MarketsFarm — Copious amounts of corn are still being delivered to feedlots in southern Alberta despite slowly declining prices for other feed grains.
“Corn is coming down over the last little bit,” Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities Ltd. in Lethbridge said. “You think that there would be a little bit more barley hitting the market. There are a few little parcels here and there. But bigger feedlots are looking for volume, not just loads here and loads there.”
In Lethbridge, the price of corn currently sits at $425 per tonne ($10.80 per bushel), compared to $415/tonne ($9.04/bu.) for feed barley, according to Fleischhauer.
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Corn prices may be putting pressure on other feed grains, he said, but also acknowledged futures prices and international trade could both be having effects, as well.
“I would imagine we’re going to start seeing products head offshore shortly, but I haven’t seen too much of that yet,” he said.
He expects prices to stay at the same levels in coming weeks, but is still waiting for freight rates to come down.
“When you follow the fuel costs, freight hasn’t come down as much,” Fleischhauer said. “Freight is still a big (factor) and that’s the kicker why there’s lots of corn coming in, because it’s coming in by train.”
The high-delivered bids for feed barley as of Tuesday were $9.14/bu. (down 33 cents from last month) in Alberta, $7.90/bu. in Saskatchewan (up two cents) and $7.25/bu. (down four cents) in Manitoba, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire.
Those for feed wheat were $11.76/bu. (down 30 cents) in Alberta, $10.75/bu. (down 25 cents) in Saskatchewan and $10.53/bu. (down 47 cents) in Manitoba.
— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.
