Soy, markets and The Cow Guy
June 30, 2025
Is the government discontinuing the use of hard currency or switching to some sort of digital payment system? How could that affect your business? How much does the government have control when it comes to climate change and the methane your cows may be putting into the atmosphere?
These aren't the types of questions you might expect a typical broker to address. But then again, that’s not who Scott Shellady tries to be.
"I don’t tell farmers what they should do with their crop; instead, I tell them how to make money with the money they make from farming," says Shellady.
A veteran trader, market commentator and bank executive, Shellady will bring his commonsense approach and expertise to Iowa farmers during Iowa Soybean Association’s (ISA) Summer Soy Series in August.
Farmers will hear the latest insights from ISA staff on issues directly impacting their profitability, productivity, and sustainability, as well as a unique perspective of the markets and the current condition of the ag sector with Shellady.
Register Here
On the road
ISA's Summer Soy Series will be held in five locations across the state in August, including:
- Tuesday, August 26 (evening) in Waverly
- Wednesday, August 27 (afternoon) in Holstein
- Wednesday, August 27 (evening) in Atlantic
- Thursday, August 28 (afternoon) in Sigourney
- Thursday, August 28 (evening) in Nevada
Shellady will focus on the often overlooked and forgotten issues relevant to farmers in his keynote address, breaking down the headlines that drive the commodities and equities markets as he often does on his RFD-TV show ‘The Cow Guy Close.'
"We talk about the stock market, bonds, a lot of things farmers might not talk about," he says. "My father, who was a farmer, taught me what farmers do: They trade a lot, and they invest a lot; they are also managing their family's wealth portfolio."
Iowa roots
Shellady was born in Iowa after his parents, Ron and Sue, met at Drake University and were married. Ron was recruited by Cargill out of college, where he found his love for agriculture. Ron was a commodities trader — then a self-employed commodities trader at the Chicago Board of Trade. Ron and Sue started a dairy farm in 1973 near Galena, Illinois, where Scott and his siblings learned more about agriculture and farming. The family also grew soybeans and corn.
Shellady attended the University of Colorado at Boulder on a football scholarship, studying art and, eventually, finance. Since then, Shellady has gained a broad range of technical and trade experience in both commodities and financial products in North America, Europe and Asia.
After almost 16 years in London, Shellady returned to Chicago to run a small family investment business that started more than 50 years ago./p>
Known "The Cow Guy," Shellady appears on various TV programs, donning his Holstein-printed jacket, an homage to his late father, who also wore a similar jacket as a cash grain trader on the Chicago Board of Trade floor. The jacket was a reminder to his father and others on the Chicago Board of Trade floor that they were a part of a business involving a user, producer and middleman, Shellady told the Chicago Tribune.
"It's kind of like a game-used jersey; I wear it now," Shellady says of the signature jacket. "There’s a guy that's got cattle and there’s a guy that's got grain, and we've got to put the two together somehow and sell his milk and sell his corn."
Sharing his expertise
America's farmers and ranchers represent the biggest, most undervalued, wealthiest, and least served investment group, Shellady says.
"People just don’t pay attention to them; they should be," he says. He’s looking forward to sharing his expertise with farmers during ISA’s Summer Soy Series.
"I am not here to tell you how to farm," Shellady says. "I am here to help you make money from the money you make farming."
Written by Kriss Nelson and Bethany Baratta.
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