Oat futures for the March contract topped $5 per bushel in Chicago Feb. 25.
Meanwhile, thanks to the rail transportation logjam in Western Canada, elevators in Saskatchewan were bidding around $2 per bu. for oats on the same day.
Willie Zuchkan, a grower from Foam Lake, Sask., said bids ranged from $1.90 per bu. to $2.10.
Randy Strychar, an oat industry analyst, said it’s difficult to attract an oat bid in Saskatchewan.
“Nobody wants to buy oats be-cause they can’t ship the oats,” he said. “You can call up a grain company, a Richardson, a P&H, a Cargill … any of them. They will not offer oats…. Unless you have rail cars, unless you have predictable supply of rail cars, we don’t have an oat market (right now).”
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The March oat contract in Chicago was trading at $3.50 per bu. at the beginning of the year and has jumped approximately $1.50 in eight weeks.
In comparison, corn futures began the year at $4.25 per bu. and was trading around $4.55 per bu. near the end of February.
“I’m not a rail expert but somebody better start building rail lines,” said Strychar. “We better start talking to Gene Roddenberry (of Star Trek) because we’re going to need a transporter to get this grain from the country to the port.”
