Canola and soybean growers in Western Canada are now able to get in on Cargill’s ProPricing grain marketing program for the 2017-18 season.
The U.S. agrifood company’s Winnipeg-based Canadian arm announced Sept. 14 it would offer its first-ever canola contract in its ProPricing portfolio, allowing eligible growers to hand off a portion of their canola marketing to Cargill traders.
ProPricing, previously available to corn, soybean and wheat growers in the U.S. and Ontario, was first offered in the western provinces in 2015 to growers of hard red spring wheat.
The program also expands this year to include soybean contracts for growers in Western Canada, and expands its wheat contract options in the West to include InventoryPro, an option made available earlier to corn, soy and wheat growers in Ontario.
ProPricing is billed as “allow(ing) growers to put a portion of their marketing in the hands of Cargill’s professional traders.”
Under the program, a farmer commits a percentage of his or her bushels to ProPricing, in which the committed crop is then marketed by Cargill traders, “but we make sure you remain in control throughout the marketing season.”
ProPricing, Cargill said, gives the grower control over the basis, allowing him or her to set the basis before the month prior to the delivery period and “take advantage of an attractive basis when it’s available.”
The grower also has the option to price out of a ProPricing contract each week, for “ultimate control over how long you stay in the market,” Cargill said.
In Western Canada, for example, a grower can price out wheat and/or canola on Wednesdays from 3 to 5 p.m. CT, and price out soybeans on Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. CT, at the current market value for the pricing period.
The grower is responsible for informing the company of his or her intent to price out.
“We price the farmer’s grain alongside our own,” Joe Christianson, Cargill’s Canadian merchandising lead, said in a release.
“As the company with the largest canola crushing capacity in Canada, as well as global reach into many export markets, Cargill is in a unique position to read global trends and trade.”
Prairie growers who commit a portion of their crop marketing to ProPricing “not only benefit from the trading of the contract itself, but also the expert insights shared by Cargill’s team,” he said.
In Western Canada, canola, soy and wheat growers have until Dec. 15 this year to enroll crop in ProPricing.
For corn, soy and wheat growers in Ontario, the deadline is Dec. 20; an early enrollment period ended on Sept. 5. Price-out periods for Ontario growers run Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. CT.
More information on the western and Ontario programs is available on the company’s website. — AGCanada.com Network
