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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1997-08-13, Page 23Bean Festiva!, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 1997 — Page 11A The market Producers try to out- guess weather, prices FROM PREVIOUS PAGE which was fraught with untimely precipitation when producers had desiccated crops to ready the beans for harvest," Huzevka wrote. It turns out that not only is the soy bean more marketable right now, but also stands up to the wet fall weather better. Huzevka points out that while white bean producers have planted only 75 per cent of the acres they did in 1996, land devoted to soy beans•in Ontario will top 2.4 million acres — a record. So, the demand so far in 1997 for white beans has not been what was expected as carryover and a "chronic weakness in white pea bean demand" has forced the marketing board into a less -than -aggressive stance. And Huzevka•remains cautious about what is to come. • "In spite of weakening old crop values, (the) new crop has remained relatively stable but may also suffer from old crop fundamentals in the short, term," he wrote. Meanwhile, John Thompson Jr. acknowledges the challenges facing the industry in Ontario, but notes it could change very quickly. As marketing manager for W.G. Thompson and Sons Limited — which operates elevators across the . province, including Hensall, and buys and sells white beans — he notes that increases in the West have made up for the Ontario clawback, but isn't counting on that trend con- tinuing. While he was expecting the bullish soy bean market to turn out to be a blip in the spectrum, the three-year run has had more of an impact on the industry than was forecast. "The soy beans have been a hard crunch to us," Thompson said. "A When salivating over white beans in this rather tasty state at the Bean Festival, it's easy to forget the marketing and strategy it takes Just to get them out of the field. lot of growers switched aver ... it's a new generation of growers and they want more marketing options." But there is reason to be optimistic. After last year's tough harvest, he expects the fewer acres this year — under better growing conditions and hopeful for a favorable fall —will produce comparable Ontario yields as those in 1996. And while Western provinces have picked up the slack in national acreage numbers for now, those areas of the country are also more susceptible to frost with their shorter growing season. Meanwhile in the U.S.. Michigan producers have had similar troubles as in Ontario and haven't benefitted from the shortfalls in Canada. "Tomorrow the whole table could turn." Thompson said. "It looks today like there's a lot of production. but no one can really say for sure."