Canada’s barley growers should be able to see a small window of pricing opportunity at harvest when new-crop production is available and the U.S. corn crop is still in the field.
Charlie Pearson, a crops market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Edmonton, noted that harvest window when speaking here Monday at the annual Wild Oats Grainworld conference.
U.S. corn stocks are currently very tight and the resulting strength in U.S. feed grain prices has supported the Canadian barley market as well, said Pearson.
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Feed grain prices have not yet been affected by rising fuel costs, but will continue to rise nonetheless, said a Lethbridge-based trader.
Feed barley prices over the next year will depend on what happens with corn, and the early expectations for a large U.S. crop have the potential to weigh on prices.
However, Canada’s barley crop will be harvested in mid-summer, a few months before the US corn crop is available, said Pearson.
There "will be a window of opportunity off the combine," he said, and at that time, corn stocks will be very low, which will open the door for Canadian feed barley sales into the U.S. market.
— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
