What are grain marketing advisory services?

Help with pricing and selling grain: brokers who execute trades, full-service advisors who build a plan with you, newsletters, and sell-signal reports.

What is the difference between a grain broker and a grain marketing advisor?

A broker executes futures and options trades and is often paid per trade. An advisor helps you decide what and when to sell; some execute, some don't. Klarenbach doesn't.

What is a good alternative to a broker's grain marketing newsletter?

An independent service that takes no commissions, gives clear sell signals, and covers your crops.

Is there an alternative to big US farm publications for Prairie crops?

Yes. Look for analysis that covers canola, CWRS, durum and pulses directly. The Klarenbach Grain Report and Special Crops Report do.

Does Klarenbach execute trades or take commissions?

No to both. You sell through your own elevator or buyer.

How much does Klarenbach cost?

Each report is $157.50 a month or $1,575 a year, or $2,625 a year for both, CAD plus tax, with a free 30-day trial. Portfolio Consulting has no public price.

Will an advisory service get me a better price?

No one can promise that. Klarenbach does not guarantee positive returns, and the decisions stay yours.

Why Are Russia and Ukraine Sitting on a Record Wheat Pile?

Trent Klarenbach

October 19, 2026

Hard red spring wheat field, Klarenbach Grain Report

October 19, 2026

Russia and Ukraine are expected to finish the 2026/27 season holding about 25.2 million tonnes of wheat, a post-Soviet record, according to USDA. The wheat is there, but war has backed up Black Sea exports, so much of it can't reach the world market yet. When the ports reopen, that wheat has to move.

By Trent Klarenbach, BSA AgEc, PAg, founder and lead analyst, Klarenbach Research

A record pile of wheat

Russia and Ukraine are sitting on 25.2 million tonnes of wheat. USDA's October World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report puts Russia's 2026/27 ending stocks at about 19.1 million tonnes and Ukraine's at about 6.1 million tonnes.

That is a post-Soviet record, up about 80% since the start of the season (14.0 Mt to 25.2 Mt), per USDA. It is bigger than the entire U.S. wheat export program.

Why the wheat is stuck

The crop isn't the problem. USDA left its Russian wheat production forecast at 88 million tonnes. What changed is how much can leave the country.

In the October report, USDA cut its forecast for Russian wheat exports by 3 million tonnes to 40 million tonnes, the lowest in five years. It pointed to logistics disruptions from the ongoing conflict in the Black Sea region. Ukraine's exports are forecast at 12.5 million tonnes, down from 14.1 million last season.

Wheat that can't be shipped stays in the bin. That is how the stocks number keeps climbing.

Big stocks that the market can't reach yet

USDA's Economic Research Service makes a point worth noting. Stocks held by major exporters usually matter most for export prices, because that wheat is available to the world market. Right now, though, much of the wheat in Russia and Ukraine isn't fully available because of conflict-related shipping disruptions.

So the world has a big pile of wheat on paper, but a good share of it is locked up where it can't easily get out.

When the ports reopen, that wheat has to move

A pile this size doesn't sit forever. Once Black Sea shipping gets back to normal, sellers in Russia and Ukraine will have a lot of wheat to clear, and it will compete for the same import buyers as every other exporter, including Canada.

The timing is the open question. Weekend Russia-Ukraine strikes have made a Black Sea export deal look less likely for now. That can change quickly, and a backlog like this one is something every Prairie wheat grower should keep on the radar.