategies/mya... )

Where are the end users gonna pull from during that rally? 

as well as the normal dips and surges along the marketing year..  Middlemen earn their keep.. (but don't tell them I typed this..  shhhhh...)

Hi Maize. 

It used to be that we had a lot more broke farmers (other than just me..) that had to dump grain at harvest.. now since we've weeded those guys out.. we are down to the stronger players.. bto next to me.. hauls maybe a myn + bushels into the elevator.. his sugar daddy could probably store 5 years worth.. or more.. of those crops if he wanted to.

It's ALL about tax management.. the farm is just a rounding error on what they need to balance out the taxes from the other income..  "Looks like you could sell another couple hundred thousand bushels today.." 12/31/16.. although I don't think they have the tax problems that had in years past.. but who knows.. rumor has it things are looking up again..

"always something." 

"Daggum it.. should have lost more on the farm... stupid taxes."

edit add: also landlord shares have to be split out why would I pay to haul their share farther and sit in lines.. (if I wasn't compensated for it..)  Besides the market flux is FAR LARGER then the extra pennies a person earns by bypassing the coop.. worked like a dog one year to get $4 corn.. neighbor hauled his into the coop.. didn't have to bin it.. keep it in condition.. etc.. sold it on a drought rally for like a buck more than I got...

"sheesh.."

Coops are not going away.. but they may have to adapt.. which most are.. consolidation.. wow.. that's another topic.. IF smithfield ticks off a seller.. and the seller represents about 50 country elevators...  and that person wanted to make a point.. hmmm.. I bet even Smithfield would notice..

Did I mention a coop was putting in another 7.7 myn bushel shuttle loader? 

No matter the size of the fish.. usually another one comes along..