The canaryseed market has been consistently trading around 27-28 c/lb FOB farm for a May/June movement this past week and over the past couple months. Firm offers have been put up at higher values but have not traded… yet anyway. As for new crop pricing, bids have been seen in the range of 24 to 25 c/lb with an AOG and FOB the farm for fall delivery.  Supplies are still firm on canaryseed, but not as plentiful as once perceived. The price on canaryseed might spike later this crop year as buyers cover the gap between new and old crop, but if this happens, we suspect that spike will be fast and furious and then vanish in the same manner. If you are looking for the most up to date prices in your area, please call your Rayglen merchant.

The pea market had small changes in pricing over the past week. Most of the change coming from green peas, as old crop values drop to $11.00/bu FOB. This wasn’t necessarily shocking as new crop values are trading around $9.00/bu FOB, so the gap is closing in. Yellow peas will see less downside potential in bids as old crop and new crop values have only a small gap. Old crop is trading at $7.40 – 7.80/bu FOB and new crop values are at $7.00/bu FOB. Maple peas are stable at $9.00/bu FOB and new crop values also at $9.00/bu FOB. Looking to overseas markets, reports state Ukraine pea plantings have increased around 56% over last year and we have yet to see what Russian acres will pencil out at. This will likely have some effect our prices. As of right now we are still expecting an increase in pea plantings this year, as current Canadian bids support acres.

Large Kabuli chickpeas markets saw a momentary blip last week with new crop values for #2 quality at $.26/lb FOB farm and old crop #2 at $.27-.28/lb FOB Farm. It was extremely short lived and did not turn the heads of growers as they start seeding. The rumors of red lentils acres taking the forefront of the 2020-2021 seeding intentions adds a bullish tone to the chickpea markets and all eyes are on StatCan reports as they indicate just what will be displaced out of chickpeas. Commercial markets are consistently looking for all quality of chickpeas, but their values remain consistent.          

Canola prices are up a little on the July futures at time of writing this morning. As we near the end of April, most buyers roll out of buying against the May futures and into the July. We seem to have established a bit of a bottom on the market for the time being as the July tested below $460/mt a couple times but pushed back up above. Hopefully this is the sign of better times as the markets get back into a normal flow of things. Of course, we know that this price hold is not solely on canola’s own two feet and still follows soybean markets closely. We still have a few buyers with attractive basis levels for summer movement for those in select areas of the province, like the SE corner. Some are only minus $10 to $15/MT range, a much better number than the negative 20’s and 30’s we saw all summer long. This still only works canola back to $9.50 to $9.75/bu range FOB farm so it’s not time to break out the champagne, but not all that terrible considering our circumstances.

Canadian flax stocks are low and there is still some product out in the fields with questionable quality. This has created some aggressive buying this week on flax, both old and new crop.  Prices vary depending on quality, so call our office for details.  Some analysts are predicting a 12% increase in acres from last year; the StatsCan report comes out next week, so we should have a better idea at that time. With increased prices, the seed sales on flax have been strong. However, the market isn’t expected to be flooded. The USDA reports a decrease in flax acres by almost 28% in the US. Overseas markets are remaining firm and providing some support in the short-term with the lack of Canadian supplies available. While there will be a closer look at new crop acres in Canada, the main competition will once again be the Black Sea region. With that in mind, new crop prices remain mostly sideways for now.

We haven’t seen much fluctuation in the oat market these last several weeks. Good quality feed oats are trading at $2.60 – $2.90/bu with May – June movement on dry heavy product. If you have some off-spec product coming off, give your broker a call. We’ve seen a slight up tic on milling oats delivered into Manitoba at $4.15/bu for June – July movement versus $4/bu that was trading last week. It remains very quiet for attractive pricing on new crop milling oats. If you have targets on old or new crop, we are happy to throw them out and see if we get any action from the buy side. Should firm new crop bids start popping up, we’ll let you know.

Feed wheat continues to be stable this week as prices stay strong. On farm pickup for min 58 lb and dry feed wheat is priced between $5.00-$5.40/bu depending on freight. Best pricing is available the further west in Saskatchewan you are located, although some options do pop up into further east locations so be sure to stay in touch with your merchant. Milling wheat markets continue to struggle a bit and US wheat futures ended the day down 6-9 cents because of reports of rainfall in Europe and better rains showing up in Australia and Argentina’s winter wheat seeding.

The red lentil market seems to have settled down for the moment with buying and selling tapered over the past three to four days, as bids roll back 3-4 cents. Large greens continue generally steady, having the odd offer triggered a cent higher than the market for old crop. New crop prices have also seen a slight drop over the last few days. New crop reds are trading at 25 cents/lb with an AOG, FOB farm, while new crop large greens see bids at 28 cents for a #1, 26 cents for a #2, 22 cents for an X3, and 18 cents for a #3. These bids include an AOG and are FOB farm. Buyers are also looking for old crop small green lentils, with trades as high as 30 cents for #1 and 26 cents for a #2. New crop has traded as high 30 cents for #1 with an AOG, but those values have since slipped back to 26-27 cents. The buyers seem to be content with positions at this time, but spikes here and there may still occur as the market continues to deal with these uncertain times.

Barley sales may start to see some downward pressure as US corn prices continue to drop and becoming cheaper than Canadian barley. Prices this week are ranging from $3.80/bus to just over $4.00 in the right area.  Feed barley may also see pressure form spring threshed feed grains coming to market. Malt barley seems to be also feeling some pressure from Covid-19 as domestic processing numbers have been reduced with the closures within the hospitality industry. It will be interesting to see if StatsCan’s Seeding Intention shows a change in Barley acres now that lentils went on a run and new crop barley pricing is getting very hard to find.

A pause in the Argentine harvest and an executive order signed by President Trump mandating food processing plants remain open breathed some life into the soy complex. Heavy rains in Argentina are a break from recent hot weather but come at the cost of harvest pace. About half of the soybean crop remains in the field. Local soybean bids continue to hover around $9.75/bu picked up depending on location. Faba export demand is limited with small opportunities at $9.00 picked up and feed bids still hanging on near $6 picked up. New crop dry bean production contracts are getting close to sold out…still a few acres available. Call your Rayglen merchant for more info.

Seeding has now started in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, a hotspot for all mustards we grow. Conditions are being reported as very good compared to last year. Moisture levels so far should provide a good start. There have been basically no changes in mustard prices this week. Oriental mustard remains a bright spot as its off its lows by quite a bit now. Oriental spot mustard sits at 28 cents for Forge and 26 cents for Cutlass for May to June movement. New crop is as high as 29 FOB for Forge or Vulcan and 27 cents now for Cutlass.  Yellow mustard is showing a little downward pressure and now sits at 37 to 38 cents for spot and new crop. Brown trades at 27 to 28 cents FOB for spot and as high as 29 cents for new crop. Talk to your merchant about placing targets.  We still have open acres for an IP Brown mustard program at a premium to commercial markets. Certified seed is still possibly available for delivery to your yard but call us as soon as possible as trucks have almost completed all deliveries to the farm. We might be able to find a last-minute delivery depending on your area.

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.