Donald
Teuma-Castelletti
SHAWVILLE Feb. 15, 2018
A guest speaker to the Little Red Wagon Winery brought some hard, business-focused lessons for grain farmers at a workshop last week, in the hopes that they can maximize selling their grain for the most coin.
At the Secrets to Successful Grain Marketing workshop, speaker Jean-Philippe Boucher spoke directly to a room of just over 20 farmers from the Pontiac and beyond, stressing the importance of knowing their buyers’ basis and helping the group understand prices and markets further.
Though fog delayed the arrival and start time of Boucher, the first portion of the day was focused on understanding market prices. In this bit, he reiterated that the farmers should always know their buyer’s basis, in order to get the most cash for their crop.

“The right question is of the basis – not the final price,” said Boucher to the group during the workshop.
Basis is a grain marketing term referring to the difference between the spot price and the futures market price at the time and location of delivery. The basis does vary from location, meaning that while one buyer may have a better price at one spot, a call to another with a different basis could provide the producer with a better market and in turn, more money for their efforts.
“Every serious producer selling his crop, and is good at it, asks about the basis,” said Boucher.
Boucher said that this lesson was so important for everyone in the room that he offered to spend as much time as necessary on the single topic until the group fully understood it. Though no one outright asked for more teaching on it, he still took the time to reiterate the term’s importance and what it meant for all grain farmers.
“Producing is one thing,” said Boucher. “If you don’t care about your marketing, you don’t get what you’re working for.”
The second portion of the workshop taught farmers how to calculate and follow markets and prices, while the final portion offered a lesson on getting started on developing their own marketing plans.
Boucher has a background as a broker, a grain elevator operator/accountant and a grain classifier in the grain marketing sector. Since founding Grainwiz in 2009, he has worked towards helping Quebec producers maximize their profits.
The day-long workshop is typically a two-day class, with Boucher saying that he has difficulty squeezing his lessons into just a single day. The course has been a workshop that he’s taught for around five years now.
“What I want to feel at the end of the day is that people are surprised, insecure and curious going forward,” said Boucher.
The workshop was put on by the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ) in response to an increase in cash crop operations in the Pontiac over the last 15 years, with the hope that farms will increase their profits and build a long life from the practice.
“What I’m taking out of this morning is it’s possible to take control of your grain marketing,” said Christine Rieux, an agrologist with MAPAQ Outaouais. “It’s not just one phone call. In small communities you may favour a buyer, but you have to make more calls to get the best price for your crop.”