MarketsFarm — Recent strength in U.S. wheat futures may be lending some spillover support to Canadian feed grain bids, but large supplies and a lack of aggressive demand kept the market steady heading into the New Year.
The rise in wheat futures “has made the farmer a more reluctant seller,” said Allen Pirness of MarketPlace Commodities in Lethbridge.
However, “at the same time, the feedlots have not really needed to go to the market to buy anything — they’re pretty well positioned,” Pirness said.
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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.
Most end users were covered at least through January, he expected.
With daytime highs forecast to hover above the freezing mark in southern Alberta over the next week, the warm temperatures were also limiting some demand due to better feed conversion rates.
“Farmer selling will pick up naturally, as it does, in January,” said Pirness. If the feedlots are still hesitant to buy at that time, prices could slide.
“Supplies are still big, especially on the feed wheat side.”
— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports on MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.
