August 3, 2006

Cargill's ProPricing contract breaks US$100 million mark in producer benefits

Cargill has announced the launch of its sixth year of offering ProPricing grain marketing contracts to farmers.

Over the past five crop seasons, the programme has generated in excess of US$100 million to farmers' bottom lines as compared with what farmers would have earned in the futures market at the time of delivery. 

First offered in 1999, the ProPricing family of contracts uses market averages and hedging experts to establish grain prices and thereby help relieve farmers of some of the pressures and concerns involved in grain marketing.

Farmers are allowed to contract up to 50 percent of their expected production for corn, wheat or soybeans in a ProPricing offering, helping them diversify their grain-marketing portfolio while better managing the risks of a volatile commodities market.

"We developed the ProPricing contracts almost seven years ago in direct response to the needs of many of our farmer customers who asked for more help in marketing their grain.  Since that time, we have experienced a tremendous growth in participation as well as solid marketing results for our ProPricing customers," said Dan Dye, president of Cargill AgHorizons, noting that the product has been especially well received in light of the uncertainties and price volatility of the grain markets in recent years.

This year, Cargill is introducing a new ProPricing contract offering called DiversiPro that combines a commitment to deliver corn and soybeans under a single contract.  

The DiversiPro contract is being offered along with three other ProPricing contracts, including ProPricing A+, ProPricing MarketPros and ProPricing TargetRange.