(Resource News International) — Cash bids for feed barley in Western Canada have been holding fairly steady and were a bit firmer in some locations of the Prairies, as feedlots look to cover some nearby needs.
“Most of the feedlots have covered the bulk of their requirements, but there are still a few that would like to add a bit more to their inventory,” said Jerry Klassen, manager with G.A.P. Grains in Winnipeg.
Klassen estimated feedlots have about 50 to 75 per cent of their requirements covered through the middle to the end of April.
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Bids for feed barley have firmed slightly in the areas in which the spring road bans have already been implemented and where producers have been reluctant sellers.
“There is definitely no shortage of feed barley in Western Canada, but on the other hand, farmers remain reluctant to go and load trucks at what they perceive to be poor prices,” he said.
The availability of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) will continue to limit the upside in the cash bids for feed barley, Klassen cautioned.
A lot of end-users in the Peace region of Alberta were already using DDGS to supplement feed rations on a regular basis, he noted.
“It will never totally displace barley in the feed rations, but DDGS sure have cut significantly into barley’s feed ration share,” Klassen said.
Feedlots also do not have to cover their rations as far out as previously. Klassen noted some feedlots were covering supplies three to four months out. Now those same lots may be covered only a half to one month out, due to the availability of DDGS and alternative supplies.
The import of DDGS into western Canada was expected to increase by about half a million tonnes in the upcoming 2010-11 crop year from the previous year’s level, he said.
Cash bids for feed barley, delivered to the elevator in Saskatchewan, based on Prairie Ag Hotwire data, currently range from $2 to $2.53 a bushel, in Manitoba $2.73 and in Alberta from $2.10 to $3.27.
At the beginning of March, cash bids for feed barley, delivered to the elevator, in Saskatchewan, ranged from $2 to $2.44 a bushel, in Manitoba from $2.81 to $2.85 and in Alberta from $2.10 to $3.27.
