Spring road restrictions set axle weight limits for vehicles moving on certain roads to reduce the damage heavier loads can cause during the spring thaw period. Grain and equipment movement can both be affected by the spring road bans, as drivers may need to find alternate routes or haul smaller loads.

The duration of the restrictions will depend on the local weather conditions, but typically last through April and into May.

In Manitoba, spring road bans are set to come into effect on Friday, March 17, according to a provincial order.

The winter weight season in neighbouring Saskatchewan is set to expire on March 14, which will reduce the tonnage allowed on roads.

Alberta has yet to report the official start of road restrictions in the province, but typically sees its first weight limits for the southern areas of the province in mid-March.

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

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Annual spring road restrictions set axle weight limits for vehicles moving on certain roads, in an effort to reduce the damage heavier loads can cause during the spring thaw period.

Grain and equipment movement can both be affected by the spring road bans, as drivers may need to find alternate routes or haul smaller loads. The duration of the restrictions will depend on the local weather conditions, but typically last through April and into May.

“At various times of the year, weight restrictions are put in place on some highways as a measure to prevent damage to the surface and roadbeds,” Saskatchewan Highways Minister Fred Bradshaw said in a release announcing the province’s road restrictions that came into effect on Tuesday.

“As the warmer weather rolls in, some roads can become susceptible to soft spots and surface cracks,” he added.

In Manitoba, spring road bans are set to come into effect on Friday across the province, according to an update from Manitoba Infrastructure.

The restrictions vary depending on the road, with level one restrictions consisting of 90 per cent of normal loading and 65 per cent of normal on level two affected roads.

Spring road restrictions went into effect across the southern half of Alberta on Monday, with other areas expected to be added to the list as the thaw progresses, according to Alberta Transportation.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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The annual spring road restrictions set axle weight limits for vehicles moving on certain roads in an effort to reduce the damage heavier loads can cause during the spring thaw period.

Grain and equipment movement can both be affected by the spring road bans, as drivers may need to find alternate routes or haul smaller loads. The duration of the restrictions will depend on local weather conditions, but typically last through April and into May.

In Manitoba, spring road bans are set to come into effect on Saturday (March 6) in the southern part of the province (climate zone 1a), with other zones following over the next few days, according to an update from Manitoba Infrastructure.

The restrictions vary depending on the road, with level one restrictions consisting of 90 per cent of normal loading and 65 per cent of normal on level two affected roads.

Winter weight allowances were still in place across most of Saskatchewan as of Friday, according to the provincial ministry of highways and infrastructure.

Spring road restrictions typically come into effect in mid-March in the province and have already been imposed over the past week for highways south of Highway 1 and a few others in the province’s southwest, according to the provincial Highway Hotline map. Winter weights are set to be lifted Monday on a few more roads in the province’s southeast.

Spring road restrictions are set to go into effect across the southern half of Alberta, south of Camrose, on March 8, with other areas expected to be added to the list as the thaw progresses, according to Alberta Transportation.

Current details are available online for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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Provincial Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler announced Tuesday that certain essential goods may be trucked at “normal loading” axle weights on highways usually subject to Level 1 road restrictions during spring thaw.

Essential commodities can also be trucked at normal loading on roads subject to Level 2 load limits, if the highway links two points on the truck’s itinerary that are less than 10 kilometres apart — or in any other case if the highway is the most direct route between a point on the itinerary and the nearest highway not subject to Level 2 limits.

Normal loading will also be allowed if the “essential” goods in question are being trucked between midnight and noon during the first 14 days of the province’s restriction order, or at any time of day after the 14th day.

For the purposes of the province’s order, “essential” goods include groceries, medical supplies, fuel, fertilizer, bulk milk, potable water for non-industrial use, emergency equipment and materials, and Canada Post-related mail delivery, as well as livestock, feed in transit, and hay for feed in transit within Manitoba.

Transporting grain to satisfy grain quotas or contracts — or transporting potatoes or vegetables from producer to processor — at normal loading weights during the load limit period usually requires a permit, but will not require one for the 2020 spring season.

The exemptions announced Tuesday won’t allow vehicles to travel over any bridges or other structures at weights beyond those structures’ posted limits, the province noted.

For other commodities and goods, spring load limits took effect Friday (March 27) in Zone 1A (all of southern Manitoba, the Interlake and western Manitoba up to Dauphin and Russell) and Monday (March 30) in Zone 1B (western Manitoba around Swan River, Roblin and Ethelbert).

Further north, spring load limits take effect Friday (April 3) in Zone 2, which includes The Pas, Flin Flon, Cross Lake, Grand Rapids and Norway House, and on Monday (April 6) in Zone 3, which includes Thompson, Gillam, Lynn Lake, Leaf Rapids and Churchill.

“In order to allow vehicles to more easily transport essential goods during the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are easing spring road restrictions in certain circumstances,” Schuler said Tuesday in a release.

“This will help ensure communities continue to have access to items such as medical supplies, groceries and emergency equipment at this crucial time.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Feed barley is trading in the $4-$4.95 per bushel area in Alberta, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data. Prices top out at just over $4 per bushel in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Feed bids typically see some strength in the spring, as farmers turn their attention to spring seeding and away from delivering grain. Spring road bans that hamper logistics can also lend some support.

However, a large amount of spring-harvested grain will soon be looking for a home across the Prairies, and the anticipation of those deliveries should be limiting nearby demand.

Large carryout supplies and expectations for increased Canadian barley acres in 2020 are another limiting factor.

In addition, declining beer demand, as bars and sporting events shut down due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, may cause some malt barley to move into feed channels instead.

A number of brewers and distillers have already shifted some production capabilities away from making beverages and are making hand sanitizer in an effort to help fight the virus.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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“Winter weights are coming off, which is restricting the areas (feedlots) can pull from,” said Allen Pirness, of MarketPlace Commodities in Lethbridge, adding “there’s a firm tone to the market, but it’s not really moving higher.”

Looking further out to the spring and summer, there’s not much of a carry in the market, according to Pirness. Expectations for increased barley acres in 2020 were limiting prices for deferred deliveries, he said.

“When the expectation is for cheaper new-crop grain, then they’ll draw their inventories down, rather than replace.”

However, with concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus roiling international markets, “we’re encouraging end users to stay closer to the top end of their inventories for now,” said Pirness, pointing to the possibility of supply chain disruptions if truck drivers or others are forced to self-quarantine.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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“There’s still obviously a demand, but buyers are pretty well covered for the February-March timeframe. That’s a window where a lot of growers are looking to sell before the road bans come in April,” he said.

And that has led prices to soften before the roads do.

Feed barley prices on Agfinity.com ranged from $3.55 per bushel picked up in Mackenzie County to $4.65 picked up in Newell County.

In comparison, Prairie Ag Hotwire listed February feed barley for Alberta at $3.85-$5.01 per bushel delivered. For Saskatchewan the range was $3.41-$4.09 and in Manitoba, $3.94-$4.15.

Agfinity’s February-March feed wheat prices ranged from $4.50 in Mackenzie to $6.20 per bushel picked up in Athabasca County.

For all of Alberta, Prairie Ag Hotwire was $4.60-$6.40 per bushel delivered. Also, the website listed Saskatchewan from $5.09 to $5.75 per bushel and Manitoba was much narrower at $5.10-$5.15.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

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“We saw them at the end of last week, the beginning of this week, really jump up. Guys were scrambling to get stuff in before road bans,” he said.

He attributed the increased prices to lingering cold weather that plagued the Prairies over the last several weeks, as cattle ate more feed to keep warm.

Feed barley on Thursday was upward to $270 per tonne in the Lethbridge area, he said. Feed wheat was substantially less, in the mid-$250s range.

Feed prices from Prairie Ag Hotwire listed barley as low as $193 per tonne delivered across Western Canada. The highs ranged from $211 in Saskatchewan to $218 in Manitoba and $256 in Alberta.

Wheat, also delivered, was $228 per tonne in Manitoba and $193-$220 in Saskatchewan. Alberta had better pricing, at $209-$265 per tonne.

“I’m inclined to think the market will cool off in a bit,” Neumann said.

Corn imports from the U.S. have been continuing, with the bulk of them going to Feedlot Alley in Lethbridge.

“Corn pricing fell, but so did the Canadian dollar at the same time. Kind of balanced it out,” he said.

— Glen Hallick writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

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Large green lentils are around 22 cents/lb. picked up at the farm, said Dale McManus of Johnston Grains at Welwyn, Sask., about 145 km southeast of Yorkton.

The lentils have slipped somewhat since the end of 2018, he added.

Chickpeas are about 28 cents/lb., also picked up at the farm. That price has been pretty much flat so far this year, according to McManus.

Canary seed, he continued, made a gain of two cents Tuesday morning and was selling at 24 cents/lb. Yellow peas, until recently, had been at $7 per bushel, he said.

“They seemed to have slipped somewhat, at $6.75-$6.90 per bushel,” he said.

While there hasn’t been much to move pulse prices either way, McManus pointed out road restrictions are coming toward the end of next month.

“Normally if you are in an area that is heavily restricted or you know you’re going to need cash, being a producer, you’re going to try move product,” he said.

As more pulses enter the commercial pipeline, that supply will want to push prices downward, which won’t see any improvement until spring seeding gets closer, he added.

“To get producers to grow more large green lentils, they are probably going to knock it up a couple of cents to encourage growers to put it in the ground,” McManus said, adding this is the normal cycle of prices as spring approaches.

— Glen Hallick writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

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The dominant July contract closed Wednesday at $535 per tonne, a gain of $8 from the previous Wednesday’s close.

Prairie farmers on Friday will get their first projections on how much canola will be planted in Canada. At this stage, most pundits expect this year’s crop to approach or exceed 24 million acres — significantly larger than last year’s total of 23 million.

Even without that report, one analyst in Winnipeg says canola faces factors that could take it much lower.

“Once seeding is done and if China and the U.S. step back on tariffs, canola might have a bigger downside,” said Keith Ferley of RBC Dominion Securities.

The potential for a strike at Canadian Pacific Railway also looms over the market — and road bans have sprung up in rural areas, making cash selling difficult for farmers.

“They’re also busy seeding so if you need (canola) you will have to pay up to get it out of their hands,” he said.

The Canadian dollar’s recent softening has also put some legs under the canola market. Ferley pegged immediate overhead resistance in the July contract at $545 per tonne and floor support at $530.

“The May-July spread is still a big feature and trading at a pretty good inverse,” he said.

Both soybeans and soymeal have shown some support recently, which has also helped canola weather the influence of slumping vegetable oil markets.

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

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