CNS Canada –– Following are a few highlights in the Canadian and world feed grains markets on Friday, Oct. 9.
• CBOT corn futures were posting small gains Friday morning, but were holding rangebound overall as traders were squaring positions ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly supply/demand report due out later in the day. December corn was trading at US$3.9325 per bushel in early activity, up two cents from Thursday’s close.
• Average trade guesses ahead of the USDA report are calling for downward revisions to the average U.S. corn yield, compared to the September report. The anticipation is that world carryout supplies will also be revised slightly lower.
• Feed barley bids in the key cattle feeding area of Lethbridge are in the C$215-$220 per tonne area, according to provincial reports. Feed wheat prices are in the C$220-$230 range.
• Average barley yields in Saskatchewan are coming in at 59 bu./ac.; according to the latest provincial crop report, that compares with yields of 61.9 bushels/acre the previous year and the five-year average of 61.6 bushels/acre. Barley was 86 per cent swathed as of Oct. 5, with an additional 11 per cent in swath or ready to straight combine. Spring wheat was 84 per cent harvested, with quality downgrades a possibility for those fields still to go.
• The U.S. National Corn Growers Association together with the National Farmers Union released a white paper analyzing the impact of the country’s Renewable Fuel Standard on the rural economy. While the RFS has helped improve farm incomes over the past decade, the paper noted that recent delays and uncertainty over proposed volume levels will “(undermine) the social and economic fabric of rural America.”
• Cargill has completed its acquisition of aquaculture feed supplier EWOS, according to a company announcement. EWOS produces more than 1.2 million tonnes of salmon feed per year, with operations in Canada, Norway, Chile, Scotland, and Vietnam.
• Taiwan is looking to increase its self-reliance in animal feed, with an aim to raise its domestic production of non-rice grain and beans to 38 per cent of demand by 2020, according to a Taiwanese agriculture official.
• China has reportedly stopped buying U.S. distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), as it is now sitting on large warehoused supplies after being heavy buyers earlier in the calendar year.
