CNS Canada — Feed grain prices have fluctuated very little over the past few weeks according to one Alberta-based commodities trader.
Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, said corn has been getting $245-$250 per tonne. There is plenty of corn available in the U.S. and its price is often the cap on feed prices, he added.
Prices, he said, have been $235-$240 per tonne for feed wheat and $245-$250 per tonne for feed barley since the start of November.
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Durum around the Lethbridge area, he said, is mostly trading as feed wheat.
“It doesn’t matter what the grade is; the price is higher than the export price.”
Cold, wet and snowy conditions during September and October led to durum crops being left in the field and downgrading the quality.
The story is the same for other varieties of wheat.
“Because harvest has been completed, we’re seeing more of those feed wheat offers of hard red spring wheat end up in the feed market,” Beusekom said.
Going into November, virtually all of Alberta’s crops were harvested, but some amounts were left in the field.
Depending on the region in Alberta, wheat and barley were about 96 per cent harvested, according to the final provincial crop report for 2018.
— Glen Hallick writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
