Canada: Feed barley bids continue to tend lower

Feed grain bids in Western Canada continue to trend lower, with early harvest pressure contributing to the softness, Farmtario reported on August 8.

New crop barley is starting to become available, although end users were not showing much interest in the newly harvested supplies, according to Travis Ebens of CorNine Commodities in Lacombe, Alta. He expected values would remain under pressure through the harvest period.

Recent heat and dryness contributed to the early development, with anecdotal reports pointing to ok yields but lighter bushel weights, according to Ebens.

In addition to the seasonal harvest pressure, ongoing weakness in the United States corn market was another bearish influence on North American feed markets. December corn settled below US$4.00 per bushel on Aug. 8, with values at their weakest levels since 2020.

Feed barley bids in southern Alberta are also at their lowest levels in four years, according to government data, with barley trading into Lethbridge at about C$265 to C$266 per tonne in the latest provincial report.