Marketing Risks Key Concern For Producers

Nov 14, 2019

Farm Credit Canada surveyed producers back in July on Risk Management and says the majority have strategies in place.

Craig Klemmer, FCC’s Principal Agricultural Economist says the survey showed 67% of farm operators reported a high level of concern for marketing risk, while 60% were concerned with production risk and 53% with financial risks.

“We’re constantly concerned by what the markets are doing, and what prices we’re going to see for our production. So, no big surprise that marketing risk tops the board.”

Klemmer says the good news is most producers are in a solid financial position to withstand short-term impacts on their business.

Marketing risks – like price and market access - were most prominent among beef, grains and oilseed sector producers at 74%, followed by those in the fruit, vegetable and greenhouse sector at 58% and the supply managed sectors of dairy at 55% and poultry at 53%.

Ensuring there is sufficient working capital was the most prominent financial concern across all sectors, followed by unfavourable changes in interest rates and meeting debt payment obligations.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.