Success

Joe and Nathalie Schmidt – Ottawa, IL

“Marketing has changed dramatically in the last few years. It takes somebody to watch the markets full-time because things can change so quickly. I can’t just do that myself, but I know I have a Market Advisor who is good at doing that for me. It’s taken a lot of stress away from me. It’s a learning process, and we can definitely see the benefits of it.”

Dave and Linda Cunningham – Wausa, NE

“Working with Water Street has taken the worrying part of marketing away from me. When you’re on the farm, you’re so emotionally tied to the corn or the cattle that you only see one side of it. I feel that there’s a lot of trust with Water Street – that they work for me, not partly for me and partly for them. We were involved with a different marketing company before Water Street and that advisor would call to ask why we weren’t making trades – because that’s what he wanted. It had nothing to do with profit or loss on our farm, or if it was good for us. Water Street is the only company that we’ve marketed grain with that we feel like they are our partner.”

Travis Michl – Newton, IL

“I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. I have somebody watching my back, all day. That’s what Water Street does on the marketing. On our farm, we have a team around us – and our Market Advisor is a very integral part of that because he watches the markets for us. There’s too much involved in farming right now for us to manage everything by ourselves and do an optimal job. Our Market Advisor leads our marketing so I don’t have to worry about that side of things. I know he’s got it covered.”

Drew Miller – Davenport, NE

“We were looking for guidance because there was more volatility beginning to happen in the markets. Farming as a business was becoming more complex. We wanted specialists to give us some guidance about what we were doing in marketing and on our finances. Water Street has quality people in the different facets of business we were looking for. You feel more confident in your marketing decisions when someone else is helping you.”

Scott and Kim Clark – Plainview, NE

"When it comes to making decisions, I have extra eyes evaluating my business.  It helps to have additional people look at what we are doing to make sure that we are going in the right direction.  Water Street Solutions has a professional network of market experts.  They have different ideas, not just a set way of doing things.  It's personalized.

We have very open communication with our Market Advisor.  We trust Water Street Solutions.  Our Market Advisor takes a personal interest in our operation.  He understands both sides of the equation - our operational goals and the markets.  Using this information he guides us in making solid business decisions."

Tom Kaminke – Long Point, IL

"I've paid for a lot of services that I read and follow on the internet, but I've never really had someone take charge of my marketing like this group has, and I'm very thankful I made the decision to go with them.  Water Street made a recommendation to make a sale here recently and really it was one of the first times since I've been with them.  It was just a huge relief to have someone help me make that decision.  I've farmed for 15 years and I've never really had someone with their expertise say 'Hey, it's time to sell.'  It's always been my decision.  You never know if it's right or wrong and maybe it won't always be the correct thing to do, but at least the decision that was made was a much more well-planned-out thought than me making it myself.  So it's a huge peace of mind to have someone say 'Hey, it's time to sell.'  I do it with a lot more relaxed feeling than just having the intuition, reading an article that encourages a sale, and doing it.  I have a lot more peace of mind having someone else make that decision for me."

Bill Michl – Newton, IL

"Working with Brad and Water Street Solutions has taken a lot of the stress and worry out of my marketing decisions.  The strategies that he's been using, I'm pretty well covered whether the market goes up or the market goes down.  He's made it a lot easier to do my marketing.  We talk once or twice a week.  He shares his thoughts on the markets and gives me an update on the positions that I've got on.  If there's something that's pretty unusual, he'll call me and we'll talk about that situation.  Our relationship is a real good working relationship.  I joined Water Street Solutions to be able to take advantage of these market swings.  They weren't as great or severe back when I started here as they are now - but that was the reason - to be able to capture some gains on these big market movements."

Willis Kuhns – Arthur, IL

"I've appreciated Megan helping with marketing.  Sometimes I've had a gut feeling about something and she's had a deeper in-depth knowledge of what really was in the market than what I had access to.  Just the daily information she sends out and the available phone call is helpful.  Sometimes I'll call and say 'What do you think about this, Megan?'  She always seems to have an answer for me so I really appreciate that."

Dave and Patti Gregerson – Ute, IA

"The marketing required in our grain and cow/calf operation is nearly impossible to do alone with the swings in commodity markets.  On a weekly, sometimes daily basis, our Market Advisor helps us minimize the stress associated with marketing decisions."

 
David and Dwight Jolly – Versailles, IN

"Through my years in farming, marketing had always been a challenge.  One hurdle is timing.  On days I should be marketing, I am in the field.  The other hurdle is learning all the marketing tools and when to use them.  I knew that improving marketing could help my operation, but I simply didn't have the time to learn the details.  That is when I turned to Water Street Solutions.  They are exceptionally good at helping me understand marketing.  Their philosophy is to do everything they possibly can to help with the short-term and long-term plan."

 
Paul Logemann – Pender, NE

"My stress level has diminished quite considerably ...especially during planting season.  Before I'd watch the markets every hour or two, sweating where they were going.  This past year I only watched them in the morning and at night and had my advisor inform me on any sudden movements that they foresaw happening.  It really helped me out and got me focused on other things that I knew more about."

Nathan Kramer – Stapleton, NE

"Oh I think it's been an ingenious thing that Water Street's implemented because every operation's different and it really helps market your grain in the best possible way for each individual operation.  The relationship that I have with my Water Street Market Advisor is great.  I talk to Sam about other things besides just marketing.  He takes an interest in what's going on with the farm and what's going on just in life...and he really cares.  He knows my operation very well, maybe better than I do sometimes.  We talk once or twice a week.  He calls me up and tells me what he's done and it's not a big deal because I always know that he's got my best interest in mind. 

A lot of things that I would do if I was on my own wouldn't be the best thing.  It takes my emotions out of it by having Sam do the marketing.  He's not trying to push me away by any means.  It's how I'd prefer it be set up because my emotion gets in the way and I get either too aggressive or too timid on the marketing.  He's looking at the numbers and seeing the charts and making a more unbiased decision than I can.  Water Street's got something to offer for anyone that would accept the help.  They do a fabulous job.  It's a real personalized marketing plan.  They get to know your comfort level on the marketing and really want to know your operation and always take your input into consideration on everything too."

Mike Salz – Wenona, IL

"They're teaching me a lot more marketing aspects - how to use options, calls and puts, tying the insurance in with the marketing program.  If you're just going by your elevator, they're not going to do that.  Your elevator wants you to make money also, but they're primarily there as a business to make money themselves, so they're going to make sure that they're covered and that hopefully you'll make money too.  Here we're encouraged to shop around, to go to that ethanol plant, go to the rail, go to the river, what is really the best deal for me."  Mike Salz on Water Street Solutions' marketing approach

 
Dan Foltz – Shelbyville, IN

"As marketing goes, we've had advisors, but my two brothers and I are beginning marketers.  We're all fairly young and don't have a lot of experience with marketing.  We like the idea that Water Street Solutions has -- with the whole package of seeing your whole operation and figuring out where you are financially.  That got us interested.  We also like the education part.  You guys have an idea of bringing us from the beginning up to where we're all comfortable and on the same level of marketing.  We think we're in the right place."  Hear what Dan has to say

David White – Harmon, IL

"Since I've been with Water Street Solutions, my grain marketing bottom line has improved drastically.  They've made me much more aware of what's going on in the grain industry.  I'm a more informed marketer than I was before.  I have used other services in the past.  Others just seem to give suggested sales.  Water Street Solutions is a lot more in depth, understanding my financials and working with me individually.  Now it feels like I'm not out here all by myself.  Also, the long term perspective they bring helps me to be able to control my emotions in the market.  That's something that really helps."

Eric Stara – David City, NE

"I've had a fantastic experience with this company!  The knowledge I have gained from working with Water Street Solutions is beyond everything I could have imagined.  I just don't have the stress in the market because I have a company working for me and I know they're going to tell me the best time to sell.  Their recommendations are tailored to my business through the Market Advisor that I work with every week."

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