Glacier FarmMedia – Despite recent weather bringing much-needed moisture into southern Alberta, dryness remains a concern in the region weeks before the start of seeding.
“We were pretty dry throughout the winter. We haven’t had much snowfall up until recently,” Erin Harakal, trade manager at Agfinity Inc. in Stony Plain, Alta. said. “It’s going to be hard to say what we’ll end up seeing in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, we’ll get timely rains and things won’t be as bad as they could be.
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“(Weather) reports are saying (conditions) should be better than last year. Hopefully, that holds true.”
Many farmers are still looking at prices before determining which crops to plant, Harakal added.
“I think a lot of producers we’ve talked to are still inquiring what we are seeing for new crop prices. I think a lot of growers are starting to figure out what they’re going to be doing. It sounds like a lot are sticking to doing what they usually do,” she said.
Harakal also said that barley prices should start to decline later into spring as growers sell more of their grain. She had seen barley delivered into Lethbridge for March at prices between C$5.55 to C$5.77 per bushel. As for April, May and June, feed barley prices increased at C$5.77 to C$5.99/bu.
Bids for Alberta feed barley ranged from C$4.38 to C$6.21/bu., down 22 cents from last month, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire as of Mar. 6. In Saskatchewan, the range was C$4.55 to C$5.50/bu., down 25 cents, while in Manitoba, there was no monthly change at C$4.72 to C$5.00/bu.
For feed wheat, the price range in Alberta was C$6.85 to C$8.44/bu., down 41 cents from last week. In Saskatchewan, the range was C$6.85 to C$8.13/bu., down 25 cents. The high-delivered bid in Manitoba was C$7.24/bu., 23 cents less than the week before.
— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.
