Crop that Performs Best in Variable Weather Conditions

[redbaron]

Is the shine off growing winter wheat thanks in part to what the CWB has done and the removal of KVD. The futures show about a 10 cent per bushel spread between the Dec month in Minneapolis hard wheat and Kansas Winter wheat. If you check the difference in CWB pricing - the basis there is roughly a 60 cent difference today -Dec. With KVD now not an issue with hard wheat classes I am finding that some of the newer American wheat varieties also some Canadian are producing yields very close to winter wheat. Newer varieties will be coming Thanks to the basis and pricing out there it is not as enticing as it once was to grow winter wheat. I have been growing winter wheat for over a dozen years. I am not seeding any this year. I am also noticing a lot of my neighbours cutting back big time this fall. We all have land ready to go. I have no desire to give the board an extra $35-$40/acre and earlier in the year close to $80. For what. There has always been a spread but never this big. Earlier in the year when we could have priced some product with futures much stronger we had winter wheat basis over a buck a bushel higher than hard wheat. Almost seems they are trying to claw back their losses from last year on the backs of the winter wheat producers.

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie,

Must agree with JDGreen.

Canola is a weed... and is amazing in how it will take late rains... given some frost free time... and finish off with a big comeback.

Later seeded crops were the big winners with the extra weeks tagged on the end of the growing season! Some peas will beat the earlier seeded wheat hands down in yeild.

[charliep]

Question was based on the discussion about biotech and a world of highly
variable weather like the last 8 to 10 years in Canada. Perhaps this will be
a factor in breeding programs in the future. A start on this road may be
to ask what works today both in Canada and in other regions around the
world that produce similar crops.