Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — Weak demand continues to hamper prices for feed barley and wheat, said Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge.
“It’s not because of an overabundance of grain being offered to the market. There’s just not a lot of cattle on feed,” Haley said.
“Replacement cattle are almost impossible to source,” he added, noting that those available are expensive.
Haley placed feed barley for July-August at C$290 per tonne, while that for September to December is priced at C$280, with January-March back at C$290.
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Over the last two weeks, those feed barley prices have lost about C$10/tonne, Haley said.
As for feed wheat, he placed them at C$285/tonne for September to December. However, he tried to sell it at C$280 on July 23 and couldn’t get a buyer.
“The bid and the offer are constantly between $5 to $10 apart, and the buyer is just not moving,” Haley said, noting buyers are not concerned about higher prices.
“The (buyer) is saying, ‘until I know what I’m going to have for cattle, I really can’t be doing that much,’” Haley explained.
On top of replacement cattle being scarce, Haley said greener pastures this summer will mean producers will keep their cattle on them longer than they have over the last several years.
“Demand (for feed) in my opinion, doesn’t start to show its head until mid to late October,” he said.
