Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine is the flagship publication of Grain Farmers of Ontario and a source of information for our province’s grain farmers.

Grain Farmers of Ontario

January 2015

In this issue:

Web Special

Under ice and snow

January 2015 - GRAIN BIN WINTER SAFETY GRAIN BINS ARE hazardous. It’s a blunt statement often repeated by grain storage safety experts. Most farmers practice basic safety precautions when dealing with bins, such as using fall restraint systems…
Planning for a Research Project

Understanding Precision Agriculture

January 2015 - Precision agriculture is a growing area of interest for Ontario’s farmers. Some farmers have taken up precision farming techniques on their own and some with the help of crop advisors or consultants, but many farmers…
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The 87 cent dollar

ASSESSING THE EXCHANGE RATE

January 2015 - IT MAY BE some time before the Canadian dollar (CAD) and the U.S. dollar (USD) return to a persistent parity. Although a high exchange rate is usually said to hurt buyers, some analysts say farmers…
Higher achievement

January 2015 - WHEAT BREEDER WINS PRESTIGOUS WORLD FOOD PRIZE INDIA-BORN MEXICAN wheat breeder Dr. Sanjaya Rajarm was the recipient of the 2014 World Food Prize. The award coincides with the centennial of its founder, Dr. Norman Borlaug,…
Storage: it’s in the bag

January 2015 - U.S. FARMERS ADOPT PRAIRIE PRACTICE GRAIN BAGGING, A common practice in Western Canada, is gaining popularity in parts of the U.S. Corn Belt, especially within the Dakotas and Minnesota. “They’ve been bagging grain in…
Soil health

January 2015 - DO WE NEED A CHECKUP? HAVE YOU FELT a need in recent years to do a little more tillage? Do you sometimes feel the market determines your crop rotation? The late 80’s and through the…
2015 price outlook

January 2015 - THREE AMERICAN ANALYSTS OFFER OPINIONS AS OF MID-NOVEMBER, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Economic Research Service projected a 2014/2015 corn price at the farm gate of $3.20 to $3.80 per bushel (U.S.) and…
Abundant crops

January 2015 - A U.S. REPORT Disclaimer: Comments in this article are market commentary and are not to be construed as market advice. Derivatives trading involves substantial risk of loss, and you should fully understand those risks prior…
Cropside: White mould management

AGRONOMIC INFORMATION FROM ONTARIO'S CROP SPECIALISTS

January 2015 - A SMALL AMOUNT of white mould does not reduce soybean yields. In fact, there is a saying among soybean growers that “a little bit of white mould is a sign of a good crop”. This…
The Western Canada grain market

January 2015 - INFLUENCE ON ONTARIO PRODUCERS IT HAS BEEN said that experience trading wheat is worthless, because each year brings a unique ‘curve-ball’ to deal with. However, the 2013/14 crop year in Western Canada was a ‘curve…
Future of grain

January 2015 - HIGHLIGHTING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY IN GRAIN PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION Ontario farm tire deflation technology goes global Lilian Schaer, AgInnovation Ontario An automatic air inflation deflation system (AAID), developed by a southwestern Ontario hog farmer, is…
Efficient transport

January 2015 - ONTARIO’S ADVANTAGE THERE ARE TWO fundamental realities in the commodities business. The first is that you need to have a product that somebody wants, and the second is that you have to have some means…
Research roundup

January 2015 - FIND OUT WHAT’S NEW IN THE WORLD OF RESEARCH Using thermodynamics to determine plant health Melissa Micu A novel way of assessing plant health is being investigated by a multi-disciplinary research team from the universities…
GFO Newsletter for January 2015

January 2015 - GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO Grain farming under attack by government Grain Farmers of Ontario believes new pesticide regulations announced by the Ontario government at the end of November are impractical…
Farm Action Now

January 2015 - A COALITION OF ONTARIO’S FARMERS ON NOVEMBER 13, a coalition of farm organizations was established to address shared concerns around the Ontario government’s regulatory process for agriculture. The coalition was formed to promote a responsible,…
High and then low

January 2015 - THE BENEFITS OF MINIMUM PRICE PROTECTION IN 2015 BETWEEN 2012 AND November 2014, agricultural commodity prices were on a roller coaster ride. During 2012, corn and soybean commodity futures prices hit all-time record highs. Wheat…
In the news

January 2015 - NEWS BITES THAT MATTER New IntakeTM Adjuvant for Liquid AchieveTM Dow AgroSciences Canada has announced that Intake™ Adjuvant is the new surfactant for use with Liquid Achieve herbicide for reliable grass weed control in wheat…
Looking at the basis

January 2015 - FINDING THE MARKETING MESSAGE BASIS IS WHAT we collect at Farm Market News each and every day. Without sounding too basic, let’s set the stage for this fairly simple concept. First of all, the trade…
Business side: Planning tips for 2015

CONVERSATIONS WITH BUSINESS EXPERTS

January 2015 - (R.H.) AS A NEW YEAR BEGINS, WHAT PLANNING ACTIVITIES DO YOU RECOMMEND TO YOUR CLIENTS? (E.F.) When making business plans for the upcoming year, I recommend that farmers first take some time to reflect and…
Overcoming challenges

January 2015 - ANALYZING CORN AND WHEAT MARKETS 2014 WAS A year with many challenges continuing for both the Ontario farmer and the agriculture industry in general. Harvesting the crop this fall and the issues around that will…
Market side: Futures trading basics

LESSON 4: MARKET PARTICIPANTS

January 2015 - This monthly educational series will feature the basic workings of the futures and options markets and how they can be utilized to help farmers with risk management. LAST MONTH, WE discussed the first two participants…
The corn challenge

January 2015 - 2014’S PRICE DECLINE FOR ONTARIO CORN farmers, 2014 was a real challenge. The price of corn declined from a futures level of $4.95 on May 13 to $3.18 on October 1. This price decline, along…
Supply and demand pricing

January 2015 - THE ONTARIO WHEAT MARKET WINTER WHEAT PLANTING in the fall of 2013 was somewhere around 750,000 acres. The long cold winter and some thaw and refreeze events in the spring resulted in a larger portion…
The 87 cent dollar

January 2015 - ASSESSING THE EXCHANGE RATE IT MAY BE some time before the Canadian dollar (CAD) and the U.S. dollar (USD) return to a persistent parity. Although a high exchange rate is usually said to hurt buyers,…
Disappointment

FROM THE CEO'S DESK

January 2015 - BY NOW YOU will have heard of the intention of the provincial government to obtain an 80 per cent reduction in the use of neonicotinoid treated corn and soybean seeds by 2017. One way to…