MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices have been on the upswing recently, according to Nelson Neumann of Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta.

“We saw them at the end of last week, the beginning of this week, really jump up. Guys were scrambling to get stuff in before road bans,” he said.

He attributed the increased prices to lingering cold weather that plagued the Prairies over the last several weeks, as cattle ate more feed to keep warm.

Feed barley on Thursday was upward to $270 per tonne in the Lethbridge area, he said. Feed wheat was substantially less, in the mid-$250s range.

Feed prices from Prairie Ag Hotwire listed barley as low as $193 per tonne delivered across Western Canada. The highs ranged from $211 in Saskatchewan to $218 in Manitoba and $256 in Alberta.

Wheat, also delivered, was $228 per tonne in Manitoba and $193-$220 in Saskatchewan. Alberta had better pricing, at $209-$265 per tonne.

“I’m inclined to think the market will cool off in a bit,” Neumann said.

Corn imports from the U.S. have been continuing, with the bulk of them going to Feedlot Alley in Lethbridge.

“Corn pricing fell, but so did the Canadian dollar at the same time. Kind of balanced it out,” he said.

— Glen Hallick writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.