November 12, 2024

Good Day,


As I am writing this, most of the Remembrance Day celebrations have concluded. I just hope that even if you didn’t have time to participate, you did take at least a moment to think about what sacrifices that the young women and men made. They were willing to risk their lives to keep Canada a country of freedom and opportunity. We all need to be grateful for what they did.
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Back to the exciting world of grain marketing. We have seen improvements in many commodities in the past few weeks. Nothing crazy but better prices. It is funny how that affects people’s minds. In September $4.50 seems to be the price that would buy barley here in western MB. Now the selling goal has moved. $5.00 is the new target. We are seeing $5 in western SK and AB but that is a factor in freight more than changing demand. We do have to remember that our dollar has dropped from over $0.74 Us to under $0.72 US this morning. That is a big part of what is fueling the increase in our prices. US corn is more expensive. Who knows if the Donald getting elected president will keep pressure on our dollar, but I expect it will. Everyone needs to keep in mind what a hugely global market we are playing in.


As a broker who has been working in the business for 18 years now, I would like to comment on something that Reed mentioned earlier this last month. Occasionally we come across producers that are using us to find their markets for a small percentage of their production, then selling more to the same buyer with us not being involved. I told him I thought part of this is driven by margins being tight so not paying our $2.50/MT is viewed as a saving. I can agree that in the short term it looks that way, however, just a brief story to show why it isn’t. Back when I was new at the game, I helped a producer find a feed-mill that was paying a premium over market. He sold 2 loads through Quality Grain at that time and was going to wait and see what the markets did on the balance. When markets moved up, I contacted him again. He had in the interim sold the rest of his barley to the same feed mill at the same price I got for him. He saved $2.50/MT but the market had gone up almost $10/MT. Opps!! Nice saving. That is why it pays to use a broker. We will find you the best current price with reliable buyers.


Okay. Back to the markets. I mentioned yellow peas and India in a newsletter. It seems that there is some support, but it isn’t very strong or consistent. Last week peas were a bit softer. Who knows what this week will bring? We have seen the price whipsaw from $9.50 up to $10.50, briefly touch $11.00 and drop back down to $10.00/bus FOB MB. Follow our weekly updates to get an idea on movement. You can also contact your broker if you would like to receive the daily market summary (email) or weekly text prices.


Feed wheat has strengthened a bit. Mills are only paying for what they have to for supplies that they need. Corn is still being used in significant volumes. It all depends on what the computer tells them, the ingredients for the least cost feed formula. I often get calls from colonies and some feed-mills as to where current prices are trading. They aren’t looking for anything at that time, they just need accurate numbers to calculate rations. Another service we provide. As you have all figured out by now. If the CBT wheat bids go up $0.20/bushel that doesn’t make feed wheat move $7.50/MT, the next day. Most feed commodities we trade in are more cash driven than futures driven.


Oats have been a hard to figure market so far. Milling oats ($4.25 FOB/$4.50 DEL) are not strong but much better than feed oats at $3.40. There is a significant amount of light oats in MB this year. This will likely keep top on feed oat prices.


Corn has shown some life with values of $5.60-5.75/bus picked up trading (location dependent). We do have buyers looking. If you have corn available contact your broker and let him know, also an indication of what would buy some is helpful.


Barley is trading at $6.15/bus delivered to feedlots in Southern AB and $5.20/bus delivered to feed mills in Southern MB. If you are interested let us know and we can get you a price picked up at the bin. This is a reminder with the varying quality that it is as important as ever to know your moisture and bushel weight. We have seen plenty of loads get rejected this year for being under 46 lbs, it is far easier to deal with the quality up front vs once it is sitting on a truck looking for a new home.


As usual if you have any price targets don't hesitate to call one of us so we can get them entered into our system. All we need is Commodity, Volume, and target price.
Until next month.



Richard Chambers
Marketer - Brandon, MB
204-729-1354 - Office
204-761-8320 - Cell
[email protected]