Considering those numbers, Anderson says wheat will have a hard time moving up very much above the $4.40 range. A $2.75 cash price could be the floor for corn.

When will markets improve significantly? “Wheat prices will go up when we lose a crop somewhere in the rest of the world,” he says.

For corn, prices will make a jump “when we lose a U.S. or a foreign crop.”

Making a profit with low prices will be difficult, he says. Wheat producers need to pay attention to protein levels. “The price of a low protein crop in 2016 will be even lower, closer to $3 a bushel.”

Paying attention to crop management, even with a down market, is the best thing a wheat or corn producer can do, Anderson says. To take advantage of any market, he has to have something to sell.

He referred to a short story published in Colliers Magazine back in the 1930s. A banker reluctantly approved a loan for a farmer who down to his last few cents. The banker instructs the farmer to use part of the loan to buy a windmill since lack of water is his biggest weakness.

“I never stake a man unless I stake him right,” the banker said.

Anderson concurs. To stand a chance of making a profit with wheat or corn in 2016 farmers will have to do things right and manage carefully to maintain yields.