White Commercial Corporation
About Our Grain Lending Program

“You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they
could and should do for themselves”
                                                                                                                                                   Abraham Lincoln

White Commercial recognizes that a lending program grounded in the fundamentals is the key to your long term success in this ever growing and changing industry. Our lenders curriculum is structured to teach you the skills you need to survive.

As a participant to White Commercial’s educational series, you have the exclusive opportunity to be part of our Merchandising Training Program for Bankers. Our training is designed to get you and your staff started on the right foot to building a strong agricultural lending foundation, and ensure a smooth transition as you begin to work with White Commercial.

Helping you reach your goals is our number one priority. We will work as a team with you and your staff to ensure your goals are achieved. Your training program will begin as we help you develop a clearer understanding of basis trading, futures as a risk management tool, financing needs of elevator merchandising positions, and proper documentation to support you lending portfolio.

Through continual contact with the fundamentals of agricultural lending, you will begin to develop a clear understanding of each building block of the foundation. Learning how elevators and farmers merchandise grain will help you identify good credit risks and increase the profitability of your portfolio.

White Commercial Corporation
About Us

One thing certain is that relationships are the cornerstone of our grain industry.  Since the beginning, White Commercial has worked with country grain elevators and feed mills.  Our current White Commercial Family consists of over 200 members in 27 states and Canada.  Almost half of those have been with us for 10 years or more, and about a third has been with us for 15 years or more.

As Chairman of White Commercial Corporation, Don White founded the company in 1978 with the goal of providing excellent education in merchandising to agricultural businesses. Over the years Don has put together a team of co-workers who share his vision and passion to help give people the gift of merchandising skills.

John Werner is the President/CEO of White Commercial Corporation.  He joined White Commercial in 1981.  He is involved in all aspects of the operation of the company.   John is a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Kansas City Board of Trade. 

Sherry Lorton is the Educational Director and joined the company in 1978.  She has since developed an extensive line of educational programs and publications on grain merchandising for the industry and is the originator of the grain industry’s only Grain Certification Course.

At White Commercial we believe that the country elevator plays an essential role in the grain business – one that will become more important and more profitable for those with the skills to recognize and capture the opportunities.

Helping people capture those opportunities is what we do. 

The traditional basis trading business model is passive, based on building a long cash/short futures position and waiting for improvement.  In today’s world, with increased volatility, more grain users, and the increase grain moving directly from the farm to the terminals and end users, that approach is becoming obsolete.  It will take a new approach to survive and grow – one that is proactive and based on a skilled, confident approach to basis trading.

We focus our efforts on making our customers the best basis traders in their markets.  Skilled basis traders are very valuable to the market, because they know how and when to sell grain.  Being a skilled seller of the basis puts you in position to trade more bushels, make bigger margins, and use less money. 

Headquarters for White Commercial are located in Stuart, Florida.