Feed weekly outlook: Big demand lacking for barley, wheat

MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley have swung a little higher over the last week — but it’s not due to feedlots needing a lot of the cereal, according to Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta.

Barley prices, he said, were $420-$424 per tonne delivered into Lethbridge, with offers as high as $445 as of Thursday. A week ago offers were around $430-$435/tonne.

“There are not a lot of high-consumption feedlots using barley at the moment. It’s a thinly-traded market currently, which makes for the realization of a $10 swing could be something as simple as somebody needing the coverage versus what the true market is,” Motz said.

He said it’s a similar story for feed wheat, with most feedlots not buying a great deal, as feed mills are doing most of the purchases right now. Prices were $450-$460/tonne delivered into ‘Feedlot Alley’ and offers were $465-$470, in what also has been very light trading.

Motz noted demand for corn has also slowed down, with a small amount for April and May.

“There’s not a lot of tonnage trading corn because the forward business has been so extensive,” he said.

Until recently, however, corn supplies had been touch-and-go, with deliveries from the U.S. often arriving by train literally in the nick of time.

“We’ve been dealing with rail delays since the beginning of the program. I think there’s a maybe a little bit of a buffer there now. For a while it was very much hand-to-mouth,” Motz said, noting one day’s missed arrival meant several feedlots would have been out of corn.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.