Hundreds of Canadian farmers have received delayed payments for their crops or not been paid at all, as a growing number of grain-buying firms declare bankruptcy amid drought and low commodity prices, according to interviews with dozens of farmers, a government agency, and a review of bankruptcy documents.

Drought leaves Canadian farmers unpaid
Failure of unlicensed companies, complaint deadline, insufficient security seen as holes in farm support

Agfinity declares bankruptcy
Agfinity Inc. officially filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 25, just over a month since the Alberta grain brokerage shut down operations and laid off employees.

Agfinity shuttered, new brokerage facing online questions
Stony Plain, Alta. grain broker Agfinity laid off employees and started the process of declaring bankruptcy in mid-October, according to former employees. Three former employees are working at launching a new brokerage firm, Grain Gateway Canada, but have run into some strangeness online.

Feed weekly outlook: Buyers not looking to make purchases
MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices were beginning to soften as many buyers don’t have a major need to purchase from growers, said Nelson Neumann, senior trader for Agfinity in Stony Plain, Alta. “There’s still obviously a demand, but buyers are pretty well covered for the February-March timeframe. That’s a window where a lot of growers […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Barley prices correct off recent highs
MarketsFarm — Feed markets in Western Canada have softened slightly following a jump in prices earlier this month. Nelson Neumann, a grain trader for Agfinity, said barley supply was tight earlier in the month as buyers rushed to secure their feed before spring road bans, seeding season and poor weather conditions hampered deliveries. “We saw […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Prairie prices stable during mild winter
With the mild winter Western Canada has been experiencing, feed grain buyers expect prices should stay quiet for the next while. “I would say the buyers have adequate coverage for January, February, even a bit of March. And I would say we maybe have seen the (barley) price soften up a bit,” said Nelson Neumann, […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Alberta feed grains firm
CNS Canada — The seasonality of the feed grain sector is contributing to a firmer tone in Alberta barley and feed wheat bids heading into the New Year. “We’ve seen bids in our office on feed barley jump up a decent amount,” said Nelson Neumann, a trader with Edmonton-area grain brokerage Agfinity. He linked the […] Read more