The Canadian Wheat Board officially unveiled its new contracts for wheat, durum and barley today.
“Our programs offer competitive returns and solid risk management with options designed for maximum choice and minimum hassle,” said CWB president Ian White.
The programs consist of two pool contracts, three cash contracts and a malting barley production contract.
Farmers can sign up starting today to market their 2012 crop.
White is confident there will be good uptake of the programs, especially the pool contracts.
“Many prairie farmers want the CWB to be their marketing partner,” he said.
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The CWB is the only grain marketer offering farmers a pooling option.
“Our pools will ensure that farmers are never forced to settle for the bottom of the market or chase an elusive market high,” White told reporters during a conference call.
He said the CWB’s programs offer advantages farmers can’t get elsewhere including multiple delivery options, more wheat reference grades and the financial backing of the federal government.
So far the CWB has signed handling agreements with Cargill and South West Terminal in Gull Lake, Sask. It is close to signing agreements with all of the other prairie grain handlers.
The price pools are a harvest pool, which runs from Aug. 1 to July 31 and an early delivery pool, which runs from Aug. 1 to Jan. 31.
The cash contracts consist of a futures-first contract, a basis-first contract and a real-time pricing contract.
The CWB is also offering a malting barley production contract that guarantees a market for a farmer’s malting barley even before seeding or harvest.
