SASKATOON – To boost overseas sales of rye, more of it should be used as feed here at home, says a rye industry report due for release in a few weeks.
Some farmers are calling for rye to be turned over to the Canadian Wheat Board in light of the recent decision by the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange to drop its rye contract. They said the board’s expertise will allow it to find additional export markets.
But the study by University of Saskatchewan economists Gary Storey and Tom Allen says the first priority in trying to revive the moribund rye industry should be to develop a strong domestic feed market for the crop.
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“If domestic feeders don’t like it, then it’s hard to market it offshore,” said Rob Morrison of Agriculture Canada’s grain policy directorate, which has been overseeing the federally funded study. He added the study’s authors were “not enthused” about giving rye to the wheat board.
Bad reputation
Rye suffers from an undeserved bad reputation in the Canadian feeding industry, Morrison said.
Ergot fungus is no longer a significant problem due to new varieties, he said, while palatability and nutritional values have also improved in recent years. Some feeders have also been reluctant to use rye because of a price volatility associated with small volumes.
He added there is little growth potential in the domestic milling or distilling markets.
The study recommends:
- Setting up a rye council similar to those in place for canola and flax, to organize research, market development and crop promotion.
- Organizing small-scale feeding trials to develop scientific data on the nutritional and economic aspects of feeding rye to livestock.
- Developing a new price discovery mechanism to replace the WCE contract. The study proposes a formula that would link rye prices to barley.
- Running a pilot project in a specific area in which a grain company would buy rye from growers and sell it to feeders at the formula price.
Brian Saunderson, a Souris, Man., farmer and chair of the report’s steering committee, said that kind of practical experience is needed to convince people rye has a future.
From a grower’s standpoint, fall-seeded rye can be valuable in soil conservation and crop rotation, but lack of promotion and knowledge has contributed to its current sorry state, with production dipping below 300,000 tonnes in three of the last four years.
“It really has been an undermanaged crop, often grown on sandy soil with inadequate crop inputs.”
There is market potential, he added, especially for shipments to the U.S. once freight rates increase. But the small volumes raise questions about whether rye is suitable for the wheat board marketing system.
