Wheat hits $20 in North Dakota and Minnesota The wheat market moved into historic ground Friday in North Dakota and Minnesota, as short-term demand from mills pushed prices up to $20 a bushel at one elevator in an after-hours scramble. Most elevators in northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota posted prices of $16.70 to $17.30 Friday. posted a bid of $18.25 Friday. But the market was much hotter than that. “After the close, we bought 50,000 bushels of wheat at 20 bucks,” Lokken said. “That’s a million dollars worth of wheat.” The AGP Elevator in Valley City, N.D. buyer on the “floor,” in the Minneapolis Grain Exchange told him late Friday, “Just see what it would take to buy X amount of bushels of wheat,” Lokken said. “So, we went to a few guys and asked, what would you sell wheat at? They said 20 bucks. So we said, if we paid you 20 bucks, would you sell? Some of them did. Amazingly, some of them said they wanted 30.” But much of the wheat this year was sold between $5.50 and $7, Lokken and other elevator managers say. Historic highest price of $20 a bushel for spring wheat is a record, by far, in nominal terms. But if the historic highs reached in 1973, after the Soviet Union’s first big forays into the world market, are adjusted for inflation, the $5 per-bushel price would be roughly $22 a bushel in today’s dollars. He doesn’t think the market has hit the top yet. “We will see what happens,” Lokken said. “I bet you that on Monday, we won’t be the only elevator out there bidding $18, $20.” (GRANDFORKSHERALD)
Via Larry Weber who adds, “Better make sure the phone number in your permit book is up to date so that you can refer to this article when your western Canadian marketer rings you up to ask what price you would sell your remaining wheat for. (Just kidding)”
(You can subscribe to his newsletter at the link.)
Wait for it … Taliban Jack and DeYawn will be calling for a Royal Commission into “Big Wheat”.
Yet another job for our Trojan Horse …Manley?
Well, all I can say is its a good thing we have the Wheat Marketing Board out there working for Canadians. I mean, think of all the beer and popcorn farmers would be getting into with $20 a bushel! The spring planting would be in jeopardy!
./sarc
Link to Larry is borken.
But, But – you aren’t averaging the price on the restituted prices over an “ectomorphic” period coinciding with trends in the socio-economic models availale to the Great CWB.
Thus, if you sell your wheat at 20$ you are actually losing money. If you had sold it at 5$ then you would be better off.
Or so the thinking goes from the various idiots who will still babble on about the greatness of the CWB.
Make that ‘Big Ugly Western Canadian Wheat’.
CWB Director/federal Liberal candidate Rod Flaman will be in his glory having all this izzy munney to redistribute to his favorite Liberal charties.
Hey, who needs a costly Ottawa income tax system to collect tax dollars, and a House of Commons with elected Members of Parlaiment to decide where to spend/redistribute the tax dollars, when a lowly CWB director does it for only $60,000/yr?
Thanks, link fixed.
We have two Canadians working with us, who each came down here to the Great Satan at different times. Both men are from farming backgrounds in Alberta. The fellow who’s been here longest refers to the more recent “frostback” as “The Pool Fool”.
You do not see the “eastern farmer” clammering to join the CWB.
With the dictatorial CWB – supported by the LIEberals under DeYawn – one can continually see why those NOT under the CWB want it to stay. Do you not know that this is one of the ways the LIEberals can punish the west for NOT voting for them – in particular Alberta.
I still believe the Western farmer under the CWB should have a free choice to be under the board or sell their own wheat on the market, if the farmer looses money then it is his/her choice – not the CWB who appeards to be concerned about themselves and not the farmer.
[Remember a few years ago when they gave themselves a$1,000.00 bonus because of job stress – probably the stress of loosing their jobs. While at the same time farmers just get by – I’m sure they could have used that $1,000.00 for job stress also.]
I said it before and will say it again:
“Either force ALL farmers to be under the CWB or dismantel the board. Ont. and Que. farmers will never do it because within two weeks the CWB would be history.”
come on now this is canada. canadians in the majority are liberal socialists. they would sooner lose money or give it to the goverment than breathe.
How long can farmers carry on borrowing against their land base to keep farming. One question to all you people that think farmers get govt. help all the time. How many of you non-farm people would borrow against your house so you could keep your present job? Think about it, that is what farms and ranches have to do all the time, and the only way they are getting ahead is through land price inflation. The wheat board is a detestable communist organization that should be instantly disbanded, let the private sector market the grains, LIKE IN ONTARIO AND QUEBEC. If a farmer wants to use the wheat board, [which is akin to bending over without KY jelly], let him, but if he wants to market privately let him. Liberal skim fund is all it is, OPEN THE BOOKS on the Wheat Board if it is so wonderful!
If you truly want to know how great the CWB is, all you have to do is poll all the 20 something farmers you know. A great business like farming, with an important ally like the CWB on your side, one would assume that our young men would be falling over themselves to start making real money right out of high school.
I myself can think of 3 people under 30 who are farming right now. I know considerably more farmers in their 60s and 70s, including my own father, who do not have anyone wanting to take over the farm.
How many Ontario farmers have gone to jail to protest not being able to sell their wheat for less through the CWB?
I believe timing is right for the CWB to become a major election issue. Can you picture dopey Dejone splaining to Canadians why western farmers should be happy to receive half what American farmers receive for a bushel of wheat.
The good old CWB. Love it,hate it,or don’t care about it. I’m a believer in the dual market concept and a supporter of open borders with the US.
My thinking is that the role of the CWB should be converted from a monopoly wheat player to being another grain company. What the grain farmers need is more competition on the selling end and if the Board is so great let them compete for all the farmer’s grain not just wheat.
“But much of the wheat this year was sold between $5.50 and $7, Lokken and other elevator managers say.”
In other words: While I am not able to hit the super price high…. most others who have the opportunity didn’t either.
And in fact I am actually getting more than quote: “much of the wheat this year” in the US.
Tell me all you economically minded people. Is the $5.50-7 that much of the grain was sold at this year (by people with the potential to get $20) more or less than the $13.50 in the PRO?
So far you are doing a wonderful job of convincing me that I am missing out. *rolls eyes*
Barcs, have you checked our PRO’S lately? As of Jan.24, the CWB pros for #1-13.5 protein is $8.14, a far cry from $20.00. By the way, I still am holding 100% of my wheat!
[quote]OPEN THE BOOKS on the Wheat Board [/quote]
Bartinsky,
What do you mean! Do they not audit the BOOKS? Hmm Canada is/was a colony.. do you think the Queen may STILL be skimming her share in the background, or the product is part of a UK barter agreement. The price argument pales in comparison to that of a board functioning behind a hidden agenda.
Normally books that are not open to Audit belong to Organized Crime.
Kate had an article here a few years ago where a certian mining company ceo who was a personal friend of the then prime minister handled if I remember right almost 700,000 bushels of grain through the port of Churchill, that answers your question Phillip G. Shaw, nothing to do with the Queen but a lot to do with certian Liberals. Now is the first time in thirty plus years this country is not being run to the benifit of a certian family from Quebec, lets go all the way and give PMSH a majority so he can rid us of the rest of the Liberal money skimming schemes. Canadian Wheat Board, HRDC, gun control, Indian affairs, immigration, oh wait, my perverted cousin does like those foreign strippers who Judy Skrooed brings in. Like a Calgary bumper sticker said, Liberals make me puke.
An historic thing happened in North Dakota this year.
The state run wheat mill is going to accept Canadian wheat for the first time since 1922.
Here is today’s article from the Bismarck Tribune (it was also reported a while ago in the NP’s financial section special on commodities):
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2008/02/05/news/state/148140.txt
If the CWB is such a great idea, then make ALL grain farmers yield under it’s yoke. From sea to sea, everybody that grows any type of grain be subject to its monopoly. How well of an election issue will THAT be in Ontario and Quebec? Not very, i can tell you that much. One law, one country. I just can’t believe that this current disparity has gone on this long without a real revolt?
Its gone on this long because apathetic farmers have long assumed that the CWB was accountable to them for getting the highest price possible for their wheat and barley. No such accountability exists, to the farmers, nor to government with the CWB’s open defiance of efforts to institute market choice for farmers who voted 62% in favour of it.
A 5% discount in prices is hard to see, especially with grade differentials and payments spaced out over 18 months, but recent huge price discrepancies are an elephant in room.
lesm. I did.
And I used the numbers for Durum like Mr. Weber did. Your HRSW numbers are correct tho 🙂
“Normally books that are not open to Audit belong to Organized Crime.” I assume by organized crime you mean government. Because there have been several government audits in the past not to mention yearly audited statements by an accountant. You are just annoyed that a standalone business doesn’t open its customer lists, pricing information and sales data to you.
Actually barcs, there has never been an independent financial audit of the CWB’s books.
In 2000 there was a “review of the CWB’s accounting and reporting systems, as well as a broader examination to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of CWB management practices.”
Assessing efficiencies in no way constitutes an financial audit. Anyone who tells you it is, has something to hide.
Direct quote out of article – in case anyone missed it…
Yes Banachek, commissioned in 2000, done over most of a year finishing June 2001 and the report released in 2002.
Farmers for justice give a fairly accurate if slanted overview (one could call them journalists) for anyone looking for a starting point for research.
You are correct. The audit was not about whether they hit the high points but rather as you point out whether they were doing the job and how well they were doing it.
“The scope of the special audit included governance, strategic planning, performance measurement and reporting, marketing, grain transportation, financial operations, communications and corporate policy, information technology and price pooling.”
It was not about pricing, or sifting through balance sheets. Audited financial statements ARE done every year by an accounting firm as is required by every corporation (including non-profits)
It is an important exercise in every company to gain those efficiencys.
A deeper third party audit?? Sure. If you want. But not if you want the information released into the public. While the public could be considered owners of the company, disseminating sensitive information like pricing, customer deals etc etc is something that should never enter the public domain.
No company can successfully compete while opening their books to competitors.
I don’t expect the books to be open to competitors, and an independant auditor wouldn’t have to disclose sensitive information, but they should at least be allowed to have a good look to determine if there was any hanky panky going on.
An internal audit doesn’t cut it. I’m sure that Al Capone had internal audits done too.
Barcs you are the stupidest f..k I have ever seen post anything.