SASKATOON — For the second week in a row, initial payments have been increased.
This time it’s barley growers who got the good news, with the announcement by agriculture minister Ralph Goodale that feed barley sold to the Canadian Wheat Board is now worth an additional $5 a tonne.
The new initial payment of $80 a tonne for 1 CW works out to a central Alberta farmgate price of about $55 a tonne or $1.20 a bushel.
The new price is effective March 25 and retroactive to the beginning of the crop year. Cheques for the amount owing will be sent to farmers April 19, along with the adjustment payments on wheat announced two weeks ago.
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Larry Ruud, grain market analyst with Alberta Agriculture, said the increase was welcome news, but not really any surprise.
Well above predicted price
In its February pool return outlook, the board projected a final 1993-94 price for 1 CW barley in the range of $90 to $101 a tonne ($1.55 to $1.65 a bushel, central Alberta farmgate price), well above the $84 a tonne initial that had been in effect since Aug. 1.
He said barley growers can reasonably expect to get more money yet from their 1993-94 sales.
“I don’t think the board would issue a $5 adjustment if they weren’t confident there was more money in the pot,” he said. “I think people can expect to see another $10 to $15 a tonne as an interim or final payment.”
In the February outlook, the board bumped up its forecast by $4 a tonne, citing renewed buying interest by Saudi Arabia and the resulting narrowing of the spread between barley and U.S. corn at Pacific Northwest ports.
The board has had trouble attracting barley supplies this year, with Alberta feedlots and mills paying a take-home price of well over $1.60 a bushel. Some markets in the south reached $2.15.
There was no change in initial payments for malting quality barley. These were increased by $20 a tonne in December, boosting special select two-row to $114 a tonne and special select six-row to $106 a tonne.
