Calgary (Rural Roots Canada) – This year’s drought is still causing havoc with farmers’ grain marketing plans.
Tom Steve is the General Manager of the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions.
He says there are farmers out there who are stuck between a rock and a hard place because they locked into contracts on crops that never materialized because of the drought.
“The one thing that is an additional pressure on farmers is if they forward priced their crop for fall delivery in a lot of cases because drought conditions, they’re unable to fulfill those contracts,” Steve said.
He adds in some cases grain companies are now requiring them to pay a significant fee to get out of those contracts, which is an additional pressure.”
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He says there is another factor playing against producers.
“What’s happened over the course of this crop year is that from the time that they signed the contracts to now, grain prices have increased dramatically. So in a lot of cases, they have to make up that difference as well. If they don’t have crop.”
He says it is a double whammy.
“The other unfortunate part of it is we are in a period of high grain prices, but the farmers that don’t have crop to sell can’t take advantage of those high prices, and in some cases also have to pay a penalty to exit contracts that they signed with grain companies for future delivery.”
RELATED: Navigating Shortfalls on Grain Contracts in a Tough Year
This issue and many others will be talked about during November regional meetings.
More info on those meetings can be found by clicking here.
