National exposé is not a balanced view: MPC

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18 The Manitoba Co-operator | December 13, 2012 CWB offers farmers two new winter pools The Futures Choice Winter Pool pools the terminal basis risk, but allows farmers to price based on the futures market By Allan Dawson CO-OPERATOR STAFF The CWB is offering two new pools, including the Futures Choice Winter Pool, which combines some of the benefits of pooling and the cash market. The new Winter Pool, which includes canola, is similar to the Early Delivery Pool except it applies to the last six months of the crop instead of the first. Both pools have the same flexibility as other CWB pools when it comes to which companies farmers can deliver their grain to and changing grades if necessary. By contracting to either pool farmers are also guaranteed delivery this crop year, said Gord Flaten, the CWB’s vice-president for grain procurement. “I’m obviously biased but I really do think this (Futures Choice Winter Pool) is a very nice contract option,” Flaten said in an interview Dec. 7, 2012. Farmers in the Futures C h o i c e W i n t e r Po o l c a n expect a final return for No. 1 CWRS 13.5 in store either Vancouver of Thunder Bay based on the futures value they lock in plus another $5 to $10 a tonne, the CWB said in a news release. Dreaming about starting, growing or passing on your business? Plan on it! Use the Gaining Ground Agribusiness Assessment to help get you there. Whether you are a farmer or agriprocessing business, the Gaining Ground Agribusiness Assessment tool can help you build a solid foundation on which you can set goals and create an action plan for business success. Quick and Easy The Gaining Ground Agribusiness Assessment workbook will only take you approximately thirty minutes to complete and it’s easy to revisit your plan annually to check your progress. “There’s excess capacity this fall in spite of sales having been made because companies are having trouble getting farmers to sell.” GORD FLATEN The Futures Choice Winter Pool allows farmers to use the Minneapolis futures value to set a price, but pool the instore, terminal basis, Flaten said. T h e i n - s t o r e b a s i s i s affected by time, crop quality and location. For example, the cash price for a certain grade of grain can jump relative to the future price because an avalanche in the Rocky Mountains has delayed grain trains from reaching port. On any given day the port basis can result in a farmer getting a higher or lower cash price in the country. The Futures Choice Winter Pool pools that risk. Beat average price In this pool farmers who think they can beat the average price returned through a normal pool get the opportunity to try, although there’s no guarantee they will. “And they can do it so easily Once you’ve finished, you will have a clear snapshot of your business management practices in these areas: • business structure • human resources • production and operations • marketing • environmental responsibility • financial management Talk to your MAFRI representative After you have completed the workbook, make an appointment with your local Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) representative to help build an action plan for your business. Get your copy of the Gaining Ground Agribusiness Assessment today. Visit your local MAFRI GO Office or manitoba.ca/agriculture. with this contract because our futures values are in Canadian dollars,” Flaten said. “They don’t have to talk to a broker they just have to call us and book it. It’s a one-minute process.” Sign-up for the Futures Choice Winter Pool starts Jan. 7, 2013; sign-up for the Winter Pool began Dec. 12. The signup deadline for both pools is Feb. 15. In the Futures Choice Winter Pool farmers can price against March, May or July futures prices, but there’s a deadline for pricing in each month with June 21, 2013 being the final deadline to price against the July futures. Once a farmer commits to deliver a certain number of tonnes to the pool, he or she can price as little or as much as they want between Jan. 7 and June 21, 2013. The CWB is considering offering the two new pools next year, as well as a Futures Gaining Ground Ad Publication: MB Co-operator www.manitobacooperator.ca Your online source for the latest in ag news and information. Ad size: 6-1/16” w x 90 lines deep Choice pool for the first half of the crop year, Flaten said. Not desperate The new pools don’t mean the CWB is desperate to get more grain, he said. The CWB got a fair share of the wheat that has been committed so far, but a lot of wheat remains uncommitted to the CWB or grain companies, he said. “We want to get a good share of the rest of it too and that’s why we’re offering this program,” Flaten said. “We’re also cash buying. “We are a new business and we’re operating in a market that’s changing a lot so we need to respond to that so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the programs that we are offering are going to evolve.” The CWB’s handling agreements with grain companies guarantee it access to the grain pipeline, Flaten said. It’s possible farmers might want to sell more grain later this crop year than the system can handle. There’s excess capacity now and next month, which is unusual for this time of year. “There’s excess capacity this fall in spite of sales having been made because companies are having trouble getting farmers to sell,” Flaten said. Prices are strong now, in part, because grain companies are offering premiums to encourage farmers to sell, but many farmers are holing off believing prices will go higher. allan@fbcpublishing.com Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. This product has been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Genuity and Design®, Genuity Icons, Genuity®, Roundup Ready®, and Roundup® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Used under license. NEWS Drought hit yields, but U.S. crop farmers may still enjoy record incomes By Charles Abbott WASHINGTON / REUTERS U.S. farm and ranch income shrivelled this summer during the worst drought in half a century, according to three Federal Reserve regional banks that oversee Farm Belt lending. Even so, agricultural economists from the Fed banks say the farm sector could post record-high income this year, thanks to high market prices and insurance payments. And land prices remain red hot despite the drought. In Nebraska, non-irrigated farmland values soared by 30 per cent from a year earlier. Iowa’s values were up 18 per cent and Illinois’ up 15 per cent. “A lot of (farmers) think the future of agriculture is promising and want to expand,” said David Oppedahl, agricultural economist at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. Many crop farmers are flush with cash and, with interest rates low, see few alternatives to land for investment, he added. While high feed costs are hurting dairy, cattle and hog producers, crop farmers may actually make more money, a report from the banks said. High market prices and crop insurance would offset the losses from “extreme heat and dryness in the Plains and Corn Belt,” it said, even as livestock costs climb. Record farm income is within reach although the U.S. corn crop is the smallest since 2006 and soybeans the smallest in four years, said Pat Westhoff of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. Market prices are so high that revenue to growers could exceed 2011 despite smaller harvests, said Westhoff. Corn prices are up about 21 per cent from a year ago and soybean prices are up about 18 per cent. Feed prices are down somewhat from latesummer peaks, so the stress on livestock producers is slightly less. Still, many hog and dairy farmers face money-losing years. “We have two tales of agriculture,” said Jason Henderson, of the Kansas City Fed.
The Manitoba Co-operator | December 13, 2012 19 Kazakh ministry suspects regions falsifying crop data Farmers complain of official pressure to exaggerate yields By Raushan Nurshayeva astana / reuters Kazakhstan’s Agriculture Ministry said it suspected regional Grain Belt governments of exaggerating the size of their crops to win political favour, raising the possibility that exports could be lower than forecast. According to figures supplied by local governments, the drought-ravaged grain crop fell to 12.3 million tonnes by clean weight this year from a post-Soviet high of 27 million tonnes last year, the ministry said. Deputy Agriculture Minister Muslim Umiryayev said Nov. 13, however, that the three biggest grain regions — Akmola, Kostanai and Northern Kazakhstan — reported a combined grain crop of 11.2 million tonnes, while satellite monitoring data showed a crop of just 9.8 million tonnes. “What causes the Agriculture Ministry concern is that ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Monday, Jan. 14th, 2013 @ 9:00 a.m. (CST) Canad Inns, Roadhouse Room 1125 – 18th Street, Brandon, MB. 9:00 a.m. Registration 9:45 a.m. Welcome - Eric Fridfinnson, Chair, MFGA; 10:00 a.m. Erwin Hanley, Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission; 10:15 a.m. William Hill, President, Flax Council of Canada; 10:45 a.m. Anastasia Kubinec, Oilseed Specialist, MAFRI; 11:00 a.m. Simon Potter, Product Innovation Sector Manager 11:30 p.m. Western Grains Research Foundation; we have a discrepancy of 1.4 million tonnes,” Umiryayev told a news conference. The ministry will verify the data within a month. L a r g e - s c a l e d i s t o r t i o n s of grain crop data in one of the world’s 10 biggest wheatexporting countries, if confirmed, would smack of a Soviet-era corruption scandal, when the leaders of neighbouring Uzbekistan reported implausibly high cotton harvests, which were later disproved by satellite photos. A farmer from Kostanai region wrote to the minister, Asylzhan Mamytbekov, on Nov. 2. He identified himself as “Citizen” and said he had been compelled by district authorities to report higher yields than were true. “These distortions are not by 0.1 or 0.2 tonnes per hectare, but twofold,” he wrote. “Those refusing to do so are intimidated with non-stop inspections by various state bodies. How long will this lawlessness last?” A combine harvests wheat in a field near the town of Akkol, some 110 km (68 miles) north of the Kazakhstan capital Astana. Farmers say local governments have pressured them to inflate yield reports. photo: reuters/shamil Zhumatov 12:00 p.m. Lunch 1:00 p.m. Annual Business Meeting 1:45 p.m. William Hill, President, Flax Council of Canada 2:30 p.m. Dr. Scott Duguid, AAFC, Morden Research Station 3:00 p.m. Dr. Santosh Kumar, AAFC, Cereal Research Centre 3:30 p.m. Eric Liu, Business Development Specialist 4:00 p.m. Closing Remarks - Eric Fridfinnson, Chair; 4:15 p.m. Adjournment. On the rOad again A coyote on the roadside in Riding Mountain National Park. Park officials are encouraging travellers to slow down and keep their eyes peeled to avoid collisions with wildlife while Headline: We know corn Type Area: NA Colours: CMYK passing through Publication: the park. Manitoba That’s good advice Size: for all rural roadways. 6 x 6.625 photo: Resolution: parks Canada Cooperator 300 ppi IO: MBC 2012-001 MBC 2012-002 Bleed: NA Insertion Dates: Over 25 years of proven performance with over 10 years in Manitoba. Manitoba. When it it comes to early corn with proven yields - look to Maizex. Exclusively distributed by NorthStar Genetics Manitoba. Contact a dealer near you or visit weknowbeans.com January 12 and February 2, 2012 we know corn Technology you want. Yield you can count on.
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