GFO Newsletter for August 2017

CANADA’S OUTDOOR FARM SHOW

Grain Farmers of Ontario will be at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show from September 12 – 14. You can find us on 1st Lane (Seed Alley). Stop in for a coffee and a chat with a staff member or director. •

INTERNATIONAL PLOWING MATCH

Grain Farmers of Ontario is a bronze sponsor of the 2017 International Plowing Match in Walton being held September 19 – 23. We will once again be sponsoring the VIP tent and plowing match.

The Growing Connections trailer exhibit will be on display to showcase the Good in Every Grain and the Grain Farmers of Ontario Tech Park will be onsite to highlight the technology that farmers are using in their fields. •

2017 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

All farmer-members are invited to attend Grain Farmers of Ontario’s 2017 Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, September 12 at the Quality Hotel & Suites in Woodstock. The business portion of the meeting will be held in the morning and all attendees will be given passes to attend Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in the afternoon.

Location:
Quality Hotel & Suites
Vansittart Room
580 Bruin Blvd, Woodstock, ON N4V 1E5

Agenda:
8 a.m. Registration and breakfast
9 a.m. Chairman’s report, CEO report, Resolutions, Questions
Noon Lunch
1 p.m. Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show

Accommodations:
Four Points by Sheraton Cambridge. A room block is available until August 11. To get preferred pricing, use code: G107AA-Grain Farmers of Ontario. •

NEW LICENSE FEES

Grain Farmers of Ontario has set new license fees, effective July 1, 2017. Please note there has been a reduction in fees from 2016. All grain dealers have been notified of this change. Farmer-members with questions regarding the new license fees can contact the office at 1-800-265-0550.

Barley **	$ 1.29 / mT
Corn *	$ 0.44 / mT
Mixed Oats/Barley **	$ 1.49 / mT
Oats **	$ 1.49 / mT
Soybeans *	$ 1.52 / mT
Wheat *	$ 0.89 / mT

* Includes GFP Premium
** GFP is not applicable

SELLSMART APP

Grain Farmers of Ontario’s SellSmart app can help you sell your barley, corn, oats, soybeans, and wheat in the commodity markets. This specialized app provides CBOT futures pricing data and adjusted cash prices for local grain elevators across the province.

You can also define low or high prices for commodities and receive price alerts as a notification message on your device. This price alert feature, combined with local cash price data, is what really sets SellSmart apart from other mobile commodity pricing tools — you won’t find these features anywhere else. SellSmart is free to use. •

CSTA NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dave Carey has been selected as the new executive director for the Canadian Seed Trade Association. Carey, the outgoing director of government affairs and policy, joined CSTA in 2012 and has worked in roles of increasing management responsibility. More recently, Carey acted as the lead staff member following the departure of Crosby Devitt, the former executive director.

Prior to Carey’s career with CSTA, he worked as a legislative assistant for Members of Parliament from Calgary, Alberta and Oakville, Ontario. He is an experienced government relations leader, with an in-depth understanding of government and regulatory affairs, policy development and international trade priorities. These qualities will help to ensure the continued growth and success of CSTA.

The Canadian Seed Trade Association is the national voice of more than 130 seed company members engaged in all aspects of seed research, production, and marketing and trade, both domestically and internationally. •

MARKET COMMENTARY

by Philip Shaw
JULY IS ALWAYS a critical time for grain prices. The June 30 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report always sets the table for this with new quarterly stocks numbers and actual planted acres in the field. In the June 30 report, USDA surprised the market by pegging corn planting at 90.89 M acres and soybeans at 89.51 M acres. U.S. corn acreage is down 3.11 million acres from last year. The U.S. soybean acreage was approximately 440,000 acres below pre report estimates, but still 7% higher than last year. Wheat acres were the lowest since 1919.

These numbers were a surprise to the market, which was expecting more soybean acres. Soybean quarterly stocks were less than expected while quarterly corn stocks were above trade expectations. Grain prices moved up after this report. The Canadian dollar has been on an upswing fluttering in the 77 cent range. •