Farmers urged to manage risk

FARMERS were urged at last week’s Teagasc national tillage conference in Carlow to manage their risk from big fluctuations in grain prices.

By doing nothing, farmers are anticipating that prices will increase, said derivatives trader Bill Beagles.

He explained how farmers can gain from agreeing to sell crops still in the ground on a date in the future at a price agreed today — thus ending harvest price worries. Or insurance, in the form of options, can be purchased to protect against price trends.