(Resource News International) — A stronger-than-average Canadian wheat export program in April and May has prompted the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) to urge continued deliveries of No. 1 and 2 Canadian Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat throughout May despite spring seeding.
“We are looking to get grain in so that we can satisfy sales to all of our major customers,” said Maureen Fitzhenry, media relations manager for the CWB.
“A high volume of sales have been made that have pushed our April and May export program significantly above average levels,” the board said on its website. “Regular deliveries of accepted high-quality CWRS and CWAD are needed to fulfil these commitments.”
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The campaign to encourage deliveries of No. 1 and 2 CWRS began three weeks ago in anticipation of farmers becoming busy with seeding and having less time for deliveries, the CWB’s Mark Thibault said.
“This year, due to our large crop and our large export program and the fact that we’ve sold so much, we need to find a way to alleviate that normal big drop-off in deliveries,” Thibault said.
“We’re anticipating that things could get difficult and we just want to make farmers aware that if there is any way that they could deliver, that we are really going to need it,” he added.
Farmers respond to these sorts of calls by the CWB as best they can, Thibault said.
A similar call was made last year for durum and it was successful, with the CWB able to influence how much came into the system. It was able, as a result, to meet its export commitments, he said.
However, Brian Wittal of Pro Com Marketing in Alberta believes it will be difficult to pull producers away from spring seeding.
There is not much that can be done about the CWB needing deliveries right now because there are customers who want wheat in the spring and the system doesn’t encourage storage, Wittal added.
If supplies are brought in earlier, storage prices get quite high. As a result, the board is trying to bring things in on an as-needed basis, he said.
“But with it being spring, with road bans, seeding and everything else, guys often don’t want haul grain right now. They say, ‘To heck with it, things can wait now,'” Wittal said.
Also, “the producers know the price that they’re going to get for their grain, so what is the extra incentive for them to take the extra time to haul grain?” he asked.
