(Resource News International) –– Cash bids for feed barley in Western Canada have undergone some strengthening but the firmer price outlook does not extend too far forward.
“Basically, what is happening is that feedlots are covering some nearby needs with producers being reluctant sellers,” said Jerry Klassen, manager with G.A.P. Grains of Winnipeg. “These end-users are essentially topping off their supply bins.”
The majority of feedlots in Western Canada have covered their short-term demand needs, he said. “I would estimate that most have covered requirements through to the end of May with about 50-60 per cent of the June needs also already fulfilled.”
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Klassen cautioned that once the feedlots have covered requirements, the small upswing in the bids will quickly disappear.
He felt producers may have been unable to sell as they concentrate on spring fieldwork or even planting operations.
Some of the road restrictions imposed by the provincial governments may also still be in place, preventing deliveries. The precipitation that has hit Alberta and parts of Saskatchewan and the resulting wet soils may have also not allowed trucks to back up to the grain bins in farmyards.
The price outlook for cash barley does not appear to be too friendly, given the ample old-crop supply situation and the relative firmness of the Canadian dollar, which has been making it cheap for end-users to bring in U.S. corn as well as dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS).
The continued downtrend in the livestock supply in Western Canada also has resulted in fewer feed requirements.
Cash bids for feed barley, delivered to the elevator in Saskatchewan, based on Prairie Ag Hotwire data, currently range from $2.35 to $2.48 a bushel, in Manitoba around $2.63 and in Alberta from $2.18 to $3.27.
Cash bids for feed barley, delivered to the elevator in Saskatchewan, based on Prairie Ag Hotwire data, in early April ranged from $2 to $2.45 a bushel, in Manitoba $2.73-$2.98 and in Alberta $2.09-$3.16.
At the beginning of March, cash bids for feed barley, delivered to the elevator, in Saskatchewan, ranged from $2 to $2.44 a bushel, in Manitoba $2.81-$2.85 and in Alberta, $2.10-$3.27.
