Unprecedented: Grain Expert Talks Russia-Ukraine And Its Impact On The Farmers, Commodities

While much of the media focus on commodity markets has been on the parabolic move in crude oil prices, several others are making historic moves.

Angie Setzer, a co-founder of Consus LLC, joined the PreMarket Prep Show to discuss the impact Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is having on the grain complex.

Unprecedented: In her 16 years of covering the markets for farmers/producers and elevator operators, there is no script for the current markets. In fact, colleagues that have been in business longer than she harken back to the price action in the 1970s in order to draw comparisons to the current market environment.

How It Will End? Setzer was hard-pressed to come up with a solution to overly inflated prices in the grain markets and discussed how the situation could actually worsen: a drought in South America during its planting season could exacerbate the current situation.

When asked to describe the eventual outcome, Setzer emphasized that the markets aren't going to come out of this with a “soft landing."

Based on her observations of market history, it will “end badly” with prices crashing to more sustainable levels. The who, what, why, or when this will happen, is beyond her forecasting ability under the current circumstances.

The full discussion with Setzer from Wednesday’s show can be found here:

Give Us Some Good News: Setzer succinctly described and addressed the current crisis and it didn't create a comfortable feeling for the hosts or listeners of the show. However, producer Spencer Israel came in for the save and asked Setzer for some good news near the end of the interview.

“The U.S. is an independent food producer, so we are in far better shape we can provide ourselves with what we need from a food standpoint and will be insulated in a lot of ways," Setzer said.