Feed weekly outlook: Grain supplies good, freight costs higher

MarketsFarm — There are still sufficient supplies of feed barley and wheat to be had on the Canadian Prairies — but there are issues with getting that feed from point to point, according to Erin Harakal, senior trader at Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta.

“I do think there are enough supplies from what we have been hearing. They’re saying it’s a normal year for yields. Definitely a lot better than last year,” she said, noting those supplies should last through to spring.

As with everything else, however, inflation has hit the feed grain market due to sharp increases in fuel costs.

“Our freight on board prices that we do, usually for barley, are being dragged down quite a bit by the cost of freight going up,” Harakal said.

Also, she has found the trucking companies have been covering themselves a lot quicker, with many of them already completely booked for the rest of November.

“They don’t have as many drivers as normal,” she said.

For November-December feed, she quoted barley at $430-$440 per tonne delivered going into Lethbridge. Wheat was pretty much the same, sitting at $400/tonne.

Over the course of the last week, Prairie Ag Hotwire found no movement in feed barley prices across the region. As of Wednesday, barley was $7.65 to $10.02 per bushel delivered in Alberta, with Saskatchewan at $7.61-$8/bu. Manitoba was the cheapest at $7.08-$7.25/bu.

As for feed wheat, price movement over the week was mixed. There was a 24-cent increase to prices in Alberta, at $9.72-$12.90/bu. delivered. To the east, there’s a 24-cent drop in Saskatchewan with prices at $8.50-$11.74/bu., while prices were firm in Manitoba at $11.31-$11.50/bu.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.