Big organic yields in the field but quality a concern

By Jade Markus
OrganicBiz staff

Grains

Heavy volumes are keeping a lid on organic grain prices, one trader says, but wet growing regions mean strong demand for high-protein crops.

“There’s still plenty of old-crop out there, new-crop is coming off with large volumes,” said Eric Fast, who is in charge of grain procurement and logistics with Nature’s Organic Grist in Forest Lake, Minnesota.

The quality of Canada’s grains remains “a big question mark,” ahead of harvest, said Laura Telford, organic crop specialist at Manitoba Agriculture.

We’re going to have a bumper crop of wheat, but until the spring wheat is harvested we’re not going to know whether we have enough high quality wheat for milling. – Laura Telford

Crops in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the best Telford has seen, based on a crop tour of 10 organic farms in early August.

Since then, there has been increased reports of disease-pressure, notably fusarium.

“It could be a challenge meeting grade for wheat,” Telford said.

“We’re going to have a bumper crop of wheat, but until the spring wheat is harvested we’re not going to know whether we have enough high quality wheat for milling.”

It’s a similar situation in global conventional markets.

“Conventional kind of rubs off onto the organic,” said Alberto Mario DeLogu, a trader with Petrolia, Ontario-based Field Farms Marketing Ltd.

Parts of Europe, most notably France, produced a poor quality crop, and which is driving demand for high protein milling wheat.

“As far as durum, that would be southern Europe, they never really came up with these fantastic protein levels, so I guess they have to wait for the Canadian crop for that,” DeLogu said.

Pulses

Disease and quality-concerns from excess moisture are also underpinning pulse markets, despite an increase in seeded area.

“In organic, rain is even more of a challenge because pulses are really not competitive with weeds,” Telford said.

Canadian organic producers are believed to have planted more acres this year, but Telford is not sure if that will be reflected in production.

“It’ll be interesting to see how many pulses we actually get with the disease,” she said.

Last year, large green lentils dictated price trends for specialty lentils, DeLogu said.

“The large green lentils are kind of the queen of the lentils, and I think they still are, with all other specialty lentils following suit,” he said.

Yellow pea prices have gained momentum and have broken out of their traditional price trajectory, and in some cases are more expensive than green peas, DeLogu said. “Up to a couple years ago they were a little lower,” he said.

Yellow peas are sometimes substituted for soybeans, as they have a similar protein grade for feed and food purposes.

“When the price of soybeans goes up the demand is lower, or they just can’t afford it, then peas are the next choice,” DeLogu said.

Special crops

Flax, hemp and mustard prices are probably the steadiest out of all the organic markets, said Telford.

That’s been a trend for a couple years, she said, as strong demand keeps prices supported and stable.

However, mustard is the most vulnerable of the special crops to price fluctuations, since the market is the smallest.

Golden flax prices are trending higher this summer, compared with year-ago levels, as fewer people planted it after difficulty selling last year.

“Now it’s back up again,” Telford said. “It’s just one of those cyclical things.”