MarketsFarm – With harvesting operations coming to a close, there were very few complaints about the quality and yields of new crop feed grains, according to one Lethbridge, Alta.-based trader.
“Quality-wise, everything’s been sounding good for the most part. A couple of areas might have a bit of lighter bushels, but for the most part (barley) seems to be heavy and dry this year,” Erin Harakal, trade manager at Agfinity Inc. said. “It just seems like a normal year when it comes to specs, which is great.”
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While feed barley and feed wheat did not have bumper crops this year, the yields are still better than those severely reduced by drought in 2021.
“Everyone says yields were about average for what (growers) would normally get, but they were definitely a lot better than last year,” she added.
Prices for feed barley and feed wheat in Alberta are higher than last year and have been rising for the month, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. Harakal acknowledged there has been increasing demand for feed grains before new crop becomes available.
“As we get out of harvest with a couple of weeks to go, everyone just needs to assess what they need going forward. So they’re just looking to get some coverage and the adjusting demand are the reasons for the price increase over the last couple of weeks here,” she said.
The high-delivered bid for feed barley in Alberta is C$9.91 per bushel, C$1.20 higher than last month and 76 cents higher than last year. In Saskatchewan, the high-delivered bid is C$7.61/bu., up C$1.11 from last month but 39 cents lower than last year. The high-delivered bid for Manitoba feed barley is C$7.25/bu., up 50 cents from a month ago, but down C$1.00 from last year.
As for feed wheat, the high-delivered bid in Alberta is C$12.66/bu., up C$1.36 from last month and up C$1.09 from last year. In Saskatchewan, the high-delivered bid is C$12.00/bu., up C$2.00 from last month and up C$1.55 from last year. The high-delivered bid for Manitoba feed wheat is C$11.05/bu., 94 cents higher than last month and 75 cents higher than last year.
