Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — A Lethbridge-based trader said feed barley seems to be the preferred grain at local feedlots.
While corn is currently used at some feedlots, Matt Beusekom of Market Place Commodities added that barley’s current pricing has made it more favourable.
“(There isn’t) huge demand for corn just yet. The majority of the feeders are sticking to barley so far. There are some that are using corn here and there, but most demand is for barley,” he said.
Beusekom reported spot prices for corn at between C$7.37 to C$7.49 per bushel, while barley was at C$6.10 to C$6.21/bu.
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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.
“They both are creeping up a little bit,” he explained. “I think it’s a bit of a seasonal trend. Corn futures are climbing. So that will pull corn up, along with the falling Canadian dollar. They make corn more expensive here.”
A dearth of wintry weather in southern Alberta led to few adjustments to colder conditions, but more cattle are coming off the grass and entering feedlots, Beusekom added.
He anticipates a slow rise in feed grain prices as winter approaches.
“We’re thinking they could get higher going into spring and summer, as well. Just on tighter supplies,” Beusekom said.
Prairie Ag Hotwire reported delivered prices for feed barley in Alberta ranged from C$4.35 to C$6.25/bu. as of Nov. 6, up four cents from the week before. In Saskatchewan, prices were steady at C$4.50 to C$4.75/bu., while in Manitoba, the range was C$4 to C$4.46/bu., rising 14 cents.
For feed wheat, delivered prices in Alberta were unchanged at C$6.26 to C$8.44/bu. In Saskatchewan, feed wheat was priced from C$6.26 to C$7.38, up 25 cents from the previous week. In Manitoba, a price of C$6.65 was reported, up four cents from the week before.
