A decision to grow fall rye has meant mixed blessings for Leonard and Linda Gundrum, who farm near Crystal City, Man.
Their crop yielded more than 40 bushels per acre this year and it was harvested at a brisk pace due to fair weather. However, prices for rye are a pittance when compared to last year.
“We didn’t expect this,” said Linda, in reference to the dwindling prices. “It’s yielding fairly well, but the price is not good.”
The Gundrums sold last year’s rye for $4.15 per bushel. They managed to pre-sell part of this year’s crop for $2.75/bu. They haven’t decided when they’ll try to market the rest.
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“We’ll probably hold onto it,” Linda said. “We’ll keep it and see if the market goes up.”
The price for rye has tumbled due in part to competition from heavily subsidized European rye.
“There won’t be much of a market overseas or into the U.S. because of the European rye,” said Russ Strueby, a logistics co-ordinator for James Richardson International in Winnipeg. “They’ve been subsidizing rye and selling it very cheap. It’s brought our price down in the country to values we haven’t seen since the late Eighties.”
Canadian farmers are expected to harvest about 380,000 tonnes of rye this year. That’s 80,000 tonnes more than last year.
With scant foreign interest in their product, rye growers may see much of this year’s crop sold as feed. Under that scenario, rye from the Prairies may have trouble fetching more than $2.25 a bu.
“I think the feed industry is going to look seriously at rye at these values,” predicted Strueby. “I think there could be a market all the way across (the Prairies).”
United States millers won’t be offering much reprieve for Manitoba’s rye growers this fall. An ample crop last year and this year means Minneapolis millers can find most of the rye they need in Minnesota and North Dakota.
Distillers turn to corn
As for distillers, they’re favoring corn this year, said Shaun Wildman, a broker for the Pool Commodity Trading Service in Regina.
“The distillers, particularly in Eastern Canada and the Midwest, are looking for corn because it’s so much cheaper. The distillers are basically cut out.”
Canadian farmers have more acres in rye this year due to prices last fall. Values for several other commodities had fallen, but rye prices were holding at decent levels.
Farmers who cut the crop for greenfeed this year appear to have made a wise choice.
“I know there was a lot of rye taken off for greenfeed,” Strueby said. “In hindsight, they did well. It was going for quite a premium compared to what they’re going to get now.”
