In this article we will spend some time going over the risks and rewards of using Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) Producer Payment Options (PPO) contracts. They really aren’t much different than most other grain contracts that you might sign for other crops at the elevator. Put simply, you are locking in a price for a […] Read more
Risks And Rewards Of Marketing Choices
Navigating PPOs: Now, Everybody Out Of The Pool
Let’s go back a bit and look at how the producer payment options (PPOs) came about. The short version is that farmers were asking for more control over pricing their wheat sold through the CWB, as opposed to having to stay in the pool. With market fluctuations and futures markets becoming more active due to […] Read more
Navigating PPOs: Everybody Into The Pool!
PRODUCER PAYMENT OPTIONS For this instalment of navigating pricing grain through the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), I’d like to take a look back in time a little and talk about the original producer payment option (PPO) the CWB offered — pool pricing. Then over the next few columns, I want to spend time discussing the […] Read more
Wittal: Thanks and good luck this year
Jan. 29 — Outside markets were neutral to down today on limited trading activity and the fact that the weekend is upon us. Most of the trade in grains was due to funds continuing to roll out of January contracts into March or May contracts. Other speculative traders were taking short positions in anticipation of […] Read more
Wittal: Lentils may have peaked
Jan. 28 — The U.S. dollar pushed a little higher again today, and outside markets were neutral to down slightly. Export sales and shipment numbers were above the weekly targets for all three grains, which helped to support grain futures today. Short-covering was the main reason for the positive support in the grains, and it’s […] Read more
Wittal: Funds brace for possible trading restrictions
Jan. 27 –– The U.S. dollar pushed higher today and crude oil was lower, which in turn led to sharp losses in bean futures today. There’s some concern about U.S. President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address this evening, in which he may announce restrictions on how aggressively banks can trade in the markets, […] Read more
Wittal: Fundamentals pressure grain futures
Jan. 26 — Overall markets were rather quiet again today, which resulted in small losses across the board. The U.S. dollar ended slightly higher on the day, while crude oil and financial indicators were down slightly. Grains were all lower on the day as technical selling became the focus. Fundamental pressures (world inventories) continued to […] Read more
Wittal: No news is bad news
Jan. 25 — The U.S. dollar was stable today, falling slightly, which helped markets to relax a little. It was a rather quiet day with little news to spark much trading activity. Corn ended with small gains, as steady buying helped push futures up. Beans ended lower on continued concerns of large production coming out […] Read more
Wittal: Nice weather pressures barley values
Jan. 22 — The U.S. dollar seems to have powered out as it closed out the day down slightly. The Canadian dollar also ended lower today, as did the Dow Jones and crude oil. Weekly export sales numbers were above expectations for all three grains, which helped to support grains today and slow down the […] Read more
Wittal: Canola market awaits S. American bean crop
Jan. 21 –– The U.S. dollar continued to climb another full cent today, which again had negative impact on gold, crude oil and financial markets. The Canadian dollar ended lower in response to the strong rise in the U.S. dollar, but it was only down a quarter of a cent. Corn and beans were up […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
