MarketsFarm — As 2022 begins, feed grain markets in Alberta have been “status quo,” according to a grain buyer.
“There’s a lot of grain that has been pre-contracted in terms of corn coming in from the United States,” said Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta.
“Lots of priority has been towards execution, making sure rail cars come in on time. The grain market, in terms of barley and wheat, is very quiet.”
The high-delivered bid for Albertan feed wheat is $12.79 per bushel, 14 cents lower than a month earlier, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. Feed barley in Alberta is trading as high as $9.80/bu., seven cents more than the previous month.
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One buyer, Motz said, was offering $430-$440 per tonne ($9.36-$9.58/bu.) for feed barley, while the seller countered with $450/tonne ($9.80/bu.).
He also said feedlots are covered when it comes to grain for the upfront months going into the New Year, but it may depend on what happens on another continent.
“We expect things to normalize in terms of commodity prices. We’re watching South American weather quite closely for their production of corn and soybeans right now, which will affect us because of supply tightness.”
The ability to process rail cars filled with grain is currently at full capacity, according to Motz, and more corn may be brought into feedlots during the second quarter of 2022.
Even the recent cold snap across the Prairies has not greatly affected grain deliveries in Alberta so far this winter, he said.
“With the elevators being so full of corn, it creates a buffer that normally we don’t have. The bulk of our grain moves from the north to the south, a truck from central Alberta or Swift Current, (Sask.), central Saskatchewan drives four to six hours to Feedlot Alley. Now you’re at a 30-minute drive to an elevator. So the transport time is much less than it’s used to be.”
— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.
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