Oats, other organic crops lacking contracts

By Glen Hallick
Glacier FarmMedia staff

With spring planting barley under way across Canada, a number of organic grains continued to linger without any current bids for old or new crop.

Oats has been chief among them, although Grain Millers of Canada recently acquired a small amount for approximately C$7 per bushel, according to grain procurement manager Scott Shiels in Yorkton, Sask.

He cautioned that the organic oat market in Canada has not fallen apart as others in the business suggested, rather “it’s simply filled with too much” of the cereal grain.

• Read more: Organic price quotes: Late April

“The organic side is not as bad as the conventional, but with a bit of a recession that’s happening, products just aren’t flying off the shelves like they should be,” Shiels commented, noting that less of the cereal will be grown this year in Canada.

Richard Reimer, commodity specialist for Grasslands Brokerage and Consulting in Regina, Sask. concurred.

“A lack of oat contracts can be related to the assumed overabundance being carried over from last year,” he said, but noted the organic producers Grasslands has spoken with were still planning to seed oats this spring.

“Oats have been kind of stroked off the list,” stated Michael Messer of Rein Agri Food in Tisdale, Sask. when speaking of the organic crop.

The world can chew through a lot of oats pretty quick. – Michael Messer

However, he suggested a turnaround for oats was not out of the question.

“The world can chew through a lot of oats pretty quick. Hopefully there’s some center ground where we don’t have everybody quit seeding [organic] oats this year,” Messer surmised.

He added that the flax market has been quiet so far this year as well, as have those for beans and peas, suggesting the problem reaches back two year ago when Western Canada endured a severe drought.

“We are still living through 2021. [It] took out so much seed production from the pedigreed seed growers and such,” he said.

Reimer pointed to buyers, “who have been reluctant with taking any positions this spring due to the effect of above average prices over the last two years and the uncertainty of the economy.”

In Ontario, seeding progress has been slowed by cool temperatures and wet conditions, according to Harro Wehrmann of Wehrmann Grain in Ripley.

“Planting is about a week to 10 days off,” he noted.

Meanwhile, much of the organic market remained very quiet, due to “uncertain times,” Wehrmann said.

He said Ontario organic farmers will press ahead with planting corn and soybeans, despite a lack of available contracts at this time. With most of Ontario’s wheat being the winter varieties, he said very little spring wheat is seeded in the province.