(Resource News International) — Barley bids in Western Canada have shown a little improvement in recent weeks, but ample feed grain supplies will likely keep prices from rallying to the same extent as they would in a normal year, according to a Lethbridge-based feed grains broker.
“Demand is picking up a little bit,” said Jim Beusekom of Market Place Commodities, adding that “we’re seeing end-users look to take up some coverage through April and May.”
However, he added, “we’re not getting a seasonal price rally, at least not very much.
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“Typically at this time of year we run into difficulties sourcing enough feed grains for feedlots, but (this year) we actually have more than we can use right now,” he said.
With the Canadian dollar trading near parity with its U.S. counterpart, Beusekom said, it remains very cost effective for end-users to bring up corn DDGs (dried distillers grains) from the U.S.
In addition, he said the Canadian Wheat Board wasn’t able to move all of the available durum wheat on the export market, so many producers were now selling their durum into the feed market.
Barley bids in the key Lethbridge cattle feeding area have improved slightly over the past month and can currently be found around $148 per tonne, Beusekom said.
The bid/ask spread was only about C$2 to C$3 apart, he said, which is considerably tighter than normal due to the fact that many farmers are now realizing they can’t get away with holding out for higher prices.
Producers in areas with reasonably good moisture conditions were selling, Beusekom said, while those facing dry conditions are still holding onto their supplies due to the uncertainty for the upcoming growing season.
