Canadian Wheat Board market pricing programs continue to expand, with B class barley now eligible for the Fixed Price Contract, or FPC, and Basis Payment Contracts, or BPC.
“We keep adding crops as we go along,” said wheat board spokesperson Maureen Fitzhenry.
“It keeps opening up and expanding as farmers get used to the programs, as we work out the logistics of the programs, and as everybody’s comfort level increases.”
This is the first time that the BPC, which allows farmers to lock in both forward futures and basis prices, has been available for feed barley.
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And it’s the first time either program can be used for the B pool of feed barley.
The FPC and BPC contracts are part of the board’s Producer Payment Options program, which have become popular with farmers after a tentative beginning a few years ago.
This year, about 14,000 producers used the FPC, BPC and a U.S. elevator price contract to lock in prices for about 3.5 million tonnes of board grains. Including the Early Payment Option program, about 20,000 farmers are now using various innovative programs the board has introduced this decade.
“It’s clear farmers really appreciate having these kinds of programs and are really jumping on board with them,” said Fitzhenry.
“It’s incumbent upon the board to accommodate that by continuing to open it up.”
With about 75,000 people having CWB permit books, the payment options are now being used by 20 to 25 percent of grain growers.
