If you’ve ever had the privilege of driving a minivan, you already know! The pros far outweigh the cons! And since you already know this, it would be a waste of time for us to debate the overall functionality and stow-n-go service minivans provide for – not just soccer moms – but people of all walks (and drives) of life.
Some of you may remember, Michelle and I love minivans so much, we bought another one for Christmas a year and a half ago. Overall, we’re totally satisfied! But, if I can be honest with you, when it comes to trips to the hardware store, minivans suck!! But they don’t suck because “they suck”… they suck because they provide false hope… They instill a sense of surety, especially in dads, that has no place being there.
In need of a couple sheets of drywall on Sunday, I marched into the Spruce Grove Home Depot with supreme confidence. I even had the help of my boy, River. (Side note… River was so excited to be featured in the Potholes in the Prairies newsletter, he’s since asked a few times, “Dad… how many farmers saw me standing in that pothole again…?”)
When lifting the two-piece drywall sheet above my head, I lifted with my legs, and probably looked like I knew what I was doing – up until I had to put it down, anyhow. Thankfully, a kind Home Depot sales associate was there to stop my cart from rolling away as I slid the drywall into a less precarious position. “Good teamwork!” I said to her, my face more likely red from the exercise than embarrassment.
Here’s a picture of River before we realized we were heading out to a minivan.
And here’s a picture of River after we realized a 4’x 8′ sheet of drywall doesn’t fit in our minivan.
Who do you call when you’re in these situations…? Your wife? … Dad? … Brother? … Best friend?
It didn’t take me long to decide. I called my friend Dan, also known as “Dan the Man“, or “Dan the River King,” because he plays almost every Texas Hold’em hand up to the river, whether he has something or not… In this case, Dan had something! Something I needed badly! And after I called him, would you believe, in less than fifteen minutes, he and his Dodge Ram 4×4 pulled into the Home Depot parking lot, ready for rescue.
Thanks Dan! You’re a lifesaver! …Or at least a Sunday-saver.
… After toasting our friendship with a beer, (I had two), I remembered I also needed to pick up a dresser from another friend in the neighbourhood. As luck (and a small amount of scheming) would have it, it was I who was playing Dan to the river this hand. And the good sport he is, he went the distance and helped me pick up the dresser. Heck! We even picked up a guitar Michelle’s friend was lending her on the way! … When it rains, it pours!
Whether you’ve finished seeding, or you’re lucky enough to stop and enjoy the rain today, why not give us a call? … We might not be able to make it out to load the last of your old crop grain for you, but we’ll happily send the truck! And best of all, your grain is going to fit into our current grain pricing opportunities nicely!
And please come by for a visit on one of our social media accounts. Simply click one of the links below!
Market Report – by Nelson Neumann
Barley:Feed bids rallied on Tuesday the 29th and barley was landing into Lethbridge as high as $264/mt. It still is very much a weather market, where a substantial amount of rain will cause the price to slide.
Wheat: Dry conditions across western Canada, and even globally, continue to be the focus in the wheat market. This week, global trade tensions, moisture in the American Midwest, and uncertainty in European financial markets caused a sell-off, knocking down Minneapolis spring wheat 20 cents. Durum also continues to lag behind and may trade at a discount to hard red spring wheat in 2019.
Oats: The market for milling oats continues to hibernate. Prices remain stagnant moving neither up nor down.
Canola:A decreasing Canadian dollar caused by a drop-in oil prices continues to save Canola from the same fate as the wheat markets. Old crop canola is at risk to dry up near the end of July as demand slows. New crop canola prices, however, climbed, but substantial rain could drop them rapidly! Prices are a staircase up and an elevator down.
Peas: Green and yellow pea pricing has held steady over the past two weeks at around $8.25-$8.75 picked-up for greens and $6.75-6.85 for yellows, varying on freight and location. To balance the lack of Indian demand, we have seen North American demand begin to grow, as well as China fill that void. According to the latest Stats Can report, pea exports to China increased by 42% this year over the same time last year.
As I write this, there is a consistent and much needed rain outside our offices in Stony Plain, AB. From what we’re seeing in the forecast, most of Alberta is anticipating precipitation. Nevertheless, don’t count your holes before they puddle! We’ll need to wait until the end of tomorrow to know who actually received showers. Moving past weather, many feedlots have been slowly marketing their cattle because of slim to offside margins. Meaning, some feedlots will need to buy more feed than anticipated going into June – July and the first half August. This has been evident at the beginning of this week as many buyers have been scrambling to hit offers to secure barley and wheat for June – July, regardless of the anticipated rain that potentially could dampen markets and open the last remnants of feed grain in the bins.
Sellers take note: With a $35-40MT spread between old crop and new crop pricing and with limited carryover grain stocks available, hot and dry weather being forecasted, and continued demand from feeders, but potential timely rain in western Alberta, there is a pretty clear sign that the market will be flat to bearish going into harvest to close the spread. If you have limited grain left to market, post it up on Agfinity.com now and let us chase the market and get you the best opportunity, regardless of where the market takes us. You can’t win if you’re not sitting at the table!
“No matter who I talk to at Agfinity, you always take care of things. You guys are so great to work with!”
– James Taylor, Leslieville, AB
“Other buyers call me, and I always tell them that the best service I get is from Agfinity, and that you guys are who I market my grain through.”
– James Thompson, Millet, AB
“Most of our marketing decisions are based off of your newsletter! We really appreciate you sending it out!”
– Phillip & Glenda Collinge, Lloydminster, SK
“I really like the personal touch in the newsletter! Thanks for sending that out!” – Jim Majeski, Camrose, AB
“I really enjoy working with you guys and the transparent service you provide!”
– Kurt Boese, Neilburg, SK
“For the past seven years I’ve been dealing with the Agfinity group and what a fantastic group of people they are. From number 1 to feed grain and canola. All the buyers at Agfinity can Make it happen. Fast turn around times on every thing. Movement, payment, and the inbetween that all of us farmers don’t see or care about. Good job to the Agfinity crew and keep on buying our grain.” – Drann Hogg, Huxley, AB
“Thanks for continuing to send out a newsletter. I read right through it every time, and look forward to crop price updates.”
– Orest Hulowski, Perryvale, AB
“Enjoy reading your newsletter and price updates keep them coming, good job.”
– Peter L .Gross, Standard, AB
Have a testimonial we can share?
Just email us and say something nice about what we do. 🙂
