A barley crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley demand pressures domestic supply

MarketsFarm — Increasing demand for feed barley has created a strong but extremely tightened market for the crop and it may potentially buck seeding predictions for 2021-22. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre in Winnipeg, said rising demand from China is also raising prices for feed barley, urging growers to […] Read more



File photo of a barley field in Argentina. (Juan Pablo Marchelletti/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentine truckers end strike, freeing China-bound barley

Canada, France would have been buyers' Plan B

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentine truckers ended a 20-day strike that had blocked access to ports in Buenos Aires province, agricultural industry sources said on Tuesday, following a deal struck with local officials to increase freight-hauling rates. Trucks owners grouped in the informal TUDA association (Transportistas Unidos de Argentina) began blocking highways last month, […] Read more

Sheri Strydhorst, one of the province’s better-known crop experts, has joined Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley as an agronomy research specialist.

Familiar figures in the provincial agronomy scene on the move

Two canola council agronomists leave organization while cereal commissions hire second crop specialist

Reading Time: 2 minutes Two longtime Canola Council of Canada agronomists have moved on while another who specializes in cereals has joined Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley. Dan Orchard, who covered agronomy in Wetaskiwin, is now consulting in the same region, and Greg Sekulic, who was responsible for the Peace Country is joining Croplife Australia. “Nobody was cut, nobody […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan confirms canola stocks tightening

Wheat stocks also down from previous year-end

MarketsFarm — Solid demand from exporters and domestic crushers continues to eat rapidly through Canada’s canola stocks, which as of Dec. 31 were down nearly 24 per cent from the same date a year earlier, according to new data released Friday from Statistics Canada. The government agency pegged total canola stocks in the country as […] Read more



A barley crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

China’s appetite for feed barley sucks in new crop from Canada, France

Tariff on Australian barley favours other suppliers

Paris | Reuters — China’s buying spree of French and Canadian barley is spilling into the 2021-22 crop with large forward purchases, due to its major feed grain needs and a prohibitive tariff on Australian barley, traders and analysts said. China has been sweeping up huge volumes of foreign crops to help feed a pig […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market bounces on optimistic outlook

Feed barley remains near historical highs

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices traded $2-$4 higher; prices for mid-weight calves were quoted $4-$8 above week-ago levels. Calves under 550 lbs. traded $6 to as much as $10 higher compared to seven days earlier. Improving feedlot margins were the main factor driving the feeder market. June and August live cattle futures […] Read more


File photo of South African malting barley. (Sunshine Seeds/iStock/Getty Images)

South Africa’s barley growers face bleak outlook on alcohol ban

Ban reinstated against COVID-19 surge

Johannesburg | Reuters — South African barley farmers are bracing for a tough market ahead as demand for the grain used to make beer falls and stockpiles grow after a ban on the sale of alcohol was reinstated as the country battles a surge in COVID-19 cases. The government in December enforced its third ban […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Buyers’ thoughts turn to April-June

MarketsFarm — Attention on feed grains is shifting away from February-March and focusing on the April-June period, according to Erin Harakal, senior trader at Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta. Their buyers have February-March pretty much covered, she said. Demand continues to be driven by exports to China, she added, with Prairie feedlots required to keep […] Read more