Opportunity?

[sumdumguy]

How does the elevator compare to Alan Johnston's offers. I haven't had time to look for a couple of weeks.

[oneoff]

Ask yourself (as a farmer, and as someone's neighbor, and as a real businessman) if you really need a few extra cents as a "special".....or if everyone in the farming business needs several dollars more...and not just when you (and those with the same mindset) are suffer through depressed prices until you are 100% sold out. And by that time enough of next years crop has been committed and contracted at prices that will barely cover costs if there is anything but another bumper crop that "everyone" aims for. We'll even extend ourselves to depress prices further by pouring on extra "groceries" to make sure it a big production surplus and the price cycle lasts for years or decades.

Then go do what you always do and take their measly few extra cents because you need the cashflow; can't afford the market dicipline so necessary and no one else is looking out for you but yourself.

[wmoebis]

If they need canola, what is their elevator full of? Why would they order cars for something they don't have in store?
Can't imagine the elevator is sitting there empty.

[SASKFARMER3]

Tell them its 10 and they pick up or nothing.
They screwed us all last winter it wasn't just the railways.
Plus the invisible bumper from 2013.

[Hopalong]

Have heard of cases and also had it happen to us where we held out for higher price and eventually sold for lower prices, sometimes with spoilage loss.
Making a buyer meet your price only works sometimes.

[Braveheart]

So is this special people are referring to actually a strengthened basis? How else do elevator companies encourage delivery? What other signal would they use? Stop lights? Word of mouth? Permit books with quotas that close in a day?

Farmers that happened to do futures first might do do well when these opportunities arise. Some might need cash flow or bin space and here's an opportunity that is paying them to deliver.

[charliep]

Just curious the price or better yet, the basis they offered you. Strange how this conversation has occurred without anyone asking about price.

My starting point to making this decision. I guess also the question about what sales you need to make this fall to meet cash flow/bin space challenges and the other crops you have available to sell. A final comment what other marketing tools are you willing to use to participate in any rallies that may occur in futures.

[oneoff]

Keep loking at the small ME ME ME picture.

Is that all that will ever matter.

[charliep]

If $8.46 is the price ($375/tonne), the basis is about $20 under. Wouldn't get me overly excited.

[oneoff]

Sure we can all remember the exact bins that spoiled twenty years ago.

The real serious profit money that never seems to materialize often; never comes year after year hoping to just break even, or dealing with producing at a net loss.

Just because you think it is out of your control (or maybe actually largely is) doesn't mean we all shouldn't be actively trying to rectify that core problem.