Organic crop harvests complete

By Adam Peleshaty
Glacier FarmMedia staff

The month of October is usually when harvesting operations come to a close for conventional crops in Western Canada and organic crops are no different.

While yields from organic crop harvests in 2021 were severely reduced due to drought conditions, this year’s harvests were a return to more typical production numbers.

“Harvests are really good so far. Quality has been really good. Yields on the organic side are considerably better than last year. A lot of the guys have average to above-average crops, yield-wise,” Scott Shiels, grain procurement manager at Grain Millers Inc. in Yorkton, Sask. said.

He also cited cereal crops and flax as examples of crops with good quality and yields.

“I think production is going to be ample. There’s good supply going this year…(It’s been a) good production year for the farmer and prices are still relatively strong. It should be a good year,” he added.

However, Jason Breault, elevator manager and grain buyer for RW Organic in Mossbank, Sask. rated crops from “bad” to “really good.”

Both yield and quality were worse than last year. – Jason Breault

“Some people had poor crops (due to) grasshoppers and gophers…Overall, I think we’re going to be close to average, maybe not quite,” he added.

“Both yield and quality were worse than last year. We got in some lots that were extremely dirty and yields were very poor in western Saskatchewan where most organic lentils are grown,” said Peter Jansen, commodity trader for Arjazon Seed Trading in Fort MacLeod, Alta.

Price premiums for organic crops have maintained their levels for the most part, according to Shiels and Breault, as organic price movement lags behind declines for conventional crops.

Breault added that the demand for organic crops hasn’t been overwhelming this fall.

“It’s still spotty. (Calls keep) coming, but they’re not looking for 10 months (of product). They want a couple of months at a time,” he said. “It’s going steady, but it’s not surplus.”

Bill Longman, a Saskatoon-based grain merchandiser for Sunrise Foods International, said demand for organic crops is “stable” after an increase earlier this fall. He also said buyers and growers were both tentative on the markets due to high prices and less supply.

“I think the market is functioning right now. People are buying and selling and it seems to be working at the moment,” he said, adding that most organic price premiums have seen slight increases.

With new crop oats and wheat already being bought up, Longman anticipates prices for those crops to come down over the next few months.

The supply and demand seem to be on the level. It doesn’t seem to be lopsided one way or another. – Jason Breault

Meanwhile, Breault expects demand for organic crops over the next few months to stay pretty much the same.

“I believe it will be status quo. I think there will be enough demand but it won’t be a crazy amount. The supply and demand seem to be on the level. It doesn’t seem to be lopsided one way or another. I believe it will stay fairly stable when it comes to pricing,” he said.

Shiels also believes pricing for organic crops won’t change too much, even under the spectre of an upcoming recession.

“I think even with some recessionary models starting to occur in the United States, we’re likely to see organic demand stay stable,” he said.

“When you start to see a recession-type scenario playing out is that people have less discretionary income to spend, the first thing they stop spending on is those premium food products. We’ve seen in the past that when there’s been an economic scenario like we’re in right now, (demand) didn’t drop off but it didn’t increase. I think it’s the same situation now like it was in 2008.”

In Ontario, temperatures reaching as high as 20 degrees Celsius have aided harvests.

We’ve seen really dry weather in the summer and that had an impact on yields in some areas. – Rob Wallbridge

Ninety per cent of soybeans were already harvested as of Oct. 28, while the corn harvest is underway, according to Rob Wallbridge, agronomy sales lead for SureSource Commodities in Petrolia, Ont.

“We haven’t seen any quality issues yet. The yields are highly variable. Down in southwestern Ontario, we’ve seen really dry weather in the summer and that had an impact on yields in some areas,” he added. “In places where we’ve had rain, yields were in accordance with the long-term average.”

Wallbridge added that demand and prices for organic crops have been “steady” with buyers not yet committing to larger purchases, waiting on future market activity and macroeconomic factors.

“(Some) farmers are taking advantage of good prices at harvest and others are holding back crop and waiting to see what happens. It depends on their current situation,” he said.