MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley and wheat have firmed up across the Prairies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said trader Allen Pirness of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge.
However, he also noted corn prices have fallen due to the steep decline in the U.S. ethanol industry.
The Saudi Arabia/Russia crude oil price war put enormous pressure on U.S. ethanol prices. Added to that, consumer demand has fallen sharply because of the pandemic.
“Barley and wheat probably don’t have a whole lot of room to run yet in the domestic market. It’s starting to close in on corn, but it’s still a ways away,” Pirness said, noting U.S. corn imports aren’t yet valued low enough to displace domestic feed sources.
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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.
Supporting barley and wheat prices have been the drop in the Canadian dollar and spring road bans across the Prairies, he said. Also, cheaper fuel has put pressure on freight rates.
There’s been some spillover from increases in milling wheat, he added, as flour demand in Canada has picked up.
Prairie Ag Hotwire reported Thursday that feed barley prices in Western Canada range from $3.80 to $4.07 per bushel delivered in Manitoba, $3.56 to $4.27/bu. in Saskatchewan and $3.85 to $5.15 in Alberta.
They also reported feed wheat prices were $5.29/bu. delivered in Manitoba, between $4.92 and $5.72 in Saskatchewan, and $4.94 to $6.53 in Alberta.
— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.
