The feeder market was hard to define this week. The quality of yearlings was quite variable. Fleshier types were heavily discounted while quality packages were unchanged from seven days earlier. Calf prices were mostly unchanged; however, values were down $4-$6 in drier pockets of southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Southern Alberta barley prices were quoted […] Read more
Klassen: Drier conditions will influence feeder market
Feed weekly outlook: Falling futures suggest first cracks in lofty market
MarketsFarm — A sharp drop in corn and wheat futures prices at the Chicago Board of Trade over the past week could be the sign of the first cracks in the western Canadian feed grain market. That said, tight supplies and uncertainty over new-crop grain production remain supportive. “With the move on the futures market […] Read more
ADM to crush soybeans in North Dakota
Ex-Cargill Malt plant to be redeveloped
A former malt processing plant in eastern North Dakota is set to be the site of the state’s first soybean crushing plant. U.S. ag processor ADM, the ‘A’ of the four ‘ABCD’ companies that dominate global grain trading, announced Monday it will spend about US$350 million to develop a dedicated soybean crush plant and refinery […] Read more
Klassen: Stronger fed cattle prices underpin feeder complex
Limited feed and forage hinder further upside
Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $265-$270 delivered this past week, up $3-$5 from seven days earlier. Live prices were quoted at $159-$162 delivered using a 60 per cent grading. If the feedlot operator booked their feed grains earlier in winter, live prices are $2-$3 above breakeven […] Read more
Canada left with very tight canola, barley stocks
'You can't find canola anywhere in the country'
MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada’s grain stocks report leaves no question that canola stocks have been tight for some time in Canada and will continue to be unless demand is slashed, according to independent trader Jerry Klassen in Winnipeg. “You can’t find canola anywhere in the country and the stocks that are out there, a lot […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Drought, demand deplete southern Alberta stocks
MarketsFarm — Prices for feed grains are continuing to go up — and with depleted stocks and dry conditions forecast for the Prairies, they are likely to rise a bit more. “There’s a shortage of corn. Corn’s at over $400 (per tonne) in southern Alberta. You’ve got barley that’s pushing over $340-$350 and that’s a […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Solid exports support domestic barley market
MarketsFarm — Canada has already exported more barley through the first two-thirds of the 2020-21 marketing year than in any full crop year in over a decade. That solid export pace is keeping domestic prices well supported, with an increase in seeded area in 2021-22 expected. Export data from the Canadian Grain Commission through March […] Read more
StatsCan’s projected canola area on low side of expectations
Wheat acres expected lower, barley up
MarketsFarm — As the market grapples with new planting projections from Statistics Canada, one thing was abundantly clear to MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville: this canola forecast isn’t enough to rectify tight ending stocks. In StatsCan’s survey-based principal field crop areas report, released Tuesday, the federal agency pegged canola acres for 2021-22 at 21.53 million, […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle divorce from futures’ direction
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged. Higher-quality yearlings and calves were steady to $4 higher in Alberta and Saskatchewan; in Manitoba, yearlings traded $2-$4 lower while calves were $3-$5 higher. Domestic cattle markets appeared to divorce from feeder and live cattle futures. June live cattle futures finished the week […] Read more
More canola, less wheat expected ahead of StatsCan report
'Returns per acre are just so much stronger'
MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers are seen as likely to plant more canola and barley and less wheat this spring, as market participants await the first survey-based estimates from Statistics Canada on Tuesday to confirm the extent of that shift. “Canola will gain acres and wheat will lose acres,” said MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville, pointing […] Read more