WINNIPEG – There must still be a few horseshoes lurking beneath the prairie surface – at least on those farms which grew copious quantities of special crops this year.
Farmers have not only grown record volumes of high quality commodities, ” it looks like most of the special commodity markets have been handed to us on a silver platter this year,” says Alberta Agriculture analyst Matthew Machielse.
“Prices have been amazingly strong for the size of crops we’ve got.”
Canada’s main competitors in the pea and lentil markets, Australia, Hungary and Turkey, have suffered crop failures, which gives Canada a free rein to cash in on export sales.
Read Also
Federal government supports soil health strategy
Sophie Beecher, director general at Agriculture Canada, said at a soil conference in Winnipeg that the feds support the idea of a national soil health strategy.
It couldn’t have happened at a better time. Canada’s pea production is estimated at 1.4 million tonnes, while lentil supplies are expected to top 450,000 tonnes.
“As long as transportation co-operates, we shouldn’t have a dramatic increase in carryover,” Machielse said.
Prices have risen since spring-time, currently exceeding long-term average trends for lentils.
Manitoba Agriculture analyst Carol Simonson Nachtigall said most lentil and dry bean prices, with the exception of Pinto beans, now exceed spring-time contract prices.
For example, Century peas were being contracted in the $4.50 to $5 per bushel range earlier this year. The current spot market price is between $4.80 and $5.50. Laird lentils which could be contracted for between 14 and 17 cents, are now worth between 18 and 20 cents.
While that may make it tempting for producers to avoid contracting any of their production, Machielse said most farmers continue to take a cautious approach.
By signing a contract for one-third to one-half of their production, farmers are not only capturing a price that covers their costs, they are assuring themselves of a market.
That in turns gives contracting companies more ability to seek out markets.
“It’s still a good thing to do,” he said. “Had they (Australians) not had a drought, those contract prices would be looking pretty darn good.”
Machielse said despite the rising market this fall, he’s starting to receive more inquiries from farmers wanting to know when to sell.
His advice is to take advantage of current prices rather than waiting. “I don’t think there really is much upside,” he said. “My opinion is all they’re going to gain is interest and storage costs.”
How the dollar performs will also be critical to how Canadian products compete in the European protein market, he said.
