Canadian farmers harvested 9.7 million tonnes of barley in 2025, up from the 2024 crop size of 8.1 million. Barley producers were aggressive sellers at harvest because yields were larger than anticipated. This selling pressure came as domestic feed demand was at a seasonal low during August, September and October. Canadian barley offers off the West Coast were competitive with other major exporters, such as Australia and Europe, for shipment into China and Saudi Arabia.

Canadian crop year-to-date barley exports for the week ending Jan. 4 were 1.4 million tonnes, up from 1.0 million tonnes last year. The export pace for Canadian barley slowed in January because export values were premium to Australia and Argentina. Cattle-on-feed inventories in Western Canada reach seasonal highs over the winter, which causes the domestic to strengthen above world values.

Canadian barley ending stocks for the 2025-26 crop year are projected to finish near 1.5 million tonnes, up from the 2024-25 carryout of 1.2 million tonnes.

Despite the larger ending stocks, we’re expecting the barley market to percolate higher over the next couple of months. Farmer selling tends to slow during road-ban season and the spring seeding period. As well, the fundamentals for the 2026-27 crop year will tighten, and the market will be extremely sensitive to weather.

The Canadian barley market needs to encourage acreage through higher prices. At this stage, our straw-poll survey suggests that farmers will seed 6.15 million acres. Using an average yield of 70 bushels per acre, production will drop to 8.6 million tonnes, which is below the 10-year average. Production below the 10-year average will cause prices to trade above the 10-year average. The barley market cannot afford a crop problem during the 2026 growing season.

We have a bullish outlook for the corn market, which will also be supportive for Canadian barley prices. U.S. feed demand is also running at seasonal highs while ethanol processing is near full capacity. U.S. corn export sales commitments were up 33 per cent from last year during the last week of January.

At the time of writing this article, South American corn production was uncertain. The main corn provinces in Argentina were experiencing drier conditions and above-average temperatures. In Brazil, the bulk of the exportable surplus comes from the second corn crop which is only seeded in February after the soybean harvest. Brazil is currently contending with La Niña conditions, which usually result in warmer and drier conditions. Therefore, the U.S. needs to carry the world on corn until April or May, which is when Brazil’s exportable surplus is available.

It’s also important to remember that U.S. corn acres in 2026 will be down from 2025. In 2025, the U.S. had record yields. At this stage, traders are only factoring in trend or average-type yields. There is a high probability that the U.S. will experience a year-over-year decrease in corn production.

The stronger corn market will be supportive for barley values during the summer. If drier conditions develop in Western Canada, Alberta barley will trade at a premium to imported U.S. corn.

We’ve been advising feedlot operators to extend barley or feed grain coverage into summer. If drier conditions develop in Western Canada or the U.S. Midwest, it will be prudent to extend coverage into new-crop positions. We’re expecting the July corn futures to trade up to the $5 per bushel level during the late spring period. In early February, July corn was around $4.40 per bushel.

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• RELATED: Feed Grain Weekly: Less activity before corn deliveries

According to Statistics Canada, farmers seeded 6.4 million acres of barley this past spring, down from the 2023 area of 7.3 million acres. The drier conditions in Alberta and western Saskatchewan during the summer resulted in severe yield drag. Statistics Canada model-based survey conducted in late July had the average Canadian yield at 59.9 bu./ac., down from the 2023 yield of 61.2 bu./ac. and down from the 10-year average number of 65 bu./ac. Production is now estimated at 7.5 million tonnes, down from the 2023 crop size of 8.9 mil- lion tonnes, and down from the 10-year average of 8.7 million tonnes. Alberta barley production comprises about four million tonnes out of the total Canadian crop. Trade estimates suggest that 1.5-two million tonnes have light test weight. There are probably about 0.6 million tonnes of light barley in Saskatchewan out of a total provincial crop of 2.7 million tonnes. The crop is smaller and of poor quality. 

Talk in the trade is that there has been some feed barley sales to China. The high-quality barley is in eastern and northern Saskatchewan. Export demand will drain the high-quality barley to offshore channels. We’re expecting Canadian barley exports to reach 2.2 million tonnes, down from the 2023-24 program of 2.5 million tonnes. Australia, Russia, Ukraine and France will have lower exports in the 2024-25 crop year so there will be Chinese demand for Canadian barley. 

Domestic food and industrial usage is about the same every year. This leaves about 4.7 million tonnes of barley for domestic feed usage. We’re projecting a Canadian barley carryout of 756,000 tonnes, down from the 2023-24 ending stocks of 1.2 million tonnes, and down from the 10-year average of 1.1 million tonnes. Western Canada will need to import about four-4.5 million tonnes of U.S. corn to satisfy domestic feed demand. U.S. corn will likely trade into feedlots in central Alberta by the middle of winter. Barley supplies will be relatively tight across Alberta, forcing feedlots to source from farther distances in Saskatchewan. Later in the fall, barley prices in central and southern Alberta will be premium to imported U.S. corn values. This will make the barley market highly correlated with the corn futures market. 

The corn market tends to make seasonal lows in late August and early September, just before the main U.S. harvest. U.S. corn prices are expected to trend higher from September through March 2025. Brazil is experiencing drier conditions heading into the seeding period. Argentine corn acres will be down about 20 per cent due to disease issues and Argentina is also experiencing below-normal precipitation. Eastern Europe and Ukraine have production problems due to drought-like conditions. The U.S. is the main exporter until April 2025. Brazil’s main exportable surplus comes from the second crop which is only harvested in June while the main Argentine harvest occurs in April and May. 

Feedlot operators will experience a higher cost-per-pound gain later in winter and during the spring of 2025. This will weigh on the feeder market. Feeding margin projections over the winter are negative based on the current feeder cattle prices and deferred live cattle futures. Higher feed grain prices will have more of an influence on the feeder market compared to past years for this reason. Finishing feedlots should have their discount schedule in place for deliveries of lightweight barley. If you don’t have a discount schedule, you will be rejecting loads consistently because there is a significant volume of lightweight barley. 

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Total barley production across the Prairies was down by 10 per cent on the year, at 8.707 million tonnes, according to the CGC. Average barley yields were placed at 61.3 bushels per acre in Western Canada, which was down from 70.5 bu./ac. the previous year and the 10-year average of 66.4 bu./ac.

AAC Synergy was the most popular malting barley variety seeded in Western Canada, while the area seeded with CDC Copeland continued to decline. The popularity of newer varieties, such as AAC Connect, CDC Fraser and CDC Churchill, increased noticeably, according to the CGC.

The malting barley was generally of good quality, with average protein levels steady on the year at 12.3 per cent. That compares with the 10-year average of 11.9 per cent.

The average test weight was 65.0 kg/hL, which was lower than the previous year’s average (66.7 kg/hL) and the 10-year average (66.9 kg/hL). The average 1,000 kernel weight was 46.8g, which is higher than last year’s average (45.0g) and the 10-year average (45.7g).

The newer varieties, such as AAC Connect, AAC Synergy, CDC Fraser and CDC Churchill that have kernels larger than AC Metcalfe and CDC Copeland, contributed to the overall high average kernel weight.

Soil moisture and precipitation were lacking in many areas through the growing season but a stretch of relatively cooler temperatures during a portion of July helped relieve some crop stress, as did haze from wildfire smoke, according to the report. Harvest operations started relatively early in August, as crop development was ahead of normal across a good portion of the Prairies due to the hot and dry conditions throughout much of the season. Occasional rain in August did lead to some sprouting and prevented the harvest from being completed in a timely manner.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.

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“As the winter continues to hang on, cattle producers are continuing to have to feed (grain) until they can get their cattle out to pasture,” said Glen Loyns, general manager with JGL Commodities in Moose Jaw, Sask., noting barley markets were seeing some strength as a result.

However, while the demand is there, “farmer participation is not,” he added.

“With the long, extended winter we’re having, guys are just holding onto it for better pricing,” he said, pointing to uncertainty over new-crop production.

“Prices aren’t going down anytime soon.”

Barley in the key feeding area of Lethbridge has moved steadily higher over the past few months, with current bids in the $245-$248 per tonne area, according to government data.

However, additional advances in feed grains may also be hard to come by.

Loyns estimated there was still plenty of unpriced barley in the countryside, despite the aggressive export program this year. Corn imports from the U.S. and Manitoba are another factor keeping a lid on values.

Looking ahead to spring seeding, the solid feed pricing should encourage some acres.

In addition, “as the winter continues to hang on, there’s a higher probability of barley going in the ground because of the shortened growing season,” said Loyns.

While conditions can change quickly at this time of year, he added there were still two feet of snow in some of the northern growing regions.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

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There are four main factors that will cause barley prices to strengthen over the winter. First, approximately 65 per cent of the barley seeded in Western Canada is of malt varieties. Growing and harvest conditions were quite favourable this year, and according to the industry estimates approximately 50 per cent of the crop is malt quality. Farmers with malt quality barley are not willing to sell into feed channels and hold out for higher malt barley prices.

Second, the approximately 90 per cent of the Canadian wheat crop will grade in the top two milling categories. Last year, there was a fair amount of feed wheat and feed durum trading into feed channels. Farmers holding high-quality milling wheat appear to be holding out for higher prices rather than selling into the domestic feed market. Third, domestic feed demand increases over the winter. Cattle-on-feed numbers in Alberta and Sask­­­atch­ewan reach a seasonal high in mid-December and then again in April.

Given the tighter Canadian feed barley supplies, the domestic market needs to trade at a premium to the world market to limit offshore movement. At major seaports, export values are US$25 to as much as US$50 above year-ago levels. Russian and Ukraine feed barley is offered at US$193/MT fob the Black Sea while French feed barley is offered US$195/MT fob the Atlantic Coast. Canadian domestic prices are only a small premium above world values so the strength in the export market will continue to support Alberta feed prices.

While the market is bullish for barley, it’s bearish for corn prices. The USDA estimated average corn yields at 175.4 bushels per acre, which is a record. Despite the year-over-year decline in acreage, total beginning supplies are estimated at 16.9 billion bushels, about the same as last year. Without going into details of demand, the 2017-18 U.S. corn carry-out is projected to finish at 2.5 billion bushels, up from 2.3 billion bushels last year and up from the five-year average of 1.6 billion bushels. Over the winter, the U.S. corn market will function to encourage demand through lower prices.

Readers may remember that South America is coming off record corn production resulting in a year-over-year increase in their exportable surplus. We’re seeing more competition in the world market, which makes Canada a logical home for U.S. corn. It’s interesting to note that on the recent USDA report, North Dakota yields were increased from 126 bushels per acre to 134 bushels per acre. The drought hurt the wheat crop but not the corn. Western Canada is a major outlet for U.S. corn in the Northern Plains. The Mississippi closes in the northern areas over the winter due to freeze-up. Currently, Brazil and Argentina growing conditions are quite favourable and additional rain is in the forecast. Remember, their harvest is in April and May so this will keep the market on the defensive. One caveat on the corn market is the fact that ethanol demand is coming in larger than anticipated. This can sometimes underpin the market regardless how burdensome the carry-out Another factor to consider is the Canadian dollar. If the Canadian dollar weakens, this would be bullish for feed grains in Western Canada.

In conclusion, feed barley supplies in Western Canada are historically tighter while the U.S. corn carry-out for 2017-18 will be sharply above the five-year average. The barley market needs to ration demand by trading at a significant premium to imported U.S. corn values. This will cause Alberta and Saskatchewan feedlots to switch over to U.S. corn.

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“This year all we’ve seen is a $5 to $10 per tonne move higher,” said Jim Beusekom, analyst at Market Place Commodities. “So it’s pretty minimal this year.”

Feed barley prices in Lethbridge are trading between $210 and $215 per tonne for shipment in May/June.

One reason for the lacklustre rally is mediocre demand from feedlots, said Jared Seitz, director at Agfinity Inc.

“There’s less usage than before, and maybe that is because some of the buyers are a little gun-shy from what happened last year,” Seitz said.

Since becoming comparatively less profitable, feeders don’t seem to be taking on as aggressive of an operation this year, he said.

Feedlots that need barley have already bought the grain they need for up until June, which is also stopping prices from gaining.

Feedlots are able to buy feed barley as they need it, Beusekom added.

“There just wasn’t really the difficultly moving grain this year that there normally is,” Seitz said.

Most shipments this year went as planned, he added, and few buyers were caught without grain.

There’s also more grain around this year, compared with year-ago levels, which is further keeping a lid on prices.

On-farm and commercial stocks of barley were at 3.813 million tonnes as of March 2016, compared with 3.402 million tonnes in March 2015, according to Statistics Canada data.

“There’s a little bit more barley than there was last year, demand is down, loading conditions have been good, so nothing that could work in the farmer’s favour,” Seitz said.

But on the upside, Beusekom said, dryness concerns across parts of the Prairies have allowed the market to hold steady, but haven’t provided enough support to allow the market to rally.

Seitz said those concerns will need to be amplified going into the summer to have any significant effect on prices.

“With that kind of set up there’s just really no chance for the market to rally,” he said.

— Jade Markus writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting. Follow her at @jade_markus on Twitter.

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Federal officials on Monday confirmed negotiations have concluded on the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership, now billed as “the largest, most ambitious free trade initiative in history.”

The agreement commits Canada to pull back or remove tariffs for products from Japan, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam — as well as for Canada’s existing free-trade partners, the U.S., Mexico, Chile and Peru — while granting new access for Canadian wares in all 11 markets (see below).

For Canadian beef, pork, wheat, barley, canola, wine and whisky producers, a TPP deal means either tariff elimination or more market access to Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam, whose agricultural tariffs on Canadian product now average 17.3, 10.9 and 17 per cent respectively.

Canadian dairy, poultry and egg producers and processors can also expect more duty-free access to the U.S. and other TPP countries, the government said, noting “complete tariff elimination” on artisanal cheese and certain other specialty cheeses bound for the U.S.

Canada, meanwhile, has pledged “limited new access” in goods now covered by supply management, to be granted via quotas phased in over five years.

The new access, the government said, represents “a small fraction of Canada’s current annual production” — 3.25 per cent for dairy, mainly in milk and butter for value-added processing; 2.3 per cent for eggs; 2.1 per cent for chicken; two per cent for turkey; and 1.5 per cent for broiler hatching eggs.

Canada’s supply-managed producers in return will get a new Income Guarantee Program, which the government said Monday will protect those farms’ incomes against increased access for imports granted through both the TPP and the Canada/European Union free trade agreement (CETA).

The program is expected to provide “100 per cent income protection” to affected farms 10 years from the day the TPP comes into force, then more support on a “tapered basis” for another five years afterward.

The Income Guarantee Program, budgeted for $2.4 billion over those 15 years, would grant a typical dairy producer about $2,087 per cow in total; a chicken farmer, about 35 cents per chicken; a turkey farmer, about 24 cents per kilogram (live weight); an egg farmer, about $3.15 per layer hen; and a hatching egg producer, about seven cents per egg.

The government also announced a “demand-driven” Quota Value Guarantee Program, which is to protect producers against reduced values in quota is sold after the TPP is implemented.

The government said the program, worth $1.5 billion over 10 years, will ensure farmers’ banks and other lenders are secure in continuing to use quota as collateral for loans.

Those programs remain to be finalized with the Canadian Dairy Commission and the Farm Products Council of Canada, the government said.

Related programs announced Monday include a Processor Modernization Program, worth $450 million, to “further advance… competitiveness and growth” of processors in supply-managed sectors.

Supply-managed groups will also get a new Market Development Initiative, worth $15 million added to the AgriMarketing program, to assist them in “promoting and marketing their top-quality products.”

The government also pledged to plug other holes in Canada’s tariff wall through stronger “anti-circumvention measures” such as certification for spent fowl; preventing importers from circumventing import quotas by adding sauce packets to chicken products; and excluding supply-managed products from the federal Duties Relief Program.

Cheese compositional standards Ottawa introduced in 2008 have also been maintained, the government said.

Market access

The TPP deal as agreed upon Monday commits Japan to eliminate almost 32 per cent of its duties on farmed and agri-food products when the deal comes into force; another nine per cent of tariff lines will be get preferential treatment through permanent and “country-specific” quotas for Canada.

Japan’s remaining tariff lines will see tariff elimination or reductions over up to 20 years.

Vietnam will end tariffs on close to 31 per cent of its farmed and agri-food product tariffs when the TPP comes into force, and another 67 per cent of its tariff lines will become duty-free within 15 years, with preferential treatment for others.

Malaysia will end tariffs on nearly 92 per cent of its tariff lines for farmed goods and agri-foods when the TPP comes into force and end another seven per cent of duties within 15 years.

Australia and New Zealand, meanwhile, have pledged eliminate nearly all their tariffs on agriculture and agri-food products when the TPP comes into force, and remaining duties will end in five years or less.

Pork: Canadian pork bound for Japan will see that country’s “over-gate” price tariff of 4.3 per cent on fresh/chilled/frozen pork cuts and pork offal end within 10 years, and Japan’s “under-gate” tariff of up to 482 yen per kilogram cut to 50 yen/kg within 10 years. Over-gate price and below-gate price tariffs will also end within 10 years for preserved and processed pork.

Japan’s tariffs of up to 20 per cent on pork products, including sausages, not subject to the gate price system will also end within 10 years.

Fresh, chilled and frozen pork going to Vietnam from Canada will see tariffs of up to 27 per cent, and tariffs of up to 31 per cent on all other pork products, including sausages, eliminated within nine years.

Beef: Japan’s tariffs of 38.5 per cent on fresh/chilled and frozen beef, and 50 per cent on certain offal, will be cut to nine per cent within 15 years. Its tariffs of up to 50 per cent on processed beef and most offals will end within 15 years.

Vietnam’s tariffs of up to 31 per cent on fresh/chilled and frozen beef will end within two years, and its tariffs of up to 34 per cent on all other beef products end within seven years.

Wheat and barley: Feed wheat bound for Japan will be duty-free and quota-free when the TPP comes into force. Canada will also get a “Canada-specific” quota for food wheat, starting at 40,000 tonnes and rising to 53,000 tonnes within six years. Markups within that country-specific quota will be cut by 45 or 50 per cent.

Vietnam’s tariffs of up to five per cent on all wheat will be eliminated upon entry into force.

Food and feed-grade barley bound for Japan fall under a quota system with markups. Feed barley in Japan will be duty-free and quota-free when the TPP comes into force; Japan’s mark-ups on the price of food barley will be cut by 45 per cent within eight years.

Canada also gets a TPP-wide quota for food barley, starting at 25,000 tonnes and growing to 65,000 tonnes within eight years.

Canola oil: Japanese tariffs on canola oil, now up to 13.20 yen/kg, will be eliminated within five years, as will Vietnam’s tariffs of five per cent.

Wine and spirits: Canadian wine, icewine and sparkling wine will see Japanese duties of up to 182 yen/litre end within seven years. Vietnam’s duties of up to 59 per cent would end within 11 years and Malaysia’s duties of 23 ringgit/litre within 15 years.

Australia and New Zealand have both agreed to end their duties of up to five per cent on Canadian wines immediately when the TPP comes into force; Australia’s five per cent duty on Canadian whisky would also end at that time.

Malaysia’s duties of 58 ringgit/litre on Canadian whisky are to end within 15 years, as are Vietnam’s duties of 55 per cent will be eliminated within 12 years.
In Australia, duties of five per cent will be eliminated upon entry into force.

Canada said the TPP deal will also end or cut many of the TPP nations’ existing tariffs, or create tariff rate quotas, on Canada’s exports of processed foods and non-alcoholic beverages including maple syrup, baked goods, processed grain and pulse products, and sugar and chocolate confectionery. — AGCanada.com Network

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Statistics Canada estimated barley acres at 6.5 million on its June survey which was basically the same as the previous April survey. However Canadian barley production is now estimated at 7.0 million mt which is down from my earlier estimate of 7.9 million mt back in spring. Drier conditions have lowered yield expectations resulting in a sharp decrease in production. Given the lower carry-in stocks from the previous crop year, total supplies as of August 1, 2015 are estimated at 8.0 million mt, down from 9.1 million mt on August 1 of 2014. The 2015-16 barley carry-out has potential to dip down to 0.8 million mt, which is historically tight.

Given the lower production, the function of the barley market is to ration demand through higher prices and encourage the use of alternate feed grains. During the 2014-15 crop year, abundant feed wheat supplies tempered the upside in the barley market but it appears that Western Canada will have a high-quality crop this fall. Therefore, the market needs to encourage the imports of U.S. corn and DDGS. This will cause the domestic barley market to trade at a premium to imported corn or DDGS prices after the harvest period.

The USDA estimated corn acres at 88.9 million on its June survey, which is down from 90.6 million last year and marginally less than the 10-year average of 89.0 million. On the July USDA report, the USDA left the yields unchanged from the trend forecast at 166.8 bushels per acre. However, adverse wet conditions have plagued some major eastern Corn Belt growing areas. Many analysts are forecasting a slightly lower yield and a minor downward revision in harvested area. Without going into detail on demand projections, one can easily justify a 1.3-billion-bushel carry-out, compared to the current USDA estimate of 1.6 billion bushels. Notice that the 10-year average carry-out is 1.6 billion bushels so the market is going to experience further volatility for the remainder of the growing season. We will inevitably see some harvest pressure but it will also depend on the U.S. export program during the fall period.

At the time of writing this article, the U.S. winter wheat harvest was in the final stages and the world was awash with wheat. Russian and French wheat is trading into Central America and Mexico limiting export movement for Canadian and U.S. wheat into these destinations. France and Germany have also experienced a drier summer tempering corn and spring barley yields. A few cargoes of South American corn have traded into the eastern U.S. destinations. Australia appears to have adequate moisture and longer term, the focus will be on South American growing conditions. Western Canadian domestic feed wheat prices are higher than milling wheat in the major feeding regions. The recent rally in corn and adverse dry conditions in Western Canada have caused abnormal world trade flows and domestic consumption behaviour (milling wheat moving into feed channels). This is tempering the upside in the feed grain market for the time being, while the weaker Canadian dollar is supportive.

In conclusion, I feel the barley market will remain firm and has potential upside after the harvest period. The corn market may have some volatility ahead but I feel the downside is limited. This will take the steam out of the feeder cattle market if fed cattle prices don’t offset the strength in feed prices.

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“This recent rally in corn has helped barley and feed wheat move higher; we’re in a market driven by corn, which leads us to believe that the ending stocks in barley are low enough that corn matters,” said Allen Pirness of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge.

Feed barley was sitting around the $220 per tonne mark early last week when the rally in corn pushed it up into the $250s.

“We’ve seen some stuff trade as high as $260, for this crop year,” said Pirness. He added he wasn’t sure of prices in Vancouver, but suspected that domestically, feed barley is at higher values than on the export market.

He said he’s heard of some feedlots that are already bringing in corn to offer buyers, and estimates it could be delivered into lots around $270-$275 per tonne — extremely close to barley values.

“Nutritionally, corn has a premium value to barley because (corn) has more energy,” he said.

Recent moisture is also helping to alleviate some of the pressures facing feed barley, he added.

“Weekend rains and cooler weather have kind of turned the tide a little bit, maybe we’ve seen the top of it; corn is down a dime today so maybe we’re seeing things roll over a bit,” he said.

In Montana, barley continues to be shipped north from malt growers in the state who wound up with a lot of poor-quality acres last year.

“They’ve been moving barley north all crop year,” said Pirness.

— Dave Sims writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

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“We’re two weeks ahead here in southern Alberta, there’s guys that have wrapped up; they’re done seeding already,” said council president Brian Otto.

On his own farm at Warner, Alta., southeast of Lethbridge, Otto said conditions are good enough that he plans to begin seeding sometime this week.

The situation is similar in many parts of Saskatchewan — a far cry from last year, when seeding was delayed due to wet weather.

While Statistics Canada has pegged 2015 barley acreage as 6.5 million acres, Otto said he believes it could turn out to be slightly more, “maybe 6.4 (million) or 6.8, something like that,” if the weather stays favourable. Canadian farmers seeded 5.4 million acres in 2014.

“We got moisture to get things started, but we’ve had days of wind, so our ground is getting crusted, so we’ll need some rain here in the next couple of weeks for sure.”

Malt prices have stayed largely in the $5.50-$6 per bushel range over the past few years, according to Otto, and he expected that to remain the case.

He has already signed a contract with a major maltster for his acres, a practise that generally becoming the norm.

“For anybody growing malt barley, we like to have our contracts signed with maltsters with pricing in place. We’ve had contracts signed before we put a kernel in the ground,” said Otto.

He said he’s seen a bit of an uptick in new-crop contracts over the past week, which is a good sign.

Most of the crop going into Western Canada’s fields will be two-row varieties and should be good enough to qualify for malting purposes, Otto said, but even if it’s downgraded to feed, there should be buyers for that too.

“The feed market is holding up very well. I think the barley industry is looking healthy,” he said.

As for export sales, Otto said offshore markets for Canadian barley look to remain steady this year, both for feed and malt supplies, and “we would be on an average for barley exports right now.”

— Dave Sims writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

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