Building a Strong Marketing Plan: Understanding Your Triggers, Methods, and Volume
A practical guide to crafting a farm marketing strategy rooted in clear decision-making
A successful marketing plan isn’t just about numbers—it’s about understanding the why, how, and how much is behind each sale. Whether you're working with grain, livestock, or specialty crops, every decision you make should be tied to three essential elements: trigger, method, and volume.
Key Components of a Strategic Farm Marketing Plan
1. Farm Profiles
Understanding your unique production flow and logistics lays the groundwork for every marketing move.
2. Costs of Production
Know your break-even points—because profitability starts with awareness and confidence is everything.
3. Action Strategy: Trigger, Method, Volume
Each marketing action consists of:
Trigger – What prompts the sale or purchase in the market?
Method – Which tools or contracts are you using?
Volume – How much do you buy or sell at a time?
Understand Your Marketing Psychology
When onboarding clients, we use a short questionnaire—not to predict decisions, but to better understand how farmers think.
Consider these key questions:
Do you value consistent profitability or maximizing revenue?
Is it harder to sell on the way up or after missing the top?
How many sales are you comfortable making in a year?
Over 90% of respondents admit it’s harder to sell after a peak—because human nature fixates on what could’ve been.
Using the True Hedge Momentum Indicator
The True Hedge Momentum Indicator helps us make forward-looking decisions by signaling potential for trend shifts. Instead of reacting to the past, we can act with confidence before the market turns. To gain confidence in this indicator we’ve back tested and optimized the indicator for specific contracts over a 10-year period to make sure it works. It’s about increasing the probability of being right.
Choosing the Right Method for You
Understand your comfort with market tools like futures, options, and margin:
Do you tolerate margin calls?
Are you prone to seller’s remorse?
Do you understand how different contracts work?
Your method must align with your temperament to build a consistent strategy.
Determining Sales Volume
How many times do you want to sell throughout the year?
5 or fewer (large blocks)
6–10 (medium)
11+ (smaller, frequent)
The key isn't being perfect—it’s being consistent. Is it easier to feel good about 5-10 sales or 20 sales when you look back?
Final Thoughts
Behind every marketing decision is a trigger, method, and volume—whether you’ve written it down or not. Take the time to document your strategy, test it, and refine it.
Because in the end, the best plan is the one you can confidently execute.
Disclosure: CODAK Risk Advisory, LLC and Lakefront Futures and Options, LLC are providing this communication for informational purposes, and it is not a solicitation or offer to purchase or sell commodities. CODAK Risk Advisory, LLC and Lakefront Futures and Options, LLC are separate entities. Lakefront Futures and Options, LLC is registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) as an introducing broker. Any recommendations, signals, or comments made in this communication do not consider any individual's or company's objectives or needs, which should be considered before engaging in any commodity transactions based on content herein. The sources for the information in this communication are believed to be reliable, but neither CODAK Risk Advisory, LLC nor Lakefront Futures and Options, LLC warrants or guarantees the accuracy of the information. Past performance is not indicative of future results. CODAK Risk Advisory, LLC, Lakefront Futures and Options, LLC, or their affiliates may hold or take positions for their accounts that are different from the positions recommended in this communication. Any material found in this communication is subject to change without notice. Trading derivatives is risky and is not suitable for everyone. Reproduction is prohibited without the consent of CODAK Risk Advisory, LLC
Disclosure on our True Hedge and Multiple Hedging methodologies.
THIS COMPOSITE PERFORMANCE RECORD IS HYPOTHETICAL. HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE MANY INHERENT LIMITATIONS, SOME OF WHICH ARE DESCRIBED BELOW. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY MULTI-ADVISOR MANAGED ACCOUNT OR POOL WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE A COMPOSITE PERFORMANCE RECORD SIMILAR TO THAT SHOWN. THERE ARE FREQUENTLY SHARP DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A HYPOTHETICAL COMPOSITE RECORD AND THE ACTUAL RECORD SUBSEQUENTLY ACHIEVED. ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF A HYPOTHETICAL COMPOSITE PERFORMANCE RECORD IS THAT DECISIONS RELATING TO THE SELECTION OF TRADING ADVISORS AND THE ALLOCATION OF ASSETS AMONG THOSE TRADING ADVISORS WERE MADE WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT BASED UPON THE HISTORICAL RATES OF RETURN OF THE SELECTED TRADING ADVISORS. THEREFORE, COMPOSITE PERFORMANCE RECORDS INVARIABLY SHOW POSITIVE RATES OF RETURN. ANOTHER INHERENT LIMITATION ON THESE RESULTS IS THAT THE ALLOCATION DECISIONS REFLECTED IN THE PERFORMANCE RECORD WERE NOT MADE UNDER ACTUAL MARKET CONDITIONS AND THEREFORE, CANNOT COMPLETELY ACCOUNT FOR THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL RISK IN ACTUAL TRADING. FURTHERMORE, THE COMPOSITE PERFORMANCE RECORD MAY BE DISTORTED BECAUSE THE ALLOCATION OF ASSETS CHANGES FROM TIME TO TIME AND THESE ADJUSTMENTS ARE NOT REFLECTED IN THE COMPOSITE. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Futures and options trading is not suitable for all investors.
Garret Brown
Founder | Market Advisor
Having grown up on a farm, Garret respects the wide range of skills needed to run a successful operation and recognizes farmers are often stretched thin trying to do it all. This understanding, along with his affinity for markets, fuels his drive to make tough marketing decisions simpler for farmers.
Leveraging his experience in grain origination and margin management, Garret analyzes technical and fundamental market information. With the assistance of CODAK’s algorithmic signaling platform, he puts together buy/sell recommendations while working with the CODAK team to create strategies that accommodate each farmer’s personal risk tolerance, on-farm storage capacity, and break-evens.