WINNIPEG (CNS) — As supplies tighten, Lethbridge feedlot operators are looking for cheaper options when it comes to feed.
“Supply seems to be tight in general. There’s not a lot of offers on either corn or barley at the moment. And demand is higher than expected coming into March,” said Brandon Motz, sales manager at CorNine Commodities in Lacombe, Alta.
Manitoba corn has been making its way onto feedlots lately, but according to Motz, logistics are coming into play, making corn from south of the border more attractive.
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“A large of chunk of (corn) is coming from (the United States) simply because we can move in 100 cars at a time. It’s just logistically a little easier to manage,” he said.
Supply has been consistent from Manitoba but at smaller volumes than corn from the U.S. corn. As well, corn from the U.S. is cheaper due to the large stocks there.
However, corn prices across the board are on the upswing due to greater demand and more limited supplies. Manitoba corn recently rallied 20 cents, according to Motz. Manitoba corn bids are sitting between C$4.40 to C$4.50 per bushel, picked up from the farm as of Feb. 14. U.S. corn has also seen an increase lately and is sitting at the US$2.32 to US$2.35 per bu. range for delivery to feedlot, said Motz.
“I would think anybody that’s gotten on the corn program is looking to reload with corn before the April, May, June cycle. If barley became fairly attractive versus corn, you could convince them to switch but coming in through March, the timeline’s getting fairly tight,” he said.
He added that the Alberta feed barley market is heating up as supplies of all feed types tighten. At CorNine, feed barley for pickup in central Alberta was at $4.40 to $4.60 per bu. on Feb. 14.
Meanwhile, feed oats were seeing little of the added feed demand. Motz said lack of a strong supply makes feed oats less attractive to feedlots.
“There’s always interest, but once again a strong supply is always a factor…. I would say next to corn and barley, wheat is probably the next favourable commodity but once again price point becomes an issue,” he said.
Feed oats on Feb. 14 at CorNine were at $2.80 to $3 per bu. for farm pickup, but Motz said that isn’t a firm number, just an indication. Feed wheat was sitting at the $5.50 to $5.60 per bu. range for pickup in central Alberta.
