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The purpose of this paper is to examine the meaning and content of the term “orderly marketing” as it was adopted by Western Canadian farm leaders in the 1920s, and to determine whether the expected results of “orderly marketing”, as they were enunciated by farm leaders, were met.

The paper examines the critique that farm leaders and Wheat Pool officials levelled against the open market, and the way they posited “orderly marketing” as a solution to their perceived problems. Using contemporary data on wheat prices and movements, it analyzes the content of orderly marketing, and the results of its implementation by the Pools.

The paper finds that “orderly marketing” was primarily a campaign slogan, that the problems it was alleged to address did not exist, and that its implementation by the Wheat Pools did not yield the results that the farm leaders had promised. The paper acknowledges however, the significant accomplishments of these organizations, and postulates that the concept of orderly marketing resonates with aspects of Canadian culture and helps to explain why grain marketing in the USA and Canada evolved so differently.

The agricultural cooperative movement in Western Canada has been the subject of a great deal of historical research, most of it positive. However, there are no recently published qualitative studies of the history of the term, nor in‐depth quantitative analyses of the economic results achieved by the Wheat Pools during the 1920s that compare with the contents of this paper.

In Canada, grain handling is an important agri-business that has traditionally been cooperative in nature (for example, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool). At the same time the industry is heavily regulated. There has been a dramatic change in the structure of the industry over the past 20 years and there are currently no major cooperatives present in the market. If the “yardstick effect” hypothesis of the role of cooperatives in an imperfectly competitive market is true, the disappearance of cooperatives could result in the ability of remaining firms to exercise market power over producers. To investigate the impact of changes in ownership structure in the market, we estimated two types of pricing games that might have been played between a cooperative, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (SWP) and an investor-owned firm (IOF), Pioneer Grain (PG) in the Saskatchewan wheat-handling market over the period 1980–2004, with different assumptions about their pricing behavior imposed. We find that SWP and PG have likely been playing a Bertrand pricing game in the market over the period. We thus conclude that SWP, as the largest cooperative in the market, likely played a “yardstick effect” role in the market.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the existence of disposition effect among Canadian wheat farmers when marketing their grain. This study examines the question of whether farmers wait too long to price their grain or whether they price it too soon.

The disposition effect is a common behavior documented in financial markets, and reflects the notion that investors tend to hold losing positions too long and close winning positions too fast. This idea can also be applied to grain marketing, exploring whether farmers sell their grain more readily when prices are “high” and wait longer when prices are “low.” Based on the approach by Odean (1998), marketing strategies of 15,564 farmers between 2003/2004 and 2008/2009 are examined.

Results support the existence of disposition effect in marketing decisions. Farmers seem to be eager to sell when prices offered by contracts are above their reference price and wait longer to sell when prices offered by contracts are below their reference price. There is no clear evidence that farmers might consistently benefit from this behavior. On the other hand, it is not clear whether this behavior can be costly to farmers.

Exploring the existence of disposition effect is relevant because this behavior can affect performance. If grain is sold too early, farmers can miss opportunities to sell at higher prices later. If grain is held too long, prices can go down and farmers will end up selling at lower prices. This study uses unique data to perform the first analysis of the disposition effect in the agricultural industry, and its findings can provide new insights and move us toward a more complete understanding of decision making in this industry.

Identifies the drivers, classifies the structures, examines the governance systems and estimates the relative economic costs and benefits of various identity‐preserved production and marketing (IPPM) systems that have evolved in the Canadian canola industry. The systems vary significantly, depending on whether they are managing input‐ or output‐based, traditionally bred or biotechnology‐based traits. Combines transaction costs and principal‐agent theory in a synthesized transaction cost‐agency model that allows for predictions regarding the organizational form of vertical integration based on the degree of asset specificity, task programmability and non‐separability. Transactions for new, proprietary, novel‐trait canola varieties require a more extensive set of institutions than traditional varieties. Identity‐preserved production and marketing systems appear technically feasible for smaller units of production, but it is unclear whether they are economically viable for long‐term or larger‐scale operations. IPPM systems can provide an effective and proven method of controlling risks and liabilities.

This paper examines bread wheat quality and its effect on vertical co‐ordination in the wheat supply chain. Wheat quality is defined by many different characteristics, which poses limitations on the effectiveness of industry grading schemes in meeting the quality needs of end‐users. Consequently, individual processors may have an incentive to segregate wheat based on their own quality specifications. The costs and benefits of wheat segregation are analysed using a simple economic model, and illustrated with a case study of supply chain management taken from the UK bread industry. Warburtons Ltd procures bread wheat varieties with specific intrinsic quality attributes from Canada using identity preserved supply contracts. The paper concludes that the benefits of wheat quality control will encourage millers and bakers to develop closer vertical linkages with wheat suppliers in the future.

While the extant literature is replete with theoretical and empirical studies of value at risk (VaR) methods, only a few papers have applied the concept of VaR to quantify market risk in the context of agricultural finance. Furthermore, papers that have done so have largely relied on parametric methods to recover estimates of the VaR. The purpose of this paper is to assess extreme market risk on investment in three actively traded agricultural commodity futures.

A nonparametric Kernel method was implemented which accommodates fat tails and asymmetry of the portfolio return density as well as serial correlation of the data, to estimate market risk for investments in three actively traded agricultural futures contracts: corn, soybeans, and wheat. As a futures contract is a zero‐sum game, the VaR for both short and long sides of the market was computed.

It was found that wheat futures are riskier than either corn or soybeans futures over both periods considered in the study (2000‐2008 and 2006‐2008) and that all three commodities have experienced a sharp increase in market risk over the 2006‐2008 period, with VaR estimates 10‐43 percent higher than the long‐run estimates.

Research is based on cross‐sectional data and does not allow for dynamic assessment of expenditure elasticities.

This paper differs methodologically from previous applications of VaR in agricultural finance in that a nonparametric Kernel estimator was implemented which is exempt of misspecification risk, in the context of risk management of investment in agricultural futures contracts. The application is particularly relevant to grain elevator businesses which purchase grain from farmers on a forward contract basis and then turn to the futures markets to insure against falling prices.

This study revisits the Great Canadian Grain Logistics Crisis of 2013-14 to explore the competitiveness of the country's grain exports. An approach to comprehending the dilemmas of the international grain supply chain and trade, and national logistics policy in an era of multinational corporations, draws upon the literature on global value chain analysis. This analysis identifies both the grain industry's global and local dimensions. An important literature on the 'politics’ of the supply chain is also called into play to discuss who controls what aspects. This task of interpreting the various steps in Canada's grain logistics chain recognizes the key economic actors - producers, grain companies, railway companies, port terminal operators and export buyers - and political struggles between them as they each seek to maximize their self-interest. Policy implications for streamlining logistics operations are drawn from identifying where changes in the supply chain arrangements have gained or lost opportunities in export markets, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

Compares marketing approaches in 12 countries for wheat, coffee, cocoa, citrus and bananas, in some major product countries. Looks at Australia for wheat marketing along with Canada and the USA; coffee marketing is covered by Kenya, Uganda and Brazil; cocoa marketing is covered by Ghana, Nigeria and Brazil; citrus marketing involves Israel, South Africa and the USA; bananas are covered by Jamaica and Brazil. Explores all of these in depth and discusses them with breakdowns of figures.

Case studies in public relations are often used as illustrations in textbooks or for promoting good practices. This paper examines the use of case studies to understand the basics of PR strategies. Canadian award‐winning communication campaigns are analysed through a model based on communication theories. The outputs of different campaigns with similar objectives are compared and their methods of practice deduced. The model will be explained and Canadian lobbying campaigns used as examples.