Grain Today - August 4, 2020

​Good afternoon,
 
I realize that this note will catch everyone flat out trying to get ready for harvest. There has been some rye and winter wheat done already and some barley, peas and lentils have to be close as well.
 
I know this is a busy time but I thought I would comment on a couple of things that are important every year and have been drawn to our attention in spades this year.
 
One of these that is very timely is the subject of sampling at harvest. As we saw time and again this past year the difference on return for producers that had good bin samples vs the guys that didn’t have time to do that at harvest was anywhere from 5% to 15% better returns because they knew what was in each bin. It makes our job so much more effective when we know which buyers to direct a crop towards. If it goes to the wrong place, is rejected, and has to be diverted to another market you can be sure that all those costs come back to the producer. This needless expense can be avoided 95% of the time with accurate bin samples.
 
Another part of this is if you have good bin samples and have kept a load sample when you ship grain that Quality Grain has helped market we can and will go to bat for you. We would have the information that allows us to argue your case for you in regards to any issues that arise.
 
My second thing I would like to comment on ties directly into the good bin samples you have kept. Get them graded with a reliable 3rd party grader such as Intertek, SGS or Central testing. Sure its going to cost you a few bucks but then you know what you have in your bin. It is not good marketing to ‘think” you have #2 red lentils and turn down what are good bids based on the actual #3 quality you have. You will also get good information like vomitoxin levels in your feed grains, Falling Numbers on your milling wheat etc. Take the time and it will pay dividends.
 
My other little reminder is when you are starting harvesting be careful what was in your equipment form last fall. Soybeans from 2019 mixed with your premium #2, no glyphos yellow peas will just help you remember the harvest from hell that 2019 was. So many markets are moving towards 0 tolerance on both GMO mixtures and Round-Up in peas. Then your $7.00/ bushel product becomes $5.50/ bushel feed peas.
 
We have seen a definite drop in prices for both feed wheat and feed barley in the last two weeks. We are now trading barley at $3.75/ bushel in SE SK and SW MB vs $4.10 two weeks ago. Feed wheat has taken a similar hit. It isn’t a big surprise but still hard to take.
 
We have seen bids for #2 yellow peas drop right off the map practically. We have struggled to get a bid in the last week. All buyers are covered for short term and have good supplies of new crop contracted for the next 2 months. They do need to look after their contracts before buying more.
 
We are seeing not bad bids for new crop 2 CW oats. We are seeing more pushback for glyphos sprayed oats than last year at this time. Give us a call if interested.
 
Rye seems to be very quite right now. Most of the US mills are counting on the US crop for their supplies until at least the new year so this is putting rye bids in the $4.50 to $4.75 range and not for quick movement either.
 
We took a tour out to Canmore AB last week. The crops we saw in southern MB,SK and AB all looked good. Based on what we saw I would say above average yields are likely. Lets hope it works out. Better to be short of bins than grain. Lots of peas, lentils, canola and wheat. Which is normal for the area we where in.
 
Don’t hesitate to send us any pricing requests you have. We are always glad to help.
 
Until next month. Safe harvest and may the bins overflow.