Risk Management Approach

 

Using experience to determine the correct plan and then implementing it becomes the key to success.

Understanding of the options, futures and cash markets is only enhanced through experience. Leveraging more than a century of collective experience in commodity price risk management and marketing, the SFF team tailors’ programs to meet your specific needs.

Our approach is simple: we focus only on our clients and only our clients. Our team brings specific focus to the Grain/Livestock and Energy/Fuel sectors, using a range of products – including exchange based futures & option as well as OTC and derivative instruments.

  • An unbiased, objective information source.

    One that is not influenced by other factors or influences within the marketplace. An experienced independent consultant can best achieve this element.

  • Customization is a second element.

    Each client’s needs vary greatly, and the same client may have varying needs from year to year or location to location. A blanket, one strategy “fits all” approach will be at a disadvantage. Strategic Farm Futures develops programs to meet the specific needs of producers, wholesalers and consumer end-user clients across a broad spectrum of physical hedging and capital management roles.

  • Implementation is the final element.

    The attributes of a strategy are unimportant if action does not take place. Our responsibility to our clients is to take our group’s collective experience in managing commodity price risk & market volatility, and turn that into simple, sound, and practical programs.

Our Team

Director, Commodities Division

Dave Chatterton
Operations Manager and Compliance Supervisor

Bethany Dowling
BROKERAGE

Danny Pfoff
BROKERAGE

Cody Dust
BROKERAGE

Eric Kuhns
PRESIDENT

Dave Janson
BROKERAGE

Ed Dunn
BROKERAGE

Chris Corum
BROKERAGE

Tom Mann
BROKERAGE

Steve Schilling

Director, Commodities Division

Dave Chatterton

As a member of both the Strategic Farm Marketing (Crop Insurance) & Strategic Farm Futures (Futures & Options Brokerage, Marketing) teams, Dave brings over 25-years of commodity trading and price risk management experience to table each day for the firm’s clients.

He authors the SFM/SFF Daily Market Texts & Weekly Marketing Letter, as well as heading up the firm’s Futures & Options trading desk, and assist’s producers in all areas of grain & livestock production risk – inclusive of crop insurance, cash marketing and hedging/investing in the futures market.

Prior to joining SFM/SFF, past stops along the way included 16-years at the Powerline Group (a commodity brokerage platform which he founded/operated), 7-years with INTL FCStone as a commercial broker/group manager in the grain & energy divisions, and 5-years at Bunge Corporation (commercial grain/merchandising divisions). Never shy on an opinion and always up to date on the latest market trends, don’t hesitate to contact Dave with questions big or small!

Email:dc@sfarmmarketing.com

Operations Manager and Compliance Supervisor

Bethany Dowling

Serving as SFF’s Operations Manager & Compliance Supervisor, Bethany has roots in the futures brokerage industry dating back 2000. She is certified as a licensed Trade Clerk, coordinates the back-office side of our Futures & Options Trade Desk, and is an experienced Crop Insurance Processor who can assist customers with almost any task or question.

Email:bethany@sfarmmarketing.com

BROKERAGE

Danny Pfoff

My wife, daughter and I reside in Mahomet, IL. I have been in the ag industry for 8 years, all with ADM in various roles across the Midwest. My focus and passion while working at ADM was working with producers and helping them with their marketing. Not many farmers get into farming because they love marketing, so it is gratifying for me to help on that side of the business. I offer brokerage services, crop insurance policies, and individual marketing services.

Location:Champaign, IL

BROKERAGE

Cody Dust

Cody grew up 30 miles south of Indianapolis in Mooresville, IN and attended Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN. Prior to joining SFM, Cody spent 8 years with ADM in a variety of roles across the Midwest encompassing Corn Processing, Ag Services and Oilseeds, and Specialty commodity trading. Cody has a strong passion for farm risk management and commodity trading. Cody places a strong emphasis on educating all clients on grain marketing and trading fundamentals, Crop Insurance industry trends, and new ideas to maximize profitability or manage risk. Cody believes in a “big picture” approach to grain marketing along with personalized strategies to achieve each client’s goals or mitigate risk. Cody is a Grain Market Advisor and licensed crop insurance agent in Illinois and Indiana.

 

Location:Champaign, IL

BROKERAGE

Eric Kuhns

Originally from Arcola, IL he earned his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural and Consumer Economics from The University of Illinois. Eric started with Strategic as an intern, and joined full time in 2019, when he graduated from college. He is a licensed crop insurance agent, working with growers in Illinois, Missouri and Indiana. The growers he works with currently consist of corn, soybeans and hay farmers. He currently lives in Arthur, IL.

Location:Champaign, IL

PRESIDENT

Dave Janson

Dave, the President of the company, is a licensed commodity broker, crop insurance agent and grain marketing specialist. Dave was a senior merchant for Cargill. During his tenure he worked at a barge loading facility, an export and soybean processing plant, a terminal elevator and CBOT delivery warehouse, and the Cargill headquarters in Minnetonka, MN. Dave grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and has an Agricultural Education degree with a minor in Ag Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Location:Champaign, IL

BROKERAGE

Ed Dunn

Ed joined SFM in March 1999 and does commodity brokerage and crop insurance. He spent five years with Lauhoff Grain Company in Danville, IL as a grain merchandiser and managed the corn hedging desk. Ed was also a commodity broker for Lakes Trading Group in Indianapolis, IN and managed the feedmill division. He earned an Ag Economics degree from the University of Illinois. Ed, his wife Tonya and two children, Stephen and Ella, live in St. Joseph.

Location:Champaign, IL

BROKERAGE

Chris Corum

Chris joined SFM in October of 2006 and currently works with commodity brokerage and crop insurance in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Ohio. He spent 23 years in the agricultural industry after leaving college and prior to coming to SFM. 18 of those years were spent in the grain elevator industry. He worked for cooperative and private grain companies in the Central Illinois. Chris currently lives in Tuscola, Illinois.

Location:Champaign, IL

BROKERAGE

Tom Mann

Tom has been with the firm since 2001 and handles commodity brokerage and crop insurance. After returning from Viet Nam, he attended Eastern Illinois University for 3 years in a pre-pharmacy program. In 1974, Tom went to work for Tuscola Cooperative Grain as the bookkeeper and left in 1985 as the interim manager. He worked for Cargill, Inc to create a farm program for terminal level facilities and left in 2001 as manager of the Mattoon Terminal Elevator.

Location:Champaign, IL

BROKERAGE

Steve Schilling

Steve has been with the company since August 2004 and is a licensed commodity broker and crop insurance agent. Steve graduated from the U of I with a B.S. in Agriculture and a M.S. in Animal Science. For 27 years he was one of the managers of Lake Fork Grain Company in Lake Fork, IL. He was responsible for all aspects of buying and marketing grain at the elevator. Steve and his wife Kathi live in Monticello

Location:Champaign, IL

Our Clearing Partners

Our Parent Firm