Delayed acceptance of grain contracted for delivery by farmers to grain buyers has become increasingly common. Sometimes the delays beyond the delivery period stated in the contract have been justified. Grain movement delays caused by weather are understandable, but delays of several weeks or months are hard to justify. Grain companies often blame the railways […] Read more
Relief on delayed delivery grain contracts
But the regulations do not state the penalty amounts
Choose a buyer carefully when selling your grain
You’ve kept your crop safe from insects and disease. Now keep it safe from the risk of not payment default
There is plenty of risk to producing a crop, particularly one of high yield and quality. However, production risk is only one of the risks of grain farming. There are also legal, personal, storage and marketing risks. In marketing your crop, you may follow all the steps — know your costs per unit of production, […] Read more
Marketing with lower crop prices
Falling crop prices may be a marketing challenge. Here are things to consider as you take your crop to the market this fall
Last year was a bonus year for most western Canadian crop producers. Because of the drought in the U.S., crop prices during the last crop year were much higher than they would have otherwise been. In 2012 western Canadian crop quality was generally good, and demand was strong relative to available supplies. In contrast, this […] Read moreMinimum Price Contract or Put Option?
The potential for an oversized canola crop has many farmers considering pricing options before harvest
Canola prices have risen dramatically since the middle of January. Old crop canola futures rallied almost $120/tonne from their January low to the April high. November 2012 canola futures rallied from a January low of $492/tonne to a high of $592/tonne on April 10. Strong canola exports, record domestic use to meet increasing demand for […] Read moreUnderstanding basis
It’s never been more important to make the most of your marketing options. Neil Blue tells you how you can use the basis to improve your bottom line
For crops that have an actively trading futures market, tracking the basis levels and considering basis as a separate part of your pricing decision improve your market analysis, and maybe increase your price. Defining basis Basis is the difference between the local cash price for a commodity and the futures market price for that commodity. […] Read moreThe futures hedge
Farm product prices change because of changes in supply and demand. During the growing season, because of production concerns, attractive pricing opportunities often arise before farmers have grown the crops. Forward pricing to take advantage of those relatively high prices may be done directly by using a deferred delivery contract or, for commodities with a […] Read more
How To Use Storage As A Marketing Strategy
Deciding how long to store grain depends on grain condition, cash flow needs, storage charges, interest rates, price level, basis levels, your market outlook, and delivery opportunities, just to name a few. Storage is profitable if prices rise enough during the storage period to cover storage and interest costs. The first consideration is storability of […] Read more
Consider A Put Option In Volatile Markets
Canola prices for all futures months had surged much higher from last June to a high set in early February. Some farmers were pricing “new” crop canola during the rally. However, many farmers are reluctant to contract physical grain delivery this far ahead of harvest. Also, many farmers were held back by a common fear […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
