GFO Newsletter for March 2017
GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO
COME SEE US AT A FARM SHOW NEAR YOU!
London Western Fair farm show March 8 – 10
http://www.westernfairdistrict.com/london-farm-show in the Grain Farmers of Ontario pavillion booth #727V.
Ottawa Valley Farm show March 14-16
http://ottawafarmshow.com/ booth #2510. •
RMP CALCULATOR
The 2016 Risk Management Program (RMP) calculator is now available for download.
The RMP calculator is designed to help growers calculate the value of enrolling in the program. The calculator is based on both known figures (support prices, premiums) and producers own estimates of their expected harvest prices. Learn more about RMP and download the new version of the RMP calculator at www.gfo.ca/Government-Relations/
Business-Risk-Management.
If you have questions about the RMP Calculator, contact Rob Gamble, chief economist, Grain Farmers of Ontario, by phone at (519) 767-2472 or email at rgamble@gfo.ca. •
RESEARCH DATABASE
A publicly accessible database has been created to help keep farmer-members informed of research investments being made by Grain Farmers of Ontario.
The Research Projects Database has been launched online at http://gfo.ca/Research/Projects. It provides information on more than 150 funded projects and is searchable by researcher, project title, and key word. Updates are made to the database as new projects are funded. •
INSIDE GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO
Grain Farmers of Ontario is on YouTube! Watch our weekly Inside Grain Farmers of Ontario video for updates from staff on the events, projects, and issues we are working on. www.youtube.com/user/grainfarmersontario •
DOWNLOAD SELLSMART TODAY
SellSmart is a free app developed by Grain Farmers of Ontario to help farmers sell their barley, corn, oats, soy, and wheat in the commodity market. SellSmart provides CBOT futures pricing, as well as proprietary cash basis prices for real grain elevators across the province. Users do not need an account to access these prices: simply download the free SellSmart app and select your crops, region, and elevators. SellSmart users can also set up price alerts with the app to be notified immediately when an elevator they follow posts a new price above a user-selected threshold.
You can learn more about SellSmart at this year’s March Classic in London, Ontario on March 21. The app’s developers will be on hand at the exhibitor hall to help farmer-members install the app and answer any questions.
SellSmart is available for iOS devices in the App Store, for Android devices in the Google Play store, and for BB10 devices in BlackBerry World. For more information, visit www.gfo.ca/apps. •
MARKET COMMENTARY
by Philip Shaw
The January United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report gave us our final estimates of the huge American crop produced last year. On January 12, the USDA actually lowered both U.S. corn and soybean production for 2016. U.S. corn production came in at 15.1 billion bushels, which was down 54 million bushels from its December estimate. The final yield was 174.6 bushels per acre compared to 175.3 in December. Soybean production was actually lowered to 4.3 billion bushels down 54 million bushels from last month with a national average of 52.1 bushels per acre.
The Canadian dollar has gained into February as the U.S. dollar has retreated. On February 5, the Canadian dollar stood at .7687 U.S., which has reduced the soybean and wheat basis in Ontario. •
