The transition from the closed to open wheat and barley market has gone very smoothly, of that most will agree. Sales have gone through, prices have been strong and the hiccups have been relatively minor. Earlier this week, several market analysts, grain buyers and farmers converged on downtown Winnipeg for Wild Oats Grainworld, a conference that used to be the CWB’s main outlook sessions of the year.
The conference line up covered much more than just wheat and barley, as canola, flax, corn and soybeans shared the spotlight, and the discussions surrounding the cereal crops were decidedly different than has historically been the case. Of particular note, conference attendees heard from more than one wheat merchandiser, analyst or end-user that inferred that the supposed holy grail of Western Canadian wheat — high protein hard red spring — was perhaps not the heavily sought after product it had been made out to be for so many years.
In this video, Doug Hilderman, a VP with NorAg Resources, shares his thoughts on the opportunities that exist for the smaller classes of wheat, and why he feels some farmers can stop trying to chase high protein premiums that may never materialize.
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