(Resource News International) — The major corn growing regions of Manitoba were hit by heavy rains over the past week, causing flooding and likely damaging some of the crops.
A corn buyer in the province said while there will be some drowned-out spots, most of the corn was likely still in good shape. Corn is a relatively hardy crop, he said, and fields were drying out for the most part.
From a pricing standpoint, the buyer said corn was facing competition from ample supplies of alternative feed grains. He noted some end-users had switched over to barley, due to the lower prices for that crop.
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However, corn prices have also been trending lower, encouraging some increased demand for corn as well.
The broker said there wasn’t much pricing going on at current values, with new-crop corn in the province priced at relatively unattractive levels to producers, of about $3.25 per bushel.
Manitoba farmers intended to plant 175,000 acres of corn this year, according to the latest Statistics Canada data, which compares with 195,000 acres the previous year.
Corn seeding was finished across the province, the buyer said.
