22 Industry news Kabbes also believes growers are increasingly aware of the implications of job actions. Delays in harvest for export shipping are immediate, while inbound fertilizer has a huge impact, with much of the product shipped “just-in-time,” making it difficult to source fertilizer off-shore in a narrow time frame. HARVEST Considering how wet the growing season began and how it stayed wet through much of mid-summer, the harvest season for Ontario wheat, soybeans, and much of the corn turned out surprisingly well. For Neil Hemingway, market advisor with Broadgrain in Stratford, those yields may be a welcome boon to growers in the short term. However, in the long term, it’s going to be a challenge, especially given production outlooks in other regions of the world, resulting in lower commodity prices. “We have increased supply, more than we expected, and the demand has been cut because of those high prices of recent years because people find alternate buyers, endusers find alternate products to use that takes a while to come back,” adds Hemingway. The advantage for North America is the ability to store grain; growing areas like Brazil and Argentina must move their production at harvest, which typically is the lowest price point in a marketing year. If growers in North America aren’t happy with prices, they store it, says Hemingway. The world knows North America is always here with a “warehouse of ag commodities,” so with geopolitical issues, they’ll go elsewhere and come back here to top up their needs. Kabbes has a similar assessment in terms of the markets and the effects of the harvest. He says commodity corn, soybeans, and wheat are well supplied throughout North America, and the U.S. will be close to having record corn and soybean yields, leading to large carryouts. “It feels as if large crops get bigger, and this year seems to be the same,” says Kabbes, measuring the outcome against conditions earlier in the year. “Many growers were unsure of the amount of crop planted and the condition of that crop to forward contract as normal.” MARKET DEVELOPMENT With the potential for yields in Ontario to reach new heights year-over-year, the need to expand the reach for corn, wheat, and soybeans (as well as oats and barley) is a focus for many, including Grain Farmers of Ontario. Crosby Devitt, CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario, was part of the trade mission to the United Kingdom and the European Union in mid-October and returned with a renewed sense of purpose. He says demand from the EU and U.K. continue to grow, and soybeans and grains’ importance is solidifying and expanding. continued from page 21 PORT OF MONTREAL
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