Feed Grains: Australian grain farmers eye free trade deal

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg – Following are a few highlights in the Canadian and world feed grains markets on Monday, June 5.
Bids for feed barley in Saskatchewan fell eight cents last week, according to the latest information from the Prairie Ag Hotwire. Prices are now listed at C$2.80 to C$3.00 per bushel.
Prices for oats in Alberta fell 39 cents last week, according to the Hotwire. Prices are now listed at C$2.40 to C$3.24 per bushel.
In North Dakota, oat bids fell nine cents last week and are now listed at C$2.40 a bushel.

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Australian wheat farmers are keeping an anxious eye on negotiations for a free-trade agreement between their country and Indonesia. The latest meeting between the two sides brought hopes a deal could be reached by the end of this calendar year. Australian wheat farmers are hoping to tap into the world’s fourth most populated country in a much bigger way than they currently are. According to the Weekly Times, Australia is ranked just eighth on the list of Indonesia’s import nations, behind China, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Thailand. It is even behind the US, some 15,000km away.

According to the US Drought Monitor, a quarter of North Dakota is considered to be in a moderate drought. Abnormally dry patterns have also been spotted in South Dakota as well as parts of Montana and Minnesota.
The planting of Kazakhstan’s grain crop is roughly two percent behind last year’s pace, according to a report by UKrAgroConsult.
Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended roughly one cent higher on Monday due to speculative buying. China is currently auctioning off a large portion of its corn reserve, which is keeping values in check.
Feed wheat bids in the key cattle feeding area of Lethbridge, Alberta were in the C$195 to C$204 per tonne range as of June 2, which was slightly higher compared to the previous week, according to the latest pricing information from the provincial government. Feed barley prices were up two dollars compared to the previous week, at C$179 to C$185 per tonne in Lethbridge.