Glacier FarmMedia — The cereal harvest in Saskatchewan isn’t in full swing yet, but feed barley still has a price advantage over feed corn imported from the United States.
Evan Peterson, a trader with JGL Commodities in Moose Jaw, Sask., said there are factors that are keeping barley as the preferred grain over corn in feedlots.
“It’s still cheaper than corn. (For) barley, we’ve seen crop ratings improve. We’ve got increased estimates on yield,” Peterson said. “Barley is going to be likely trading a little below or close to corn values, but I don’t anticipate it trading higher than corn over the next little while.”
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As of Aug. 11, two per cent of Saskatchewan’s barley crop was combined and another two per cent were harvested for feed, the province’s weekly crop report said.
Cattle sales at the auctions are ramping up this month, and with the ongoing contraction of the national cattle herd, Peterson said producers may be in no rush to sell.
“The cattle producer has good grass conditions with these rains that have come in July and August. So I don’t think they’re going to be in a panic to sell. I think they’re going to struggle to find demand for this grain here in the near term until Christmas,” he said.
Peterson added feed grain prices are still looking to bottom out, but movement will be gradual.
“We’re still seeing some pressure (on prices). There’s a lack of demand and there’s going to have to be somewhere for this feed barley to go,” he said. “We’re seeing more and more feed wheat. We’re seeing more durum … I still think we’re going to see some continued downward pressure for a while here.”
Delivered bids for Saskatchewan feed barley ranged from C$4.50 to C$4.79 per bushel, down 46 cents from last month, as of Aug. 21 according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. In Alberta, bids were down 44 cents at C$4.50 to C$6.21/bu., while in Manitoba, they lost 78 cents at C$4.25 to C$4.57/bu.
For feed wheat, delivered prices in Alberta and Saskatchewan dropped 68 cents, with C$5.44 to C$7.89/bu. in Alberta and a single price of C$6.88/bu. in Saskatchewan. In Manitoba, there was a gain of 32 cents at C$6.45 to C$7/bu.
