July Fourth Update
As July rolls in and the crops reach their peak growth stages, we know most of you are knee-deep in the fields, tracking the weather, and watching the markets with a cautious eye. Enjoy this time with your family and community, and take a moment to reset if you can. We’ve put together a few things we hope you find enjoyable and useful..
A Courtesy of Brian
Watch A Complimentary Bunker Broadcast Here
We wanted to share a Bunker recording with everyone in The Option Army. Early this month in the Bunker, Brian broke down the quiet buildup in July corn, surprising strength in wheat, a make-or-break moment for soy oil, meal’s tightening coil, and early signals from the S&P and dollar, all as big shifts begin to unfold across the livestock markets.
Not a Bunker subscriber? Learn More Here
Feaured Farmer
A few months ago, we had the opportunity to speak with farmer Terry Wellmann, one of our very first Option Army members. While we describe Terry as a full-time corn and soybean farmer who single-handedly runs his 1500-acre farm in Minnesota, we learned that there are many more layers to this grain farmer.
Terry is unique.
A little background here is essential. Terry is a 5th-generation farmer, having grown up with his 3 siblings on a dairy farm in Minnesota, which was homesteaded in 1890. After high school, Terry wanted to explore the possibilities beyond the farm. He attended & graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Computer Science. After graduation, he landed a programming job that turned into a 15-year career in the suburbs of Chicago, working for a newly formed company with 23 employees that made video games.
One of the first games Terry worked on became one of the first games launched, along with the debut of the original Microsoft Xbox. Terry was responsible for designing and writing the entire AI for the game NBA Inside Drive, well before artificial intelligence became a mainstream concept.
Terry went on to program and manage software teams responsible for bringing joy and excitement into the living rooms of many children every Christmas.
In addition to working on video games, one project that Terry is especially proud of is his input into a Firefighter Simulation Training software program. This software incorporated the graphical immersion of video game technology. It provided a platform for real firefighters to train and practice their decision-making, communication, and teamwork – all in a virtual environment. This simulation program, with Terry’s efforts, has provided rapid training and skill honing at fire departments across the country, including departments in some of the largest cities.
This takes us to 2012, when Terry returned to the farm with a fiancée at his side to help his dad, who was struggling with some health issues. Today, Terry runs and operates his 1,500-acre farm on his own, alongside his wife and 9-year-old son.
In our interview, it was clear that Terry is intellectually curious, a maker, a fixer, and always self-educating. His curious mind led him down the path into Options Trading, and how that could be another channel of opportunity for him and his operation.
Terry started down the learning path in trading about 8 years ago, seeking help from a variety of sources, but became frustrated by either a lack of knowledge or an unwillingness to share. But a few years later, Terry started following Brian on X, then engaging with his online courses. He then joined The Bunker with Brian and The Option Army in late 2023. Not only is Terry an excellent student, but he is also an avid contributor to the conversations and general feedback for The Option Army.
Terry’s distinct skill set and strong presence led to his selection as a cast member on Next Level Farming, a television series aired on RFD-TV. The show has since been rebranded as Total Acre Farming and continues to broadcast on RFD-TV.
You can still stream season 2 episodes from the original Next Level Farming and find Terry’s appearances, including the surprise appearance of Pork Chop the pig that appeared out of one of Terry’s cornfields during harvest, like a scene from the Field of Dreams!
Terry took some time to explain to us how dynamic each day is in farming. No two days are alike, and he often uses his technical and problem-solving skills to get what he needs. Since Terry’s background is in software development, he still enjoys spending time at the computer developing software, such as an app he wrote for Android that allows him to keep detailed notes and scouting reports in the field. He built features into his app, such as the ability to drop a pin to mark where a rock needs to be picked up, or to take notes and photos while walking the fields to document observations and track crop progress throughout the season.
Since we first spoke with Terry we’ve learned that his engineering curiosity hasn’t been sitting idle as he is getting set to launch a product that he has called Fill Sight and is looking to sell directly to farmers to help solve one of the problems they all face – dealing with cloudy and hard to see sight tubes on sprayers that get occluded by the various crop protection products farmers use in their production, or accurately filling the spray tank while parked on an incline. While the concept is not necessarily new, the market lacks a cost-effective product that will electronically measure and show the farmer how full their spray tank is. Terry’s background in engineering, graphics, video games, and farming has given him a unique perspective on how to tackle this problem head-on and bring something he knows every farmer can benefit from. We will keep you posted when Terry is ready to share with other farmers.
Jumping back to 2024, Terry is now well into watching and learning from The Bunker Zoom calls each morning with Brian, often streaming from the tractor or while waiting in line at the ethanol plant delivering corn. While it has taken Terry some time to make sense of the fast-moving, complicated, term-heavy world of Options Trading, he is making progress. But he acknowledges, it’s not easy. And with Brian’s quick-fire technical analysis commentary style of the day-to-day commodity markets, it can be overwhelming. He also notes that most Farmers are smart, capable, and independent, and eager to learn, but learning Options Trading can be frustrating. And with most of The Option Army Bunker subscribers being Farmers, Terry gave us some fantastic feedback.
We listened and we took notes. Some highlights:
· Explain the Terminology being used each time, until we all understand it. This will continuously raise the bar of understanding for everyone and will help balance the range of understanding.
· Provide more online courses: with pre-recorded courses, syllabi, and reference materials
· Explain the ‘why’ and the ‘vision’ of and ‘name’ the hypothetical trades.
· And finally, create some 5-minute bite-sized tutorials of FAQ, Terminology, and Tips that Farmers can easily access and refer to.
Thank you for the feedback, Terry. We are currently working on some of these.
We wrapped up our conversation by asking Terry a little bit more about himself. We learned that Terry was a serious amateur baseball and softball player up until 10 years ago. At which point the aches and pains of ‘not being in your 20s anymore’ started to show up. But more importantly, he has shifted his focus to his family and the joy of raising his 9-year-old son. Terry shared that his son is an avid hockey and baseball player, and says he is unafraid to try new things, he is a natural problem solver, and an amazing kid. Terry attributes this to his growing up on the farm. While we agree with him there, we also think his son, being as he was just described, may also have a thing or two to do with some genetics from his dad!
Thank you, Terry, for a glimpse into your world and for sharing your story and ideas with us. I think all the readers here will be able to glean something from this. We also hope that THIS is the year that you will be able to spend July 4th with your family and not fixing urgent issues on the farm. All the other farmers reading this are nodding their heads with understanding.
Announcements
Coming Soon: Video Tutorials
Coming to your portals soon, made specifically for the Bunker family
Featuring: Ranges Tutorial and T4 Tutorial
No Bunker Friday, July 4th, & Friday, July 25th
Enjoy the Fourth of July Weekend!
For Fun
A mix of great tunes put together by the TOA team
Some sunny and upbeat tunes to encourage the growing season
A Thank You Note
As we head into the Midwest’s favorite season, Brian and the team want to extend a heartfelt thank-you to everyone for being part of the Bunker family
Ways to Get Involved with The Option Army
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Your Option Army Team
support@theoptionarmy.com
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