MarketsFarm — Feed grains in Western Canada have been holding close to the status quo for the last little while, but that’s likely to change, according to Jim Beusekom of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge.
He pointed to increases in corn and wheat this week in U.S. futures markets, in which corn has gained about 25 U.S. cents per bushel and wheat is up 50-60 U.S. cents/bu.
“It doesn’t imply that we’re going to see the [feed] market continue to decline,” Beusekom said, but noted the market hasn’t been exciting recently.
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“It’s status quo with small declines. We’ll see where things go later in January and February,” he added.
Corn at present has been steady to a little bit higher, he said, with Market Place at $410-$415 per tonne. Barley and wheat have slipped a little, with barley around $435 and wheat at $440-$445/tonne.
“The daily usage of feed grains is probably very similar to what it was a month ago,” Beusekom said. “I don’t believe it’s any lower at this point. The feedlot users and feed mill users are bought up at this point. For the most part they’re executing contracts and taking delivery of previously purchased commodities.”
Buyers have remained ahead of what’s been going on, he said, with getting supplies and making sure products are delivered on time.
Across Western Canada over the last week, Prairie Ag Hotwire has found feed barley prices have been steady to lower. In Manitoba, prices were holding at $8.83-$9 per bushel delivered, while Alberta stuck to $7.50-$9.91/bu. However, in Saskatchewan, barley gave up 50 cents and was at $7.50-$8.30.
It’s a similar story for feed wheat, but with a decline in Manitoba. There, the price pulled back 54 cents/bu. and was at $10.89/bu delivered. Alberta was firm at $9.50-$12.93 and Saskatchewan remained steady at $9.50-$11.
— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.
