MarketsFarm – Recent bouts of severe weather in Alberta, most recently high winds and hail in the central region on Aug. 2, will not affect potential yields for feed grains, according to one trader.
Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities Ltd. in Lethbridge said while some crops were damaged from the storms in central Alberta, as well as others in parts of the province over the past few weeks, they won’t have any long-lasting effects.
“A couple of weeks ago, the hail storm that came through north of Lethbridge all the way to Enchant. A lot of that was hit on the (corn) silage market,” he said. “(On Aug. 2), that hail damaged the wheat and barley (near Innisfail). There was big hail, but it was in a localized area…I don’t know if it’s going to hurt (the markets) too badly.”
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Fleischhauer added that so far, crop yields are above-average in Alberta and crop conditions are “definitely” better than last year. However, parts of Alberta have been hit with record-breaking temperatures over the past few weeks.
“This heat came kind of a little bit too late. We didn’t get a lot of heat early, but a lot of moisture,” he said. “The heat is coming now. We could still use another shot of rain here.”
Feed barley and wheat prices continue to come down and with combining a week or two away, demand for cereal crops is starting to ramp up. However, many feedlots are filled with corn with more shipments incoming.
“Some of the feedlot guys are starting to think about September and October to get a little bit more barley in there as opposed to corn,” Fleischhauer added. “But right now, let’s call it a C$45 to C$50 (per tonne) swing between barley and corn (over the last few weeks)…If that trend keeps, you’re going to have more of an appetite for barley for sure.”
The high-delivered bid for feed barley in Alberta was C$8.71 per bushel, down C$1.09 from one month ago, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. In Manitoba, the high-delivered bid was C$7.08/bu. (down C$1.61), and in Saskatchewan, it came down C$3.00 from last month to C$6.00/bu.
For feed wheat, the high-delivered bid in Alberta was C$11.97/bu. (down C$1.91 from last month). In Manitoba, it was C$10.29/bu. (down C$1.66) and in Saskatchewan, it was C$9.00/bu. (down C$3.25).
