Ag procurement development

Question

Hello all, I am just about to start out in the commodity division of a cooperative mostly on the feed side doing purchasing. Wanted to know if even though the group I will be working with has a relatively small footprint, is this still good training to go and become a trader at a trading shop or a larger producer/processor that has a trading team? It seems functionally it is not that different from other procurement roles which from my understanding is training for risk taking roles.

MC_HAMMER · Accepted Answer

As a purchaser, you're just 1/2 of a trader, you're just always short the market. in feedstuffs you have to analyze a variety of different markets and cant be fixated on just the commodity you are trading due to the existence of outside markets. i.e. if I am trading DDG's I need to be aware of the other mid-pro's. What are run times at flour mills so I know what wheat midds are going for? How has corn sweetener demand been for corn gluten feed? Are we crushing at capacity for soybean hulls?

msangiac · Answer

I would definetly agree with thoroughbell except on their point that the shop will not have a great training program compared to an ABCD. While the certainly won't have the same buying power,  which is an important thing to consider in this business, there are still great opportunities to learn the business in a more close knight environment.

thoroughbell · Answer

Hopefully someone who knows what the hell they are talking about can answer, but my take is that they have enough volume required or associated to risk to have someone dedicated to the work. If you are handling logistics and have a certain degree of discretion as when to buy, then there doesn't seem to be anything separating you from another procurement guy. Just be aware that to trade you will eventually have to move and you won't necessarily have great training as opposed to an ABCD that have structured merchandising/trainee programs with trader roles that open up at reasonable frequency.

Rotterdam · Answer

Given that is where you are starting if I had to design a likely path to trading at a large shop one day then it would be something like procurement at coop -> ddgs/midds/soy hull merchant at a processor -> corn/wheat/beans trader at that same processor -> corn/wheat/bean trader at a trade shop.

It won't be easy though and will require you to do something different than everyone else starting out a couple steps above you. Are you different/better than the average guy starting in your position or the people already starting at a processor?What skill set do you have that others don't?

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Ag procurement development

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Ag procurement development

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