Posted on September, 6, 2024 at 12:30 am
Feed barley and feed wheat are in no short supply on the Prairies, according to Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, Alta.
He has recently seen light test-weight barley and wheat coming from various places in Western Canada being shipped to feedlots. Beusekom added the feed grains were coming from “almost everywhere in the Palliser Triangle”, the area consisting of southeastern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba.
“There’s some barley crop that is less than 48 pounds per bushel. The wheat is more variable. We’ve just seen some in eastern Alberta that is light and some durum on the light side in southern Alberta,” he said. “Because of downgrading due to bushel weights, there will be more (grain) entering feed markets. A lot of variance in quality, that’s for sure.”
While barley and wheat are still preferred by most feedlots, some are going back to buying corn from the United States due to the cereals’ test-weight situation and lower corn prices.
“The prices are very close and they want the consistent quality of that corn,” Beusekom said. “The grain that is here is making its way into the feedlots. It will trade at discount prices and if it’s good, there will be no issues.”
Feed grain prices in Lethbridge have rallied C$10 to C$15 per tonne at approximately C$260 since their harvest lows two weeks earlier, according to Beusekom. He said a lack of harvest pressure and rising corn and wheat prices have contributed to the rally.
Feed grain prices may continue to rise going into October while staying rangebound, according to Beusekom.
“Usually the market will peak out in mid- to the end of October and finds the trading range for the remainder of the winter months,” he said. “It’s not a change in trends. I don’t see us going straight from a down trend into an up trend, but rather we go into sideways trading. It may be a C$25 per tonne range from the low to the high.”
Source: Grainnews