About Us

We come from the floors and the fields.

Zaner Ag Hedge was built by people who understand what's at stake when commodity prices move against you. Founded within Zaner Financial Services — one of the oldest independent introducing brokers in the country, with roots going back to 1980 — our agricultural team brings decades of futures and options experience alongside something most brokers can't claim: direct access to generations of firsthand experience running a farm.

That combination shapes everything we do. We don't hand you a generic hedging template. We sit down with your numbers — your bushels, your basis, your cost of production — and build a strategy around your operation specifically. Then we stay with you through the year, adjusting as markets shift and new opportunities open up.

We call ourselves teaching brokers, not only due to the fact that we've lectured at multiple colleges and extensions, but because seen what happens when producers use hedging strategies they don't fully understand: they abandon them at exactly the wrong moment. Our goal is that every client walks away from every conversation knowing precisely what their hedge does, what it costs, and what it protects. An informed producer is a protected producer.

How we work

1. Expert insights

Good strategy starts with the right intelligence. With Chief Market Strategist Ted Seifried and Chief Market Analyst Karen Braun leading our analysis, your operation benefits from market perspectives that go well beyond what's on the screen — informed by data, field experience, and a deep understanding of what drives ag prices at every level of the supply chain.

2. Customized annual strategy

Your situation isn't the same as your neighbor's, and your hedge shouldn't be either. We build a responsive annual strategy aligned to your operation's specific risk profile — and we don't set it and forget it. As markets pivot, your strategy pivots with them, so you're always positioned to protect your downside while keeping upside opportunity in reach.

3. Speculative strategy

When the conditions are right, we layer in defined-risk speculative strategies designed to add cents to bushels. The math matters here: risking 4 cents per bushel to target a 12- to 20-cent return isn't speculation for its own sake — it's a calculated approach to capturing opportunity when the market offers it. We only pursue these when the risk-reward makes sense for your operation.