SASKATOON – It’s been a long time since the Canadian Wheat Board paid farmers $7 for a bushel of wheat.
But that was the case for those few farmers lucky enough to have sold top quality durum to the board in 1993-94.
Final payments announced by the board last week included $28 a tonne (77 cents a bushel) for high protein 1 CW amber durum wheat. When that’s added to initial and interim payments, it translates into a total selling price of $252.41 a tonne ($6.87 a bushel).
All prices quoted are basis in-store Thunder Bay or Vancouver. Local prices reflect deductions for freight and handling, which last year averaged about $25 a tonne.
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High protein payment
That can’t be compared directly with previous years, because 1993-94 marked the first time the board made a separate payment for high protein durum. But for regular 1 CW durum, the total payment of $235 a tonne ($6.41 a bushel) was the highest since 1981.
Farm groups and wheat board officials say it would be misleading to put too much emphasis on those high returns for the top quality wheat and durum.
“The majority of farmers didn’t have top grades or high protein,” said CWB information officer Brian Stacey.
Only about 20 percent of the 1993 wheat crop fell into the two top grades, compared with the usual 75 percent. The price effects of that grade distribution show up clearly in the red spring wheat pool.
Returns were up significantly over 1992-93 for the higher grades, with 1 CW 14.5 percent protein selling for $228 a tonne ($6.20 a bushel) versus $191 the year before.
But it was a different story for 3 CW and Canada Feed, where final returns were down by $3 and $6 a tonne respectively. Prices were also lower for red winter, soft white spring and prairie spring wheats.
As for barley, feed prices were down slightly from 1992-93, while malting barley was down by $20 to $25 a tonne.
Announcement of final payments is no longer a big surprise to those who follow the estimated pool returns published by the board.
Estimated returns accurate
For example, the final returns in the durum pool are almost identical to the March 1994 estimated pool return. The March EPR for 1 CW durum 13 percent was $250 a tonne, while the actual final price was $252. For both 1 and 3 CW the estimated return was within one dollar of the actual final price.
The final payments, which represent the balance owing to farmers from sales made by the board in 1993-94, will be mailed to farmers on Dec. 30. The cheques will be dated Jan. 2, 1995.
The board refused to make public the total amount of money being sent out to farmers, saying it is responding to farmers’ wishes in keeping that number secret.
“Every time we get together with a farm focus group, that issue of the gross amount dollars, and the media making it look like a government handout, comes up,” said Stacey.
