About Us
About Standard Grain
Standard Grain, Inc. is a commodity brokerage firm that was founded with the American agricultural producer‘s best interests in mind. Risk management is more important than ever in an age of volatile markets and uncertainty. Standard Grain caters to each customer individually. Whether you’re a grower of cash crops, livestock producer, trader or fund manager; we work with each operation on a personal level.
Joseph Vaclavik founded Standard Grain in 2012 after spending several years doing brokerage business at larger firms. Joe has spent much of his time on the road, travelling to farms and feedlots as well as trade shows and various speaking engagements across the United States. The philosophy of Standard Grain is very simple: Know the customer. Joe knows his customers on a first name basis and has had the pleasure of visiting the vast majority of them on their operations. This knowledge enables Standard Grain to provide grain and livestock operations with the best possible service.
Joe Vaclavik, President
Joseph Vaclavik is the founder and president of Standard Grain, Inc. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a degree in Agribusiness, Farm and Financial Management. Joe has been featured in news outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, Reuters, US Farm Report, W-ILL Radio, and The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Vaclavik personally authors Standard Grain’s market commentary every morning. He can be heard every morning at 7:50am on KFRM Radio in Kansas and Oklahoma and is also a regular guest on W-ILL radio in Illinois.
Eric Wilkinson, Grain Execution
Eric Wilkinson is Floor Manager of Blue Group Trading. Known to his loyal following as “The Wolfman,” Eric has been handling customer orders on the floor of the CBOT since 1995. He has been featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and Dow Jones. Eric can regularly be seen on “Wolfman Wednesdays” at the CMZ.
Ed Dworkin, Grain Execution
Ed Dworkin is Founder and Managing Director of Blue Group Trading. Starting in the treasury sector, expanding into equities in 1997, options in 2004 and now the agriculture sector in 2011, Ed has handled customer orders for over 25 years since beginning at Stotler & Co. in 1987. Ed has been featured in news outlets such as Dow Jones, CNBC, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and the CMZ.
Tres Knippa, Livestock Execution
Mr. Knippa has been a floor trader in the Live Cattle pit since 1996 after moving to Chicago from Texas. Tres also has extensive experience in the cash cattle business after owning a feedlot in the Texas panhandle. Tres is a regular contributor on all the major financial news networks including CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg. Tres is a graduate of Baylor University and has completed graduate programs at TCU (Ranch Management) and MIT in Boston.
Our Clearing Firm
Standard Grain is a registered introducing broker, guaranteed by Straits Financial, LLC. Straits provides its brokers and customers with excellent service and also provides complete transparency in regards to customer segregated funds. www.straitsfinancial.com
Straits Financial Group is the brokerage division of CWT Limited, one of the world’s largest logistics companies and the largest publicly traded one in South-East Asia. CWT has offices and warehouses worldwide, employs 5,000+, and provides customer connections to 120 ports and 1,200 destinations around the globe. www.cwtlimited.com