WINNIPEG – Dry subsoil moisture conditions and a lack of snow cover in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan continue to create worries for many farmers. Conditions range from abnormally dry in many areas to full-on droughts around Regina and some areas south of Calgary, according to the website of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada.
Feed barley bids in the key cattle feeding area of Lethbridge, Alberta were a dollar weaker during the week ended Jan. 19 to range from C$219 to C$224 per tonne, according to the latest pricing information from the provincial government. Feed wheat prices also softened slightly, coming in at C$221 to C$223 per tonne in Lethbridge.
According to the latest information available from the Prairie Ag Hotwire, feed barley in Saskatchewan fell 10 cents over the past week to a range of C$3.59 to C$3.75 a bushel. Next door in Manitoba, bids held steady at C$3.63 to C$3.75.
Feed wheat prices in Saskatchewan rose five cents over the same period to a range of C$4.40 to C$4.95 a bushel. Bids were roughly the same in Manitoba.
Oats went on a wild ride during the week with an early rally giving way to profit-taking on Thursday. The March contract rose as high as US$2.78 a bushel on Wednesday before losing 17 cents the following day.
Bids for oats in Manitoba rose seven cents over the week. Prices were listed at C$2.97 to C$3.14 a bushel. Bids held steady in both Saskatchewan and Alberta. Saskatchewan bids came in at C$2.53 to C$3.08 a bushel while Alberta’s were C$2.40 to C$3.08.
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
In North Dakota, corn prices rose this week by four cents a bushel to a range of US$3.35 to C$3.75.
