The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service offers a number of resources on marketing and risk management. The pre-plant educational meetings offered by county extension agents often include market outlook information.  I am currently scheduled to speak in the Agricultural Banker’s Conference in Oklahoma City (November 7, 2023), the Beltwide Consultants Conference in Ft. Worth (January 3, 2024), the Southern Mesa Ag Conference in Lamesa, TX (January 8, 2024), the Southeast Panhandle Ag Conference in Clarendon, TX (January 16, 2024), the Red River Crops Conference in Altus, OK (January 17, 2024), and the Llano Escatado Cotton Conference in Muleshoe, TX (February 29, 2024).

Extension agricultural economists regularly conduct half-day or one-day trainings introducing the topic of hedging with futures and options. To have one in your area, contact your county agent. In addition, Extension Economists periodically offer Master Marketer workshops, which involve 64 hours of training aimed at developing a comprehensive marketing plan. The 2024 Master Marketer workshop will be in the Fall of 2024 in South Texas.

We also do separate one-day Cotton and Grain Risk Management Workshops that provide this same kind of hands-on learning experience, along with current cotton/grain market outlook and a discussion of current crop insurance issues.