(Resource News International) — Cash barley bids in Western Canada remain stable, with end-users only buying on a hand-to-mouth basis and ample competing feed stocks keeping prices well contained.
Cash bids in the key Lethbridge, Alta. cattle feeding area can currently be found in the $135 to $139 per tonne area, according to the latest prices put out by the Alberta Canola Producers Commission.
That works out to a price of around $3 per bushel, a level below which most producers are reluctant to sell, according to a feed grains broker.
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Although there has been some upward movement in feed grain prices, particularly in Alberta, it’s not domestic demand that’s pushing them higher, said Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge on Feb. 19.
While a lack of grower selling on any moves lower should keep prices supported, the broker also said there was also little reason for prices to go higher.
Excess durum supplies were making their way into feed rations, displacing some of the barley, he noted. Corn-based dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) from the U.S. ethanol sector were also keeping a lid on barley prices.
While the upside in barley is limited, the market is going into spring-road ban season, which can slow the country movement and occasionally provide some support for prices, the broker added.
