CWB announced today that it has begun selling farmers’ canola, the first time in 63 years that a new crop has been added to its marketing mix. Canola, an oilseed that is the second-largest crop grown in Canada, now joins wheat, durum and barley as products marketed around the world through CWB’s farmer pools.
“Farmers have been telling us they want CWB to run canola pools to help manage their price risk and provide them with reliable returns through a system they can trust,” said CWB president and CEO Ian White, adding farmer sign-up is now open for the new CWB canola pool.
“The farmer benefits of pooling apply just as successfully to canola as to wheat. Farmers retain all the profits generated from their grain sales, instead of simply taking a flat price at the elevator. It also means they can spend more time on their crops instead of chasing the commodity futures markets.”
CWB weather and crop experts are anticipating a record-sized canola harvest on the Prairies this year, up by more than five per cent from last year to over 15 million tonnes (about 30 per cent above the five-year average).
Canola is the first new crop to be marketed by CWB since 1949, when oats and barley were added to its wheat-selling mandate. CWB is the only company offering farmers the popular pooled approach to grain marketing for the 2012-13 crop year, which began August 1 under a new open-market model. Under pooling, all revenue is deposited into a single pool and participants are paid the average achieved across the entire marketing period, allowing highly effective price-risk management and a strategic approach to the sales process.
Initial payments for canola are expected to be announced by early September. CWB’s first Pool Return Outlook for canola, issued today, is $640 per tonne (basis in-store Vancouver or Thunder Bay).
Farmers can deliver the canola they contract with CWB to 42 delivery points across western Canada (see list below). Additional delivery locations are expected to be added. White said producers can participate in the risk management benefits of a canola pool while retaining the flexibility of dealing with whatever handling company they choose.
“A big advantage to contracting with CWB is that farmers can sign first and choose their grain handler later. That means they can shop their grain around to get the best possible deal on handling and elevation fees.”
White said farmers who choose CWB as their marketing partner can be assured their grain will be sold into the world’s best markets. CWB customers around the globe continue to value a sales relationships built up over 75 years, based on a long-standing reputation for quality and service, and a prized international brand, he said.
“CWB has strong long-term relationships with many of the world’s largest canola importers, who look forward to adding canola to the list of other grains they plan to buy from CWB,” White said. “Our overall sales objective is to focus on buyers by serving them well, and to capture the best possible sales prices for farmers through the pool over the entire marketing year.”
More information on CWB programs is available at www.cwb.ca/newera.
