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Good Day,
If you have not been checking your calendar, we have somehow made it to the beginning of August. Across the Prairies we have seen just about everything this summer. Hail, tornadoes, heavy rain, no rain, and plenty of heat. We certainly know how to pack a lot into a few short months, both with the weather and trying to fit in all the activities we miss during winter. I want to start with corn this month because I have begun seeing some new crop activity, and it is also one of the most weather-sensitive crops right now. The U.S. corn crop is currently rated 63% good to excellent after an extended stretch of heat that many of us have experienced as well. The USDA production report will be released on August 12 and should give the market a better idea of where things stand. Over the past few years, yields have been around 177 bushels per acre. Current acreage projections suggest they would need closer to 183 bushels per acre to keep supplies comfortable. The question now is how much of the crop can still add yield after the recent heat and how much has already passed that stage. We have seen some strength in corn futures this week, so it may be a good time to check both your old and new crop pricing. Pulses over the past year have felt like they have not had much of a pulse, forgive the pun. Lately though, I have had a few buyers asking about new crop red lentils. I do not want to get anyone's hopes up just yet, but I am starting to see some interest, particularly in western Saskatchewan. Much of that appears to be tied to harvest movement. Keep in mind these are not 2024 prices. There is still plenty of product available, and demand is not where it was. If you would like to know what opportunities exist in your area, give your broker a call. Barley is another crop catching my attention. I have seen pictures from all over of barley that looks so heavy you wonder if you could walk across the top of it. That has me thinking about bin space. If you know you are going to need September or October movement because storage will be tight, I would encourage you to start looking sooner rather than later. Northern Manitoba is no longer seeing $5 picked up into that timeframe, and other areas are beginning to trend lower as well. I completely understand the hesitation around pricing grain before it is in the bin. There is always risk involved. Even so, it is worth sitting down, looking at your storage situation, and figuring out the minimum amount you may need to move early. From there, your broker can investigate what opportunities are available in your area. For old crop barley, there are still buyers looking for a few loads to bridge the gap until harvest, but that window is closing quickly. We are also seeing buyers begin to post November and December movement, so if those timelines fit your operation, it is worth having a conversation. Oilseeds have continued to show strength, including soybeans. While they are still influenced by crude oil markets, pricing has held up fairly well. In southern Manitoba, we have seen soybean bids around $15 picked up into November and December, with competitive pricing extending farther north as well. With weather improving in the US it might be a good time to take advantage of these prices in case the USDA ends up reporting higher expected yields than they have up to now. Closer to home, the sky has taken on that familiar smoky look. The sun has been an unusual colour, and everything seems to have a sepia filter over it as smoke from wildfires in northern Manitoba and Ontario drifts across the Prairies. We have also watched severe storms move through areas like Edmonton and Winnipeg over the past few days. The weather challenges are certainly not limited to Canada. France and Spain continue to battle major wildfires, with some communities evacuating while others have only recently been allowed to return home. Europe has experienced an extremely hot summer, creating difficult growing conditions and increasing wildfire risk. At the same time, tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain high. Some market analysts are beginning to wonder whether geopolitical risk could start finding its way back into grain markets. For now, it still seems that much of the war premium is reflected more in crude oil than in grain. We do tend to see short bursts of market reaction whenever major headlines appear, although not to the same extent we saw early in the conflict. Before I wrap up, just a reminder that we are still seeing heated canola moving, and there have been some attractive bids available. There are also buyers still looking for feed wheat in some areas. As harvest gets underway, now is a good time to touch base with your broker, whether you are looking at old crop, early harvest movement, or simply want to know what pricing opportunities are available in your area. Every farm is different, and markets can change quickly this time of year. Having a conversation now can help you make a plan before the combines really get rolling. Hopefully harvest goes smoothly for everyone. As always, we look forward to hearing how crops are coming off and what kind of yields you are seeing. Stay safe, and best of luck this harvest. Until next month, Danielle Rands Marketer - Roblin, MB 306-621-5797 - Cell danielle@qualitygrain.ca
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Good Day,
As some of you are aware Danielle Rands of Roblin MB joined the Quality Grain Marketing team back in November 2025. She comes from a commodity/agricultural background having worked with commodity trading companies and GrainFox (FarmLink). She has been a wonderful addition to our team so far, and we have now requested she chime in with her voice every now and again on our monthly newsletter. Today this is her rendition of what is happening in the grain markets. Thank you Danielle Hope everyone had themselves a great Canada Day. It is hard to believe we are already on July 6th. Depending on how you look at it, we are either halfway through 2026 or only a month away from the start of the 2026/27 crop year. Some days it feels like January 1 was yesterday, and other days it feels like it was a couple of years ago. It has certainly been an interesting first half of the year. We watched crude oil climb above $115 per barrel during the conflict in the Middle East, and now it has settled back to around where it was before. If I do say so myself, it would be nice to see that reflected at the fuel pumps a little more. As I write this, it is pouring rain outside. At times it feels like Manitoba and Eastern Saskatchewan might simply float away. For some positive news, other parts of the prairies are finally receiving the moisture they have been waiting years to see. Between the tornadoes and the heavy rainfall, at Roblin, I am ready for a little sunshine myself. My thoughts are with everyone dealing with flooded fields or flooded basements. I know it has been a stressful stretch for many. Looking through some of the recent reports, Canadian farmers have seeded more canola, barley, corn, and soybeans this year. Wheat, oats, dry peas, and lentil acres on the other hand are lower. None of that is particularly surprising. Corn acres were down in the U.S. and canola, barley, and soybeans maintained fairly strong markets later into the marketing year. Lentils, peas, and oats have been relatively quiet since harvest, aside from a brief period in the spring when pea movement picked up. Export demand remained quite strong through much of the year before slowing during seeding and spraying season. We also saw a significant increase in feed barley exports this spring, which helped support barley prices. With increased acres in some of these crops even with concerns about weather impacting production in certain regions, it may be a good time to start thinking ahead. If you expect to have grain to move early at harvest, whether it is for cash flow reasons or bin space, it is worth checking in with your broker to see what pricing opportunities are available. Markets can change quickly as harvest approaches, and having a plan in place can provide more flexibility when the time comes as there are some strong pricing options out there on certain crops. Soybeans in southern MB being over $14/bus picked up, and yellow peas being around $8/bus. Feed barley has been pulling back a bit as the earlier months were filled but we still have some $5/bus options picked up closer to the new year. Out west we are seeing old crop barley prices come down. July barley is 6.30/bus and feed wheat is $8/bus delivered. New crop Barley is $5.75/bus and Feed Wheat is closer to $7.50 delivered feedlots around Lethbridge. If you are interested in picked up values please give your favorite broker a call. As always, prices are highly dependent on location. If you receive our daily bid summary, you will notice that we identify exactly where each price is coming from rather than providing a broad area average. That allows you to see whether a particular opportunity is actually relevant to your area. If you wish to sign to check out our daily bids before signing up head to the website (link). If you are interested let us know and we can sign you up A quick reminder as well that old crop demand continues to tighten. If you still have grain that needs to come out of the bins before harvest, do not leave those decisions until the last minute. Hopefully eastern Saskatchewan and much of Manitoba will start to see a stretch of sunshine soon. A little dry weather would certainly help crops and at this point. I think everyone's spirits too. Meanwhile, internationally there has been no shortage of stories influencing grain markets around the world either. Europe has been dealing with a significant heat wave, with parts of France setting temperature records last week. The hot, dry conditions have pushed their wheat crop into an earlier-than-normal harvest. Russia is working through harvest while continuing to deal with the challenges of war and fuel shortages. In the United States, the winter wheat harvest is nearing the halfway mark. Production is expected to come in a bit smaller than previous years but there has been some improvement in the spring wheat crop as growing conditions have become more favorable. As usual buyers are looking for old crop barley and feed wheat to tie them over until combines get rolling in the next 4-6 weeks. If you have questions about current markets, are wondering what pricing options might fit your operation, or simply want to talk through a marketing plan heading into harvest, give one of our brokers a call. We are always happy to discuss the opportunities available in your area and help you decide what makes the most sense for your farm. Until next month, Danielle Rands Marketer - Roblin, MB 306-621-5797 [email protected] Good Day,
Another month gone. And we have seen good rains in some area and not so good rains in others. I heard from a reliable source that the Swan River valley in MB received 6 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. Not good. Hwy 83 is washed out at the south end of the valley. Winkler area had 4 inches last Tuesday. These crazy storms seem to be more of the normal than they were 35 years ago. I know I am really dating myself when I talk about 3 inches in 3 days as that is very rare these days. If you would like to send us a quick message and let us know if your moisture is good, bad or ugly we would appreciate that. Markets are holding their own with all the instability in the world at present. In MB and eastern SK prices we are seeing $7.25 for feed wheat, $5.60 for feed barley, $8.00 for 13.5 moisture #2 yellow peas, $3.40 to $3.50 for 2 CW milling oats and $2.50 for 40 lb sprouted feed oats. We are currently looking for some brown flax in MB or eastern SK. $18.00 or better picked up. In Alberta we are seeing barley at $6.85 delivered feedlot, and feed wheat at $8.50 delivered. These prices are encouraging some producers to be very bullish. This might be a good move if the mess in Iran continues. Just keep in mind that the run up in prices can vanish just as quickly as it arrived. We are 1/3 of the way through June. In another 60 days we will be looking harvest in the eye. Here’s hoping it will be a good one. Just keep in mind that being bullish isn’t bad but getting caught with no bin space and no quick movement options isn’t a great marketing plan either. Regarding actual plantings in my customer's area there does seem to be a switch in crop acres. Yellow peas have taken a beating, barley is down, and oats are down. These 3 crops being reduced isn’t a surprise considering where the prices were in Jan/Feb when you were making seeding plans. Prices just suggested planting anything else. I do think there will be a jump in wheat and canola acres since you have to seed something to pay the bills. The big jump in fertilizer might slow the swing to canola as it is a hungry crop. I have been surprised by the number of producers who are seeding more corn. Mind it was one of the profitable crops with the big yields last year. This might be a crop to consider pre-pricing. We still have very good demand for heated, green or out of condition canola. Price depends on location, % damaged and moisture. We also help market all kinds of grain that have quality issues. Always check with us before you sell to someone giving you a great deal. There are buyers out there whose only concern is their bottom line. Some of them are not that reliable. Let us know if there is anything we can help you with. We are always willing to kick some tires on your behalf. If your bins are full don’t wait until the combines are rolling to make room for your 2026 crop. Until next month, Richard Chambers Marketer - Brandon, MB 204-729-1354 - Office 204-761-8320 - Cell [email protected] Good Day,
Spring is here… Well maybe… In Brandon it has been below normal compared to even the last few years. The lakes still have ice on them, the trees are just starting to leaf, and the grass isn’t growing. We have had a lot of wind too. The wind has dried out the fields so seeding in this area is in full swing even though this morning was the first time it didn’t freeze overnight in the last 10 days. Brrr!! It has been an interesting 2 months since the 52nd or there abouts Gulf war started. Unfortunately, it has had a huge impact on input prices. I suspect there will also be some shortages in fertilizer supply by the time seeding is done. The only good news is that most commodities have seen a decent price bump. My math its looking like it won’t be enough to offset the jump in inputs. Here in MB we have seen feed wheat go from $5.60 in the fall to $7.25 for Sept/Oct pick-up. Barley up from $4.00 in the fall to $5.50 now. We have also chewed through what I thought would be burdensome supplies of feed grains. The one grain that hasn’t shown much life is yellow peas. It seems there is still enough supply to deal with current demand and there isn't much life in new crop bids either. New crop yellow peas in MB are a little over $7.00/bus location dependent. On the subject of new crop, I just received some new crop soybean bids from one of our buyers. These prices are based on 13.0 moisture, no AOG, Nov/Dec movement, dockage deducted. Morden - $14.08 Brandon - $13.93 Straithclair - $13.63 These are all picked up prices after brokerage, based on the market close of May 12. The buyer will give prices for other locations. As I mentioned earlier we do have some demand for new crop winter wheat. The $7.25 price was based on Boissevain MB location. They are interested in other locations in MB as well. We can kick tires for any crop, and any delivery window you are interested in. Contact any one of our brokers with your needs. Just a reminder to give us a call for a second opinion on prices when you plan on doing some marketing. We kick tires for free. We are seeing very good demand for heated canola. Several buyers are bidding on small lots and consolidating them on their own. This means that the industrial crushers are hungry. Let us know if you have any. We can arrange movement after seeding as everyone is pretty busy right now. If you do have some just keep in mind that heated canola is not like wine. It DOESN’T improve with age. We have seen 25% heated become 40% in 2 or 3 months. A little note before I sign off. If you have any bins that have not had the tops pulled off, especially peas and lentils, please check them. We are seeing crusted/heated peas, lentils, and chickpeas. We can find markets for all qualities but it is better for you if the grain has no issues. Well that is it for this month, have a safe and productive seeding season. Until next month, Richard Chambers Marketer - Brandon, MB 204-729-1354 - Office 204-761-8320 - Cell [email protected] Good Day,
April Fools day has come and gone. I think the only fool around here is me. I said we would have burdensome feed grains in western Canada. It doesn’t look that way today. This is good news if it wasn’t being driven by concerns over the new crop. It's not about moisture or growing conditions but fuel & fertilizer supplies and prices. It is amazing how a conflict on the other side of the world is going to affect all of us. And not in a positive way. This month there will be no political comments from the writer of this newsletter. Seems there is always an opposing view, and we don’t want to offend anyone. Unfortunately, if you don’t agree politically, religiously or ideologically it is our new Canadian way to call you racist and charge you with a hate crime. OOPS… I guess that is a political comment. But really what is wrong with this country? Canadians used to be able to disagree and have civilized conversations about issues. Maybe I’m just too old to understand. Back to grains. We are looking for feed wheat in MB and eastern SK at decent prices. $6.10 to $6.40 depending on location and timeframe. If you have some at the right location and are willing to move it when the buyer wants, there are possibly better prices available. We know that milling wheat has moved up and this is being reflected in feed wheat prices. Good old supply and demand. All the feed grains have moved up. As you would expect we have also seen a bit of a move in new crop pricing too. More so on the feed side than the pulse side. I think this is due to feed grains being consumed in Canada while the majority of our pulse production is shipped off shore. Our buyers have no idea what their shipping costs will be, what the delivered markets will be etc.. So they just are not bidding aggressively. We will try to keep you informed if we see pricing opportunities. For both feed grains and pulses. We still have very good demand for heated canola. If you have had the misfortune of finding some contact one of our brokers and they will help you with getting it moved. If you do have some, make sure to keep monitoring it as we have seen 25% heated turn into a mess of 95% heated if not watched. We can still find a home for that 95% heated but I guarantee you that the price will not make you happy. If you manage to catch a bin just in time and only have a part load of heated let us know. We have buyers who will work with you on almost any amount. As I have said to more than one producer, heated canola is not like a fine wine, it doesn’t improve with age. We are looking for Synergy and Copeland barley in MB or eastern SK. Not super tight specs, but cannot be high chit. Let us know if you have some. Price is $5.75 to $6.00 depending on location. We have also seen a tick upward in corn. Looking for some for April/May move. Depending on location price is $5.20-5.40. Anyone with tough corn that is planning to air it down in May and June please make sure you are getting good even airflow as when it warms it can mold very quickly if there isn’t enough air flow in parts of the bin. We are seeing $5.35 April/May and a bit higher for further out. July at $5.50 SW MB as an example. Out west, southern Alberta, we are seeing $6.00/bus new crop barley within 100 KM of feedlot alley. Further north prices dip with freight, and fuel prices aren't helping. Around Camrose we are at $5.50/bus picked up for new crop barley. Old crop barley in the Red Deer area is $6.10/bus picked up. Old crop feed wheat around Calgary is $7.55/bus picked up. That is it for this month. Have a good April and may the snow go in a sensible way and seeding progress as planned. Until next month, Richard Chambers Marketer - Brandon, MB 204-729-1354 - Office 204-761-8320 - Cell [email protected] |
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