PGG announces new marketing agreement to strengthen selling price
When it comes to marketing and selling wheat, Pendleton Grain Growers is banking on greater strength in numbers.
PGG recently announced it will join a growing alliance of Northwest grain cooperatives to improve their overall market access and fetch more competitive bids for members across Eastern Oregon and Washington.
The agreement with McCoy Grain Terminal LLC, a trading company based in Colfax, Wash., lumps PGG’s 10 million to 17 million bushel grain handle under one partnership that will market 50 million to 60 million bushels.
At that volume, wheat can be blended and offered to exporters in larger packages for potentially more money, said Jason Middleton, director of grain operations for PGG.
“By that, we’re able to go out for a better bid,” Middleton said.
A better bid means a better bottom line for the co-op, which gets passed down to members, Middleton said.
McCoy Grain Terminal started as a joint venture in 2012 between Cooperative Agricultural Producers of Rosalia, Washington, and Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative of Genesee, Idaho. Together, they built and co-own a $17 million grain handling facility just outside of Rosalia, a small farm town in the Palouse region of Washington.
Last year, McCoy Grain Terminal added Mid-Columbia Producers of Moro as a partner to boost marketing capabilities. Now with PGG in the fold, the company can market grain from more than 70 countryside elevators and eight river terminals — three on the Snake River, and five on the Columbia River.
Bud Riedner, general manager of McCoy Grain Terminal, said the agreement with PGG provides better collaboration during the 2015 harvest season, which is already expected to be a down due to hot, dry weather.
Indeed, Middleton said the partnership should pull together the most complete information about markets and conditions throughout the region, from The Dalles to Pendleton and Eastern Washington and Idaho up to Canada.
“Information is the most valuable thing you can have in the grain business,” Middleton said. “It’s definitely a bonus to have all that information at our disposal so we can see what’s going on.”
PGG will continue to provide marketing services at their grower trading desk in Pendleton. The marketing department can be reached at 541-278-5018.