Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — Prices for feed grains in the Lethbridge area moved slightly higher during the week ended April 24 as growers began to fix their attention towards seeding.
Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, reported bids for feed barley ranging from C$312 to C$315 per tonne, feed wheat at C$315 to C$320/tonne and corn from C$315 to C$325/tonne. The prices represent increases of C$3 to C$5 from the week before, which he said were a “seasonal play”.
“It’s not just spring seeding. It’s springtime,” Beusekom said. “You have spring seeding, you have road bans, you have rain, which makes loading trucks on-farm difficult (because it’s) too muddy. Or if it’s dry, perhaps it’s a drought in some areas. It’s the typical spring things that make grain more costly.”
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There appears to be more moisture in the soil in the Prairies in general compared to last year, according to Beusekom. He added that north and central Saskatchewan are wetter while the southern region remains dry. Southern Alberta also remained dry, while northern and central areas, especially the Peace region, saw more moisture.
“We had fires (in northern Alberta) early last year. I’m pretty sure that area is much wetter than 12 months ago,” Beusekom said. “How does that look for crop production? I would say it’s decent right now with no immediate concerns … Overall, it looks very normal.”
He doesn’t expect feed grain prices to come down any time soon.
“From here through to May long weekend, we would call the market steady to slightly higher,” Beusekom said.
