Compared to other markets, canary seed is showing some positivity these past weeks. In September we started to see a bit of strength and it continues as we stretch into October. With a decent week of weather ahead of us for lots of producers, harvest has started up again we are seeing more canary being taken off. Quality concerns don’t seem like they will be an issue on the canary seed as it can endure poor weather conditions. There seems to be a small pause in the upside of pricing, since there was enough canary seed being moved to fulfill current demand. Right now, we are seeing bids at 23 cents picked up with prompt movement options available.

As of last week, the reports on flax harvest in Saskatchewan was stated as only 36% complete. The weather delays are concerning, even though flax is a more resilient crop. If the flax is harvested in late fall or spring, quality will be a concern. Kazakhstan has been putting out different reports over the last couple of weeks. While one report says that up to 200,000 tonnes will be left unharvested until spring, other reports suggest that the Kazakh flax crop would be a new record. These reports do impact the market and will need to get sorted out. There have also been discussions between China and Kazakhstan regarding phytosanitary issues, which could shift trade patterns. US harvest is mostly complete, but crusher bids are also showing strength. Canadian prices are $13.00/bu picked up for milling quality, while yellow flax is indicating $13.50/bu picked up with fewer sales. The harvest concerns have not triggered major bumps in the market as the main unknown is the Black Sea region’s production.

Milling oat markets have definitely shown some strength over the last little while, due to a major supply still in the field. Warmer weather across the prairies this week is most certainly the hot topic…and it is sure going to help famers get some of that crop off, but quality issues are likely going to be a factor. For good quality milling oats, $3.00/bu picked up on farm is attainable in a lot of areas in the province. For those in the southeast, markets heading east continue to offer a premium, possibly as high as $3.50/bu. As for feed oats, they have been trading around the $2.50/bu range depending on freight and location. Again, not a bad price for anyone who has some off-spec product. For a firm bid FOB your farm or to throw out an offer, call your Rayglen merchant.

This week lots of barley is hitting the bin, a very nice change to what we have been seeing the past few weeks. That being said, good weather and harvest progress is not so good for pricing. There is more than enough product to go around now and buyers don’t have to pay as much as they were a few months ago. It’s the age-old supply and demand model. If you have product coming off tough and no drying capabilities, we have buyers that can accommodate with reasonable drying discounts. Movement for tough barley is Oct/Nov, but don’t wait to long to lock in due to limited space. Prices right now, based on dry product are sitting anywhere between $4-4.50/bu FOB farm.

The chickpea market has been pretty quiet as of late. World markets are short on desi type chickpeas and well supplied on the kabuli type. Australian crop difficulties are the main culprit as to why the desi market remains strong, currently indicated at 28 cents/lb picked up in Sask. Of course, the desis are going to be a crop that lots are looking to plant, but seed will be hard to find as next to none are grown here in recent years. Kabuli pricing remains in the low twenties coming in around 23 cents/lb this week for across the board pricing on a #2 quality. There have still been some chickpeas out weathering this harvest delay, so we will wait to see what the quality looks like. It will be good to get information on green count and damage numbers. If you have feed quality chickpeas we will have some interested buyers, so call the office for more details.

Pea bids in Western Canada have continued to show strength, with bids either holding steady or trending in the right direction. Spot maple pea bids are still at very attractive levels with Mosaic variety bids as high as $11.50/bu picked up in the yard and Acer types slightly higher at $12/bu picked up. Yellow peas bumped up slightly this week with a few buyers bidding at $6.75/bu delivered plant. Freight can be backed off to get a picked up on farm bid for your area. Green peas remain the same this week with buyers sitting at $8.50/bu delivered plant. In the right areas, this makes $8.25/bu picked up a possibility. With the market showing the strength it is, now is a good time to be trying some targets slightly above the market.  Give your merchant a call to discuss where a good place to start for you may be.

Trying to find some positives on lentils this week and here are the highlights: quality is excellent for most producers, for the most part, they are in the bin and they are dry and safe. For many producers this maybe one of the few crops that they have in good selling condition. On the price side of things, markets seem to be flat, which also could be a positive sign as they may have finally stopped losing ground. Some of or buyers do fear that if sales pick up price may slip further, but at this point in time sales seem to be sporadic. On reds lentils prices have been floating around 14.5-15 cents/lb delivered plant, with the odd 15 cents/lb FOB farm bid popping up. Buyers who are not interested in purchasing are posting prices at a cent or two lower.  On large greens prices seem to hover around 18 cents for #1 and 17 cents for a #2. It is hard to believe that there is only a 1 cent spread between #1 and #2 grades. In the past seven days we saw small green lentils take a bit of a jump for a short amount of tonnage at 18 cents delivered on a #1.  Lentil marketing is going to have to be done with patience, while taking advantage of small blips in the market. If you need to update or replace your lentil seed, this maybe a good time to get into newer certified varieties as prices should be lower than last few years.

Soybean futures markets have seen a sustained upward trend; recently supported by US harvest delays and recent soybean shipments to China. It’s estimated that 40% of the US soybean crop is in the bin, this trails last year’s progress by 10% and the 5-year average by 15%. Along with harvest delays there are US producers reporting both quality and yield reductions. There have been recent reports of two cargoes of old crop US soybeans shipping to China. Recent local bids have been around $11/bu picked up on farm. Faba beans remain of particular interest to a growing number of buyers. Bids for zero tannin large seeded varieties lead the market and can be commonly found in the $9/bu picked up on farm range.

Canola closed today roughly $2/MT to the positive as strength in soybeans provides some support. Markets are also seeing some concern over how the weather has affected quality, despite a wide spread week of harvesting. Also helping push the oilseed along is a weaker Canadian dollar. No change in basis levels from last week, with negative $25/MT sounding like a good number. This puts bids delivered to plant at roughly $10.65/bu. From a chart standpoint $500/MT is still the resistance level. We will see how markets shake out after a week of product hitting the bin. Call to put in your target today!

Pricing on mustard remains fairly range bound again this week. Brown mustard is basically unchanged from last week and has been trading around 31 cents/lb FOB the farm. Caution should be taken though as 30.5 cents might be the top as the week goes on. Yellow mustard remains at 33-34 cents and it seems 35 cents FOB has disappeared for now. As for oriental, it is still the same, trading around 27- 28 cents/lb on forge variety. Cutlass oriental mustard is around 25 cents/lb FOB the farm. We have started our certified mustard seed program. We have Andante, Centennial, Vulcan and Forge varieties available with treatment options as well. Talk to your merchant about pricing.  Also, if you have contracted acres on mustard, please send in those samples as soon as possible.

Harvest has started again as of early this week and cereals are a large part of what is left in the field. It would be predicted that prices should start to diminish with that information, but they remain firm and sellers are starting to take advantage of it. Feed markets are still in hesitation mode on what is left in the field and expecting high moisture, which will lead to other quality issues down the line. #2 CWRS 13.5 pro bids @ $6.75-7/bu delivered with about a $0.15/bu carry in the market out to March and additional $0.15/bu out to Sept ‘19. Feed wheat prices remain flat. Bids for 58 lbs and dry (max 14.5%) range between $4.90 and $5.00/bu FOB farm for either wheat or durum. Still lots of unanswered questions that could sway this market one way or another, but activity remains steady.

Rayglen Market Comments are for informational purposes only. Rayglen Commodities and its agents or employees shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of reliance on any of the contents contained within these products, whether such loss or damage arises from negligence or misrepresentation or any act or omission of its agents or employees.