MarketsFarm – It appears that the days of feedlots on the Prairies primarily using corn may be coming to an end.
After nearly a year of feedlots importing corn from the United States, due to tight supply and higher prices for feed barley and feed wheat in Western Canada, demand has mostly turned towards cereal crops.
Evan Peterson, trader at JGL Commodities in Moose Jaw, Sask., said corn deliveries for feedlots will be mostly finished by mid-August and will start to transition to barley in the fall. He also said barley and wheat crops in Saskatchewan are faring well so far.
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“Crops overall are looking pretty good right now,” Peterson said, adding they are in better shape now than they were the past two drought-stricken years. “All three provinces have seen significant rains, which have helped the crops.”
Price movement for both feed barley and feed wheat in Western Canada have been mixed. The high-delivered bid for feed barley in Saskatchewan is C$9 per bushel, 36 cents higher than last month, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. In Alberta, the high-delivered bid is C$10.23/bu. (steady from last month) and in Manitoba, it is C$8.97/bu. (down seven cents).
For feed wheat, the high-delivered bid in Saskatchewan is C$13.50/bu. (down C$1), in Manitoba it is C$13.32/bu. (down C$1.04), and in Alberta it is C$15.65 (up 41 cents).
“I think (prices are) going to drop a little bit (in the near future) here,” Peterson added. “We’re going to see some grain come to market and we’re going to have decent crops. I think the prices are going to be on the softer side for a while.
“But I don’t think it will completely go down because you’ll see export grain trade. But I do think we’ll see things soften a little bit here.”
