Wheat prices haven’t changed too much over the last few years

Dear editor,

As a grain farmer, I felt the need to respond to the article ran in Dec. 9 edition of the News via the Canadian Press.

Titled, Canadian families will pay $700 more for groceries in 2021, is about Canada’s food price report 2021. You can google to download the full report. In the article it states that bakery prices will increase 5.5%. The claim is that wheat prices have risen 50% from 18 months ago.

The price range given was in US dollars, which was not stated in the article. In discussions with the authors of the report, it was discovered that they used Macrotrends as the source for their data.

That information is about Soft red winter wheat futures. Most Canadian milling wheat is priced off of the Minneapolis Hard Red Futures. Futures are only one component in determining the price received by myself the farmer.

I can tell you that in these last 18 months I have received between $6.50 and $7.25 per bushel Canadian for milling wheat. It really hasn’t changed much last few years.

A bushel of wheat makes roughly 90 loaves of whole wheat bread. So even a price rise of $1, really only adds pennies on a loaf. May I suggest that any price rise in bread is due to other cost increases in the system being passed on to the consumer.

In closing, I would like to tell readers not to worry. Predictions are only that. There are many variables at play to determine food prices. Remember, our food is safe. I, as a farmer, eat it too.