MarketsFarm — Feed wheat and barley prices in Alberta’s feedlot alley are coming down, largely due to the increasing presence of corn imported from the U.S.
The high-delivered bid for Alberta feed barley on Wednesday was $9.80 per bushel, 11 cents lower than the previous week and 22 cents lower than one month earlier, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. The high-delivered bid for Alberta feed wheat was $12.66/bu., 14 cents lower than last week and 24 cents lower than last month.
Erin Harakal, trade manager for Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta., said she has seen feed barley bids at $430 per tonne ($9.36/bu.), but some feedlots are already making the switch to corn because of its affordability. The March corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) on Wednesday hit a four-month low of US$6.35/bu.
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“(Feedlots) are finding (corn) a bit more convenient for them to get because the corn comes from a train and a few of them have switched,” Harakal said. “I (believe) some are still feeding barley and other grains, but a lot are making the switch down in the Lethbridge area.”
Feedlots in the Edmonton area are still predominantly using barley, she added.
Meanwhile, though, another feed grain that is growing in popularity at the moment.
“We’ve been seeing a lot more demand for oats right now, because there seems to be a lot of oats out there,” Harakal said. “Oat prices for feed, we’ve been seeing a range anywhere from $4.25 to $4.50 in the central Alberta area.”
On the CBOT, the March oats contract on Thursday hit a two-year low of US$3.275/bu.
Harakal said feedlots are already focused on purchasing grain over the first quarter of the New Year. She expects prices to stay steady this month.
“They might go down a little bit more, because in December there’s not much demand. But right now, I think they’re going to hang tight where they’re at,” she added.
— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.
