Some simple steps can help farmers get the most out of their downgraded crops and mitigate much of the damage from this year’s poor weather, marketing advisers say:
• don’t panic;
• know what you’ve actually got;
• find a buyer who wants it.
They sound like simple steps, but advisers say farmers often despair too quickly about the state of their crop, and don’t commit the same dedication to marketing as they do to production.
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“A little extra legwork and a few extra phone calls can make a big difference,” said Jon Driedger of Farm-Link Marketing Solutions.
“In a year like this in particular, that extra legwork, those extra phone calls could potentially pay substantial dividends.”
Alberta Agriculture marketing expert Charlie Pearson agreed.
“A lot of guys tend to spend a lot of time trying to beat out the last couple of pennies on their inputs. But they leave money on the table in terms of marketing their product.”
Driedger and Pearson both said that many farmers might prematurely assume they have extremely low crop quality, when careful sampling might show that they have mid-grades that could be worth substantially more money.
Farmers should be careful selling their crop.
“Until you know what you’ve got, how do you make selling decisions?” said Driedger.
“Let’s not price too much and let’s get those combines in there and see what we’ve got.”
Pearson said farmers can take samples from the auger as grain is put in the bin and while in storage. The Canadian Grain Commission can provide an assessment of a farmer’s sample.
Correct sampling could reveal some “pleasant surprises,” Pearson said. Some Alberta farmers had assumed the worst after recent hard frosts, but got much better grain off the field than they expected.
Knowing your buyer is also a key ingredient to marketing success. And that means looking at a number of potential buyers to find the right one for the quality and characteristics of the grain the farmer has .
Pearson said some canola buyers want No. 1 canola, so “there’s no use even approaching them.”
But others are willing to buy twos and threes with a discount. And some buyers that farmers would never ordinarily consider might be offering the best prices for lower grades because they have specific uses for them, Pearson said.
Many farmers contract crops before harvest, but most don’t lock in more than 25 to 33 percent of their expected production. Usually that is a safe amount, but this year many farmers will fall short of having that amount of high quality crop to deliver against their contracts.
Driedger and Pearson said farmers need to work with their buyers toward the least painful solutions, because often something can be worked out that saves the farmer some cost.
And the cost of buying out a contract at one location can be mitigated by finding a keen buyer somewhere else for a downgraded crop.
“Shop that sample around. Take it to a few different homes. Who knows who’s going to give you what, where?” said Driedger.
Pearson said many buyers are keen to earn repeat business, so most will be civil when discussing options with producers who fall short of their contract obligations.
“If you know you’ve got a problem, don’t hide from it,” said Pearson.
“Between the two of you, try to work out a solution that’s mutually beneficial. It ain’t going to be perfect, but make it as good as you can get.”
