MarketsFarm — Green pea prices in Western Canada continue to rise, while bids for most of the other major pulses grown in the Prairies are also trending higher.
Spot green pea bids have risen by about 70 cents per bushel over the past two weeks to currently top out at $10.50 per bushel, according to the latest Prairie Ag Hotwire data. Meanwhile, yellow peas have only improved by a nickel at most during that timeframe, to range from $5.75 to $6.60 per bushel.
Quality of the country’s pea crop is highly questionable this year, with more bleaching than usual, according to industry participants.
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
Green lentils have increased by a penny or two per pound over the past month, with bids for No. 1 large greens as high as 26 cents/lb. Red lentils were trading in the 17.5-19 cents/lb. range for No. 2 or better.
Early winter weather in the edible bean growing regions of Manitoba and North Dakota/Minnesota hampered harvest operations for the crop, with prices for most varieties rising to their highest levels of the past year in many cases.
Spot bids for navy beans in Manitoba are trading in the 35-38 cents/lb. area, while pintos top out at 37 cents and black beans at 31 cents.
Chickpeas were the one major pulse crop showing signs of topping out, with larger-calibre kabulis losing a cent or two at the top end over the past week. Ten-millimetre kabuli chickpeas were trading as high as 28 cents/lb. in the latest Prairie Ag Hotwire data.
— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.
