Glacier FarmMedia – Buying activity for feed barley and feed wheat in Western Canada is moving slowly and prices continue to decline, according to Susanne Leclerc, owner of Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton.
“We’re seeing continued pressure on the availability of spaces for both feed wheat and (feed) barley. It’s very hard for producers to find quick movement for feed wheat or feed barley,” she said. “It seems like buyers are buying out of a deferred position and are going into the summer months more than March/April now because they have very significant coverage for the short term.”
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She added that Statistics Canada’s Dec. 31 grain stocks report, released on Feb. 8, had some effect on prices. Barley stocks increased by 300,000 tonnes from one year earlier at 5.5 million. However, corn stocks declined 4.8 per cent at 11.3 million tonnes, while wheat stocks were down 10.3 per cent at 20.7 million.
Some prices Leclerc has seen are C$5 per bushel picked up for March/April feed barley in Vegreville, Alta., as well as C$4.80/bu. in Davidson, Sask. For feed wheat, C$7.40/bu. picked up was also reported for Vegreville.
Ongoing corn shipments from the United States continued to be a primary factor in feed grain prices going down.
“A lot of buyers have covered themselves with corn for the short term and they’re looking to buy out for longer terms as well,” Leclerc said, adding that there is only a “five cent carry-in” for spring feed grain price premiums, less than usual.
She said that it’s rather difficult to say where prices will go over the next few weeks.
“It’s very hard because some areas of Alberta are very dry. Farmers are hoping that will impact the market,” Leclerc explained. “Outside of the smaller Alberta market, there’s not a lot of concern for drought coming out of the States. It’s not affecting the corn market, which is impacting our barley market. It’s so hard to say that we’ll see a weather rally if we’re not seeing local drought. It’s very hard to know if we’ll see any change in what we’re seeing right now.”
As of Feb. 14, the high-delivered bid for Alberta feed barley was C$6.42/bu., down 33 cents from last month and down C$2.94 from last year, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. In Saskatchewan, the high-delivered bid was C$5.50/bu., 25 cents less than last month and C$2.25 less than a year earlier. In Manitoba, after a 15-cent monthly decline and a C$2.19 yearly decline, the high-delivered bid was C$5/bu.
For feed wheat, Alberta’s high-delivered bid was C$8.71/bu., down 41 cents from a month ago and down C$3.27 from a year ago. In Saskatchewan, it was C$8.38/bu. which was steady from last month but C$2.63 lower than last year. In Manitoba, the high-delivered bid was C$7.49/bu., up three cents from last month but down C$3.26 from a year ago.
— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.
