Lentil Prices

[sparki]

mustardman
disagree with your assessment. canada grossly overproduced lentils in 2005 and that surplus is still affecting the markets today
read some of the comments back in January regading the senselessness of a lentil marketing board.

Sparki

[mustardman]

Sparki read study done by Marlene Boerch on this issue she had done for Sask Pulse. I think its available on their website.

Sure we overpoduced lentils in some years but our "compeititors" were getting twice the price as what we were selling for.

[charliep]

mustardman

Just curious as to what your business model would look like? Compulsory or volunteery? Price pooling option only?
Supply controls? All lentils? Would the CWB guarantee to take full delvery of all lentils that are by the end of a crop year?

More interesting to me, how would you integrate the existing supply chain into model? What say would they have?

The are issues in the Canadian lentil market. I not sure a CLB (Canadian Lentil Bureaucracy) is the answer.

[TOM4CWB]

Mustardman,

Did you take the time to read and study:

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/DryBeans/PDFs/DPLOutlook.pdf

IF a reasonable person, with a normal fundemental understanding of Ag marketing studied this document... another county, another different group of marketers and relationships...

AND a totally different marketing history than that of western Canada... a history that predates our own by decades... a history predicated on personal relationships, quality, disciplined marketing...

And the last 3 years are the same on both sides of the US Border.

You do a great disservice to those who work so hard to skimp, scrounge, and extract every last cent out of our system to return to W. CDN Pulse growers!

By far the majority have been honest, & dealt with growers with respect & integrety...

Please, what more can we expect?

If a pulse board were to contract supply, the US growers would simply expand production. IT WOULD NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM... unless the US, CA, and AU growers did it together... and controled production.

[TOM4CWB]

Mustardman,

Here is some of the info, I can't get the tables into this format:

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/DryBeans/PDFs/DPLOutlook.pdf

I note; THe US has not been squalking about Canadian marketers blowing apart Their US markets... nor have I heard CDN Marketers say US folks killed their markets. Market Arbitage has been consistant, transparent, and generally efficient. This runs contrary to what Mustardmans diatribe expresses.

Dry Peas and Lentils
Acreage May Decline But Production Could Rise
The market situation for dry peas and lentils is similar to that of dry beans. Despite
relatively attractive prices and revenue possibilities for peas and lentils, many
producers may find potential returns stronger this spring for other crops. As a
result, given average weather conditions and current price relationships, area
planted to both dry edible peas and lentils is expected to decline about one tenth
from a year earlier. Most of this projected decline is expected to be centered in the
upper Midwest, where competition with crops such as spring wheat (including
durum) is likely to be intense. Even with these reductions in planted area, output of
both peas and lentils is expected to increase under the assumption that yields return
to their long-term averages from last year’s weather-reduced levels.
The acreage situation in traditional Western growing areas, which tend to be largely
concentrated on food-grade markets, may be a bit different. In these areas, acreage
changes are expected to be much more subdued. In fact, with food-grade farm
prices now well above both loan rates and year-earlier levels (and continuing to rise), some increase in acreage (particularly for dry peas) is not out of the question in the Palouse. In early February, grower bids for dry peas (both green and yellow)
were running about 50 percent above the lows of a year earlier with the market
continuing to push higher. If pea and lentil prices continue to strengthen relative to other crops, acreage changes could be moderated this spring. The first USDA estimate of 2007 acreage for dry peas and lentils will be released in the Prospective
Plantings report on March 30.
Crop Value Down in 2006/07
Based on preliminary estimates of season average prices, the value of all U.S. dry pea and lentil production (excluding marketing loans) totaled $121 million in 2006/07—down 10 percent from a year earlier. All dry pea (dry peas, Austrian winter peas, wrinkled seed peas, and small chickpeas) crop value rose 4 percent to
$85 million as reduced production was outweighed by higher prices. The value of lentil output dropped 33 percent to $36 million as a smaller crop outweighed a slight gain in the estimated season-average price. With large carryover stocks from the 2005/06 crop, lentil prices only increased 1 percent despite a 37-percent
reduction in production.
Figure 8
U.S. dry peas and lentils: Acres planted,
1990 was 270,000
2006 was 1,400,000
2007 est 1,200,000

July-December Export Volume Down 8 Percent
U.S. export volume (including food aid) of all dry peas and lentils (excluding seed)
fell 8 percent during the first 6 months (July-December) of the 2006/07 crop year to 6.48 million cwt. Although lentil exports dropped 43 percent (despite a sizeable shipment to Cuba in August) and miscellaneous dry peas also fell heavily, dry green
and yellow pea volume continued to surge higher during the first half of the crop year. Green pea volume benefited from a large shipment (31 million pounds) to Cuba in October. Despite high prices, chickpea export volume rose 9 percent as a
larger U.S. crop, strong world demand, and the weaker dollar aided exporters.
Exports of dry yellow peas, which are coming off a record-high last year, have
already exceeded the 2005/06 crop year total thanks to good supplies and strong
food aid demand. With higher prices offsetting strong food aid demand and the weak dollar, overseas movement of U.S. dry peas and lentils is expected to weaken in the coming months.

[TOM4CWB]

CP;

You said: "Tom to bad you dont know anything about growing lentils."

After establishing a great production coverage on crop insurance, & Selling lentils for $.12-.26/lb... in the early 90's... yes in recent years we stopped growing them.

There are easier less risky crops to grow... that net more profit.

ESPECIALLY NOW that the market is oversupplied... and for so long the alternative feed market @$.06/lb was a very BAD alternative!

CP, am I intimidated by your shallow words? How much respect on other subjects you expound upon... are you gaining by displaying this arrogant behaviour?

[cottonpicken]

Sorry tom i wasnt aware northern alberta farmers had much experience with them,I apologize.

However in the south they kick the shit out of peas.

[lakenheath]

cp

Time for you to grow up. You add little value to threads when you make statements like lentils kick the *&%^% out of peas in the south. I farm in the south there CP so speak for yourself. Yes, lentils have had some good years and so have peas. It is a balancing act. Tom is just giving his perspective on what is going on now.

Why are you so high strung and defensive. You come across as a very unintelligent person. Smarten up.

[TOM4CWB]

Lakenheath!

Now you are being unfair!

It is so easy to punch a few keys out... hit send... and then we can't take it back!

Kind of like words coming out of our mouths when speaking...isn't it! Can't take them back!

Good practice though... as we then understand what we say (or write) stays in peoples minds... recorded in memory just like Agri-ville threads!

No PROBLEMO!

Apology accepted CP! No hard feelings!

God Bless Canada!

[mustardman]

Charliep
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, was off to Saskatoon for a couple of days.
Wouldn't mind having some of the snow they have up there.(We have only a skiff)
Anyways I don't know if a CLB would work or how it could be setup involving todays players. I don't know if it would work.

But I do know that Canada is acting more as a price taker than a price setter,when it should have the ability to act as the price setter in this market.

Marlene Boersch in her report also says that" there are various tools available that would help the industry escape the 'commodity trap' and position itself to work with derived markets Instead of Cost-Plus pricing.

Examples she gives:
1. Producer cooperative-to determine the supply-flow and set a floor price.

2. Loan Program-to gaurantee a minimum price to farmers and to provide interim financing on eligible production by using the loan program options.
3. Marketing Club- to develop strong international market intelligence to give advice and marketing recommendations to growers."


I think option #2 is the reason the US pulse industry has grown so fast.But good luck in getting a Canadian Govt to have a long term ag policy.