The Canadian Wheat Board hopes to announce the details for new and expanded pricing options this month.
Board chair Ken Ritter said the CWB will offer fixed price contracts and basis contracts on a daily basis for all classes of wheat.
The options will allow farmers to lock in a price or a basis level for wheat, Ritter told the Keystone Agricultural Producers’ annual meeting.
The program will likely run until the end of July, he said.
“So if there is a big spike in the market, you can catch it.”
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The board will also offer a fixed price contract for feed barley.
“These are the business tools that farmers have asked for.”
He said the options can also help farmers with cash flow.
Details will be released in the next couple of weeks, Ritter said.
Producers will continue to have the option of pooled prices, he added.
Pricing options were tried last year for the first time, but attracted lacklustre interest from farmers.
Farmers signed only 85 fixed price contracts and 125 basis contracts for wheat totaling 30,300 tonnes. The program was offered in April, May, June and July.
In September, a feed barley minimum price program that gave farmers the choice of early payment attracted 1,650 farmers who signed up 300,000 tonnes.
Ritter told farmers the board will not offer durum pricing options because it can’t hedge the price risk involved in paying producers before selling the grain.
