(Resource News International) — With the persistent rains that hampered harvest progress and crop maturity across the Prairies in September, a significant portion of the barley crop has seen poorer quality.
Jim Beusekom of Marketplace Commodities at Lethbridge, Alta. said a lot of barley harvested this year will be sold for feed.
“The quality is poorer than expected, due to sprouting, shedding and even some frost damage in Saskatchewan,” he said.
Though a large portion of barley will be of poorer quality, Beusekom said there will be a similar amount of feed wheat to what was seen last year.
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“A lot of the barley that was grown as malt will end up as feed,” he said. “From what I understand is that the malt companies aren’t quite as fussy this year. They’re taking grades of barley that they otherwise had rejected.”
That’s because of a lack of high-quality product, he said.
Another development this year is the Canadian Wheat Board now actively exporting feed barley, Beusekom said, and this could create some worries for how much product is available for domestic users.
“If they (the CWB) are able to export a significant amount, then domestic feedlots and feed mills will have to compete against that,” he said.
Beusekom said he expects the market will drift sideways during the final quarter of 2010.
“The export business will not come until late this year, but more likely the first or second quarter of 2011,” he said. “I don’t think our domestic market will run short of supply for the next couple months.”
Elevator deliveries for feed barley were bringing as much as $3.22 per bushel in Manitoba, $2.94 per bushel in Saskatchewan, and $3.70 in Alberta, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. Those prices range from 11 cents higher to four cents lower from one week ago.
