MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Receiving a good price is important, but getting a crop to grow in the first place is perhaps more important.
For David Delahey, that means growing durum.
“We’re not cutting our durum acres back,” he said at a recent market outlook conference in Moose Jaw. “Durum for us has been a winner forever.”
He plans to grow the crop despite a large carryover from last year, in-creased global production and poor prices.
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Delahey, who farms north of Moose Jaw near Buffalo Pound Lake, will stick with his rotation of one-third cereals, one-third oilseeds and one-third pulses.
He said durum prices could end up being better than the forecast, depending on what happens in the world. He also wonders how much the forecast will reduce acres.
“The year durum hit $12, all the experts were telling growers not to grow durum,” he said.
Wayne and Calvin Watson, seed growers at Avonlea, Sask., southeast of Moose Jaw, aren’t so sure.
They said they will plant less durum this year and expect many farmers will do the same.
“Your profit margin has been sitting in the bin all year,” Calvin said, referring to poor delivery options and the price.
They will grow more green peas, and said lentils appear to be as popular as ever, particularly in their area where Blue Hills Processors operates.
“We’re planting more chickpeas,” he added. “Our phone has been ringing off the hook.”
Arnold Rasmussen of Coderre, Sask., said durum was his worst performer last year in terms of price, and he will grow more hard wheat instead this year, along with canola and peas.
At the same time, he agreed with Delahey that rotations are what they are, and farmers have to plant what grows well and hope prices materialize.
“There are quite a few lentils going in,” he said, even though those prices have dropped.
At Woodrow, southwest of Moose Jaw, Duane Filson is planning to seed fewer durum acres than the 500 he grew last year, a nod to the crop still in his bin.
However, he admits it grows well and is a standard for most growers in the area. He is going to bump up his brown mustard production and has contracted some at 24 cents a pound, a price he said he can live with.
“Relative to something like durum, it’s a lot better,” he said. “$5 a bushel (for durum) would be really optimistic.”
Mustard prices last year were good, he added, and peas did well, too.
He had set a $6 benchmark for his peas and contracted most at $6.53. The remainder went into a falling market this spring at $5.27, so he figures it evened out.
Filson will grow peas again this year, along with spring wheat, barley and some oats.
Conditions look good going into the spring, he added, but farmers can’t help but be pessimistic on the price side for virtually all crops.
“Something will probably be a star,” in terms of price, he said. “But you can bet I won’t be growing it.”
