Kate Miller (Part 2)

Hi me again! Approximately a month later, I traveled back to Tuscola to learn further into their daily business operations at the elevator. As I was pulling into the facility, trucks were digging into the corn pile to move grain into the elevator bins. This is essential as winter weather and commodity quality are negatively correlated. All day trucks were working to reduce the size of the pile and truck it to the grain pits. Chase had some team calls scheduled for the morning time, so I got to listen in and hear about what they thought the market was doing and how things are looking within their region. After the team calls for the day, there was cash grain to be hedged in the futures market. He showed me the process of how a real-life hedge would work and since it was nearing the end of the month, we talked about spreading contracts to the next month. Not only is he managing risk for all the Tuscola grain, but for the six other elevators in the region. This involves a heavy amount of communication and market awareness to be able to pick up on good grain basis opportunities. Collaboration is a key factor to the success of any elevator as there are many moving pieces that need to fit together to accomplish the daily tasks. Originators, operators, and the trading team must be able to have strong skills in communication and problem solving to work as a successful team. Once again, I am honored and thankful to be a scholarship recipient and to spend two days within the grain industry at ADM. Thank you to everyone who has a hand in making this program happen