What farmers need most from a grain partner during harvest

The busiest weeks of the year reveal who Alberta farmers can count on

During harvest, it’s crucial for farmers to have a strong team that has their back at every turn, including those they choose to sell to.

For Dustin Duncan of Bulwark Farms Ltd. in Paintearth County, the question was settled long ago. Three major grain companies sit about the same distance from the family operation where he’s grown wheat, peas and canola since 2004, but his trucks keep heading to G3’s Stettler County elevator in Erskine.

“It’s worth it to go to G3,” Duncan said. “Their team really takes care of us. Plus, you’re in and out fast, and getting an extra load in a day makes a big difference.”

He started delivering when the facility took its first loads in 2020. “It’s been good right from the start. Honestly, we don’t really go to a lot of other companies anymore.”

Built for the busiest weeks

Stories like his have played out across the province. Over the years, G3 has gone from the “new option” down the highway to being a trusted partner, with seven Alberta elevators connected loop-to-loop to G3 Terminal Vancouver as part of its coast-to-coast network.

“Our first couple of years, we had farmers drive in just to park and watch the trains come through on the loop track,” said Sheri Morbeck, Farm Business Representative (FBR) at G3 Stettler County and part of a farming family herself.

According to Morbeck, G3 has since come to represent much more to the community there than just its facilities.

“We joke that an FBR is part therapist,” she said. “Farming runs on technology, markets and Mother Nature, and they don’t always collide successfully. So you listen, with two ears and one mouth, and you stay available.”

Available means truly available, and Duncan sees it every harvest. “Sheri will pick up grain samples while we’re combining and let us know where our grades and proteins are at,” he said. “She goes above and beyond. She has a farming background, so she gets our needs.”

Those samples feed the marketing plan she builds with each farm.

“Going into harvest, it’s what do you have for bin space? Have you got trucking?” Morbeck said. The support runs right through the season. “Maybe there’s a payment due November 1, so I’ll help make sure the grain is sold and the cheque is in your hands on time. Everything I do is about helping them reduce risk and get ahead.”

Grain marketing done anytime, anywhere

Morbeck said recent innovations have made those decisions easier and faster to make than they once were.

G3 SmartSell, the company’s online grain marketing platform, puts live local prices, market specials and detailed harvest sample results in a farmer’s hands, with price targets set and contracts signed in seconds. G3 keeps investing in the platform to make it easier still: logging in is faster than ever, and a new Delivery Schedule feature is now available to help manage deliveries through the year’s busiest stretch.

“If I’m in the tractor and on the fence about something, I’ll put a target in at the price I want,” Duncan said. “If it hits, you know right away. You’re not waiting for the report at noon.”

When you get an alert, the next move is familiar. “I could sell online right away, but I still like talking with Sheri first. She knows the markets and is always ready to help you get a price you feel good about.”

The next decade of the partnership

At Brownfield, Wade Black is a fifth-generation farmer of Black 7 Ag Ltd., which is home to 2,800 acres alongside 300 head of cattle. This is his second crop year managing the farm’s grain marketing, a role he took over from his father, who built the G3 relationship first.

Black handles most of it from his phone. “Signing contracts, market specials, tracking prices – that’s pretty well all done through G3 SmartSell,” he said. “It’s easier than ever to make quick decisions. That’s pretty valuable with how fast things move.”

For everything else, there’s a text to Morbeck, often answered in no time. “There’s quite a few tricks to the trade,” Black said. “As someone still transitioning to this stuff, it’s super valuable to know a person who watches the markets for a living and will happily answer all my questions.”

His farm sits an hour and a half from the elevator, making every haul a commitment. “I’ve pulled in as they were closing the door, and they popped it open again for us,” he said. “It shows they get that it’s about the people. Sure, you’ve got to look at prices, but the system only works if I know I can get a hold of someone, especially during harvest.”

That dependability is by design, says Jamie Bachinski, G3’s Vice President of Operations, who brings more than two decades in agriculture across trading, logistics and operations.

“Our first years were about introducing ourselves,” said Bachinski. “Now it’s about delivering a dependable harvest experience year after year. Record crops keep coming, the world’s demand for Canadian grain is constant, and we meet it with constant motion. This is the time of year we’re built for.”

Morbeck wouldn’t have it any other way. “When we’re successful, so are the farmers. It all goes hand in hand. We keep selling grain across the pond so they can keep growing their crops, coming up the driveway and feeding the people.”

Farmers can build their harvest marketing plan or get started with G3 SmartSell by contacting their local FBR or at G3smarter.ca