587.742.6023Sign inSell grainWhat a grain broker does, and who pays
A grain broker finds the buyer, negotiates the price, and writes the terms down, without ever owning the grain. At Giddyupp the buyer pays you directly on the contracted terms, and our fee goes to the buyer on its own invoice. The price we quote a seller already has the trucking and the fee off.
The job, in plain terms
We spend our days on the phone with grain buyers. We know who’s bidding what, where they take delivery, and what their scale will take. Tell us what’s in your bin, the town it loads from, your grade if you know it, and when it can move. We match that against the buyers bidding on it and bring you the best net we can find. If you take it, we write the deal down. A broker note goes to both sides with the price, the specs, the delivery window and the terms, so there’s one version of the deal and everybody holds it.
Then we stay on it. Trucking gets booked and the delivery window gets watched. If something goes sideways at the scale, you call us and we sort it out with the buyer. The job ends when you’ve been paid what the note says, and no sooner.
What we never do
We never take title to your grain. We never touch the money for it. The buyer pays you directly, on the terms written in the contract, and grain money never passes through a Giddyupp account. And we don’t guarantee a buyer’s payment, because we’re a broker and can’t honestly promise another company’s cheque. What we do instead is check the people we bring you, before a buyer bids through us and again as we keep trading. We check trade references, payment terms, discount schedules in writing, and CGC licence status on grain that gets graded. Safe today isn’t safe tomorrow, so the checking never stops.
Who pays, and how the fee moves
One total fee per trade, taken off the contract price and invoiced to the buyer. The buyer’s copy of the broker note shows the full price and the fee on separate lines, so there’s nothing to work out later. The seller’s copy shows the net price, which is the number you were quoted and the number you’re paid. If you want to see the fee on your own trade, ask; we show it, every time, no argument.
The rates themselves are buyer business, so they sit in the buyer package behind a buyer account rather than on a public page. What’s on the public page is the part that matters to a seller. You’re quoted the net and you’re paid the net. The fee is collected from the buyer rather than billed to you, and nothing comes off after you’ve agreed. Three things still come off at settlement: dockage, any producer levy, and any discount for a load that misses the buyer’s spec. They’d come off wherever you sold, and we set all three out on the fine print page.
A broker or a grain company?
A grain company buys your grain, owns it, and sells it on; its bid carries its own margin. A broker never owns the grain and earns a disclosed fee for arranging the sale. Both are honest ways to sell. Sometimes the elevator down the road is paying the best net for a clean load of wheat. If it is, take it, and we’d tell you the same on the phone. A broker earns the fee when the grain is off-spec or unusual, or when the tonnage is big enough that a second bidder changes the answer. Or when the best number sits with a buyer you’ve never heard of. Knowing who that buyer is, and whether their scale will take your load, is the product.
Nobody’s name goes on the board
The prices we publish never carry a buyer’s name. Sellers see what the market is paying without seeing who’s paying it, and no buyer sees another buyer’s number. Sellers get the same cover: your name and your farm stay off the public board. The names come out where they belong, on the contract, once there’s a deal.
What it costs to find out
Nothing. Name your town on the prices page and the number you see is already net: trucking off, fee off. See what that looks like around Calgary or on the barley page. If you’re wondering what the trucking part is worth, our grain trucking guide has the only measured Alberta series we know of. Or ask us.
Questions farmers ask
A grain broker is an agent who sells grain on a farmer's behalf without ever owning it. The broker finds the buyer, negotiates the price and terms, and papers the deal so both sides hold the same piece of writing. The grain moves from the farm to the buyer, and the money moves from the buyer to the farmer. The broker arranges the trade and charges a fee for it.
At Giddyupp, the buyer does on almost every deal. One total fee per trade, taken off the contract price and invoiced to the buyer. The buyer's copy of the broker note shows the full price and the fee on separate lines; the seller's copy shows the net price they'll be paid. A seller who wants to see the figure just has to ask, and we show it, every time.
Almost always nothing out of pocket. The price Giddyupp quotes a seller already has the trucking and our fee taken off, so the number you see is the number you're paid. Once in a while a buyer won't pay the brokerage, and on those deals we bill you for it instead. Three things still come off at settlement, wherever you sell: dockage, any producer levy, and any discount for a load that misses the buyer's spec. Getting a quote costs nothing at all: name your town on the prices page or phone us and ask.