MarketsFarm — Recent demand for feed grains from feedlots has been in a standstill, according to Erin Harakal, trade manager for Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta.
“It’s been flat, probably since the end of September. We haven’t seen any big changes when it comes to demand or prices,” she said. “From what we’ve been hearing, we should see lots of corn expecting to hit the market into the Lethbridge area come November… Everyone’s booked (corn) as they need it and we haven’t seen much getting booked for the New Year quite yet.
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“When it comes to (barley) prices for November and December movement, we’ve seen it range anywhere from $335 to $340 delivered per tonne.”
Deliveries for both feed barley and feed wheat have also been flat, according to Harakal, with the latter priced at around $330/tonne delivered. Unless there are any sudden changes in exports, she expects corn prices to stay steady as well.
“I think once we get more into November and we get an idea on how (many) cattle-on-feed, we’ll have a good idea on how corn will affect prices,” she said. “But from what it looks right now, (they) will probably remain pretty flat for the next little bit.”
Overall, Harakal doesn’t see anything that would drive feed grain prices up or down over the next few weeks.
“It’s definitely hard to say for the next couple of months going forward. I think until we get an idea of how much (corn) is out there, I think we’ll get a better idea (for prices).”
Delivered feed barley prices in Alberta ranged from $5.75 to $7.51 per bushel as of Thursday, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire, with a decrease of 11 cents from last month and a drop of $2.39 from last year. In Saskatchewan, prices ranged from $5.50 to $5.90/bu., up 10 cents from last month and down $1.71 from last year. In Manitoba, prices were from $6 to $6.01/bu., up 19 cents from one month ago and down $1.24 from a year ago.
For feed wheat, prices in Alberta were from $7.96 to $9.80/bu., down 14 cents from last month and $2.86 lower than last year. In Saskatchewan, prices ranged from $8 to $8.88/bu., down 23 cents from last month and down $3.13 from last year. In Manitoba, the price for feed wheat was $8.10/bu., down 36 cents from last month and down $2.95 from last year.
— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.
