A few keystrokes on the computer and the luck of the draw have provided Kirk Dammann with $200 worth of farm inputs, courtesy of the federal grain monitor.
The Stoughton, Sask., grain farmer was the winner in a contest designed to extract more information from farmers about how and where they deliver their grain.
The grain monitoring agency had asked farmers to provide grain delivery information to the Producer Netback Calculator on the monitor’s website.
All those who did were entered into a draw to win $200 worth of farm inputs from the supplier of their choice.
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Dammann said he has been using the netback calculator every fall to determine where he’ll get the best dollar for his grain.
“We have quite a few terminals close to us, so I go in there to see different shipping costs and where I’ll get the most return,” he said.
“I find it useful.”
The calculator enables a farmer to comparison shop among grain companies without leaving his or her office.
The website provides producers with detailed information about such things as freight costs, handling charges and trucking premiums at individual elevators, allowing them to compare net returns on wheat, durum and barley.
Dammann said he shops his grain around various elevators to see who will offer the best grade, then uses the netback calculator to figure out where he’ll get the best net return.
In return, the grain monitor asks farmers to go back into the system after they’ve made their deliveries and provide detailed confidential information on where, what and how they delivered.
Only about 10 percent of the 700 or so farmers who use the calculator on a regular basis do so, and that’s why the contest was introduced.
Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corp., the Edmonton-based consulting firm that acts as grain monitor, said the contest prompted about 200 producers to participate in the netback program.
While that’s fewer than hoped for, it represents new delivery data that probably wouldn’t have been otherwise available, data that can be used to assess whether farmers are benefiting from changes in the handling and transportation system.
He said the contest might be repeated every few months.
“I guess sometimes you’ve got to pay for data,” he said.
