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The Rural Voice, 1989-07, Page 18PURE WATER POR AMERICA ww Ga.b P &....au O.&...w.cww For service call your professional Goulds dealer for a reliable water system. CLIFF's PLUMBING & HEATING Lucknow 519-528-3913 "Our experience assures lower cost water wells" 89 YEARS EXPERIENCE Member of Canadian and Ontario Water Well Associations • Farm • Industrial • Suburban • Municipal Licensed by the Ministry of the Environment DAVIDSON WELL DRILLING LTD. WINGHAM Serving Ontario Since 1900 519-357-1960 WINGHAM 519-886-2761 WATERLOO 16 THE RURAL VOICE GRAIN MARKETS June 21, 1989 — Grain markets started to become volatile over the past month and this is likely to continue for the next few weeks. In fact, the markets ofJune 19 and 20 may be just a sampling of what is to come. With hot, dry weather in the forecast, small specula- tors flocked to the market, with the re- sults showing most corn up the 10 -cent limit on the 19th. On the 20th, markets backed off somewhat. Market motion like this will certainly give producers the opportunity to price out their crops during the summer. CORN Corn futures dropped earlier in June because of general rain over the corn belt, but recovered quickly. In fact, corn futures rose more than 20 cents/bu in five trading days. Because of very wet conditions throughout the spring in Ohio and part of Indiana, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 mil- lion acres intended for corn will likely be planted to soybeans. This drop in corn acreage will continue to be of con- cern to traders and will help to keep the market relatively firm. If the weather provides ideal grow- ing conditions throughout the summer, futures could potentially drop to the $2.20 to $2.25/bu area at harvest, but there will likely be good strength in the market before that time. Basis levels in Ontario have re- mained relatively flat for corn in Ontario because of the willingness of producers to sell. In fact, there was never any shortage of corn supplies during the month of May relative to usage. Elevators have bids of 80 cents over July futures in the southwest to 95 cents over July in Huron and Perth counties. Ontario farm bids are in the $1.00 to $1.05 range over July futures. SOYBEANS Soybean futures also took a tumble in mid-June but quickly recovered when hot dry weather was projected into the picture. Futures rose 50 to 60 cents in five trading days and we will likely see this kind of erratic movement over the next few weeks. However, unlike corn, the fundamental factors regarding soy- beans are reversed. Corn stocks are still relatively large compared to usage but slightly fewer acres than projected will be planted. But soybean stocks are fairly tight, while planted acreage should be higher than first planned. Soybeans in Ontario are now all priced against November futures with old crop elevator basis at $1.60 + No- vember and new crop at 70 to 85 cents over November. Ontario farm bids are $1.85 over November, which shows a fairly strong demand for the remaining stocks in Ontario, while new crop on- farm bids are 80 to 85 cents over No- vember. The old crop bids may seem to have improved immensely, but with the July/November inverse running from 60 to 90 cents it leaves the basis rela- tively flat but strong. FEED GRAIN Western barley prices have fluctu- ated by about $12/mt over the past month and are now at about $136/mt FOB terminals. Ontario barley is begin- ning to show up and is trading in the $130/mt range FOB farm. Evidently, moisture conditions have been good across most of the prairies. What effect the slightly lower acreage combined with good growing conditions will have remains to be seen, but the outcome will be reflected in prices for Ontario barley. Feed oat prices have fallen to less than $160/mt as oats continue to come out of the prairies. Good Ontario oats are trading in the $150 to $180/mt range, with new crop oats trading at around $130 to $135/mt. It has been announced that effective August 1, 1989 no import permits will be required to import U.S.- grown oats. However, keep in mind that the U.S. is an importer of oats rather than an exporter, so the result will be a better balance within the North American market. Keep your eyes open for pricing op- portunities this summer and take advan- tage of any good strength in the market.0 This information is taken from reliable sources, but accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. Dave Gordon is a grain merchandiser with London Agricultural Commodities, Inc. in Hyde Park, Ont., 519-473-9333 or 1-800-265-1885.