BRANDON – Farmers across eastern Saskatchewan are stuck with large, wet piles of bad-looking grain.
Those with wet barley may have to sell it to feedlots for $1 per bushel , but oat growers may fare better.
“There are homes and destinations for some of this stuff,” Viterra’s Chad Molesky told farmers at the Prairie Oat Growers Association annual meeting in Brandon Dec. 3.
He said producers should takes samples of their grain to elevator companies before writing off the crop.
Eastern Saskatchewan this fall saw heavy, wet snow that lay on the crop for weeks. Producers reported sprout, mildew and weathering.
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Terry Tyson of Grain Millers in Yorkton, Sask., said high-paying markets may not want damaged-looking crops, but millers and merchandisers could find small and special markets for oats that aren’t terrible.
“We may find we can use a lot,” said Tyson.
Farmers were warned against storing damp grain in bags, because the result is often disastrous. Also, don’t blend quality old crop oats with wet new crop oats. The better oats will not increase the quality of the bad oats.
Barley and oat growers in eastern Saskatchewan face the decision of whether to quickly dump their crops wherever they can find a home or attempt to store and dry the crop.
The rush of wet grain into the feedlot industry is crashing prices, but farmers need to sell it somewhere.
“This is really high moisture. It’s not going to keep long,” said Calgary feed grain broker Greg Hagel of Quality Grain.
“A lot of it is being pushed into the feedlots with big discounts. A lot of it will probably spoil by spring if they don’t do something with it.”
Hagel said much of the barley from eastern Saskatchewan tests at about 18 percent moisture. Feedlots in southern Alberta have been paying a delivered price of $3.30 per bu. for quality barley but only $2 per bu. for wet grain, before freight.
If freight from northeastern areas is $45 per tonne, that drops the price to the farmer to about $1 per bu.
