Canada: Feed barley, wheat prices still on the rise just weeks away from harvest

Variable crop conditions in Alberta and Saskatchewan are contributing to rising feed grain prices on the Prairies just weeks away from harvest, Grainews reported on July 27.

Erin Harakal, trade manager for Agfinity Inc. in Stony Plain, Alta., said while conditions in the northern half of Alberta are good in some places, areas around Red Deer and parts of Saskatchewan are quite dry.

“It’s been all over the map for what we’ve been hearing for crop conditions right now,” she added.

Demand for feed grains is currently on the “quieter side”, according to Harakal, as feedlots order more United States corn, which is priced at C$270 to C$275 per tonne (C$6.85 to C$6.99/bu.). Other feedlots are content with waiting until harvest to buy more grain.

“It seems like we have a little bit more demand for fall, September and October (grain),” she explained. “But there are still a few feedlots that need a couple (of shipments) here and there. Prices for feed barley have gone up (this week), so we’ve seen prices go up a little bit.”

The high-delivered bid for feed barley in Alberta was C$9.38 per bushel on July 26, up 13 cents from a month ago, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. Those for both Manitoba and Saskatchewan were C$7.50/bu., 50 cents higher in Manitoba than last month, but steady in Saskatchewan. All three bids are priced higher than the high-delivered bids at this time last year.

For feed wheat, the high-delivered bid in Alberta was C$11.59/bu., up 22 cents from last month. In Saskatchewan, it was C$10.35/bu., up 35 cents, while in Manitoba, the high-delivered bid was C$9.96/bu., 45 cents higher.

28 July, 2023