MarketsFarm — Last fall’s remaining barley crops coming off the field this spring were at risk of causing a supply glut in feed grain markets.
Luckily, however, those overwintered barley crops are in better-than-expected condition, and not all of them are going into the feed market.
“We thought there would be a lot more coming into the feed market,” said Allen Pirness of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, explaining that some of last year’s barley crop is still making a No. 2 or No. 3 grade.
Read Also
Alberta crop conditions improve: report
Varied precipitation and warm temperatures were generally beneficial for crop development across Alberta during the week ended July 8, according to the latest provincial crop report released July 11.
Corn prices have gotten to the point that they are “competing quite easily with barley and wheat” in southern Alberta, he noted.
“That’s put a bit of a substitution cap on barley and wheat prices.”
However, some cattle producers aren’t keen on changing rations in the middle of a feeding cycle.
“So even though corn is cheaper than barley and wheat, there’s some resistance to feeding corn,” Pirness said.
Feed barley and wheat prices are around $225 per tonne delivered in the Lethbridge area.
Pirness also mentioned market participants will be watching the old-crop/new-crop spread in weeks to come.
“So far, new-crop pricing is quite a bit lower, and we’re expecting old-crop prices to deteriorate further as we get closer to new crop,” he said.
— Marlo Glass reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.
