Farmers plant more wheat as prices hit record highs

Winterkill excludes farmers east of Brockville.

GUELPH - Ontario farmers are planting a lot of winter wheat to cash in on record high prices.

"This is the biggest year for wheat that I've seen in my 22 years here," said Larry Hutchinson, of Tri-County Agromart in Trenton. "Guys are going gung-ho in wheat. A number of farmers have bumped up acreage of wheat by 300 to 400 acres."

Hutchinson knows two farmers who planted more than 2,000 acres if wheat before the end of September. Despite the price spike, not all of the eastern Ontario can cash in. Few farmers east of Brockville are increasing acreage as their perennial concern is that wheat has difficulty surviving the winter.

"Wheat prices hit an all time high this week," reported Erin Fletcher, stakeholder relations manager for the Ontario Wheat Producers' Marketing Board on Sept. 14.  It was the 16th time a record high price was announced by wheat futures market since June. But the price kept climbing at the Chicago Board of Trade after that, hitting just over US $ 9 per bushel in late September. Wheat prices doubled since April on both sides of the Atlantic after a dry spring turned into a wet early summer, hampering the outlook for crops. Russia is considering an export duty because of dwindling supplies.

World-wide tight supply and local dry weather for planting is big encouragement for local farmers.

"You've got to get the beans off to get the wheat in but the weather has been great for that," Hutchinson said. While farmers there typically have until mid-October to plant wheat, farmers in Kawartha Lakes have until the end of October, said Lindsay area agronomist Neil Moore. "Planting intentions are very high," offered OMAFRA crop specialist Joel Bagg.

Expect a 5 cent to 10 cent price increase in bread, crackers and donuts, Fletcher said.

The good news for farmers was a long time in coming. "Wheat farmers have seen their input costs rise continuously over the last 10 years while commodity prices have remained at 1970s levers," Fletcher says. "As an illustration, a 450 gram box of crackers in 1981 cost consumers $ 1.26 and 6 % (or 8 cents) went to the farmer. In 2005, the same box of crackers cost $ 2.01 but farmers received only 4 % (or 7 cents)."

There is no doubt that record prices will have a huge affect on Ontario. "This will mean more money for the rural economy and more local wheat to reduce food miles to Ontario consumers," Fletcher says.  Consumers should "view the reports of price increases for world farm commodities for what they really are - a cause for celebration and hope in rural Ontario."