SASKATOON – Barley growers are getting another chance to sell into this year’s robust feed barley pool.
The Canadian Wheat Board last week issued an advance call for 25 percent of the feed barley committed for delivery under the Series D contract.
And without offering any firm guarantees, board officials dropped some broad hints that more calls will be issued.
“The outlook for ‘D’ is positive,” said CWB information officer Deanna Allen. “I would encourage farmers not to look at the advance call for 25 percent as being all that we’re going to take.”
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Farmers have until May 31 to sign up for the last of the four feed barley delivery contracts offered for 1995-96.
Charlie Pearson, a market analyst with United Grain Growers Ltd., said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the board take all of the barley that’s offered by farmers under Series D.
“There are obviously some pretty good sales right now and prices are good,” he said. “It’s just a matter right now of getting it up the driveway.”
In its latest estimated pool return, the board said feed barley will fetch a total payment of $208 a tonne this crop year, which works out to a farmgate price of more than $3.50 a bushel in central Alberta.
When the board announced in mid-March that it would take only half of the feed barley committed under Series C contract, it triggered complaints from some barley growers who said they were being denied access to strong world markets.
At that time, the board said it didn’t want to sell into an uncertain market and risk undermining the pool accounts. But Allen said the market has strengthened since then in response to extremely tight U.S. corn stocks, and the board has made sales into that stronger market.
While the $208 EPR is not a guaranteed price, Pearson described it as a “firm number,” adding there may be room for another $2 to $5 a tonne.
“I think the board was reasonably conservative early on, but they’ve put some pretty good sales on the books in the last little while. They’re in a good situation to control what they do on pricing from here on in.”
Ted Cawkwell, past president of the Western Barley Growers Association, said he thinks a lot of farmers won’t be able to take full advantage of the Series D contract because of the late spring.
“A lot of guys might just forget about it,” he said of the May 31 sign-up deadline.
And he said while the CWB price is profitable for most farmers, even higher prices are still obtainable in some markets south of the border.
“There are obviously some pretty good sales right now and prices are good. It’s just a matter right now of getting it up the driveway.”
