Glacier FarmMedia — Total world coarse grain production in 2025/26 is forecast to be up by 25 million tonnes from earlier estimates, largely due to increased corn production in the United States, according to the latest Feed Outlook from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, released Aug. 14.
The USDA is calling for total coarse grain production of 1.572 billion tonnes, which compares with the July forecast of 1.547 billion tonnes and would be up by 4.4 per cent from the year-ago level of 1.506 billion.
Of the total, the world barley crop is forecast at 144.33 million tonnes by the USDA. That was down slightly from the previous estimate, but still up by a million tonnes on the year.
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The USDA left its call on Canadian barley production unchanged at 8.2 million tonnes, which would be up by 100,000 tonnes on the year.
Prolonged dryness and heat in the European Union curbed corn yield expectations there, with total corn production in the EU forecast to be down 2.2 per cent from 2024/25 at 58 million tonnes. However, European barley production is forecast to be up by three million tonnes on the year, at 53.1 million tonnes.
Other notable year-on-year adjustments to the world barley balance sheet from the USDA include an 8.9 per cent increase in Russia’s crop to 17.7 million tonnes and a 5.8 per cent cut to Australia’s crop at 12.5 million tonnes.
Prairie pricing
Feed barley into Lethbridge, Alta., was priced at C$270 to C$285 per tonne as of Aug. 4, according to the Alberta government’s weekly market review. That was down by about C$5 to C$10 per tonne on the week. Delivered corn prices dipped by about C$2.50 per tonne, coming in at roughly C$287.50 per tonne into Lethbridge.
