Following the most recent StatsCan report last week, flax prices remain sideways since there was no major surprises in latest production numbers. You can still capture $18.00/bu picked up on flax for movement out to March, with the possibility of slightly higher for movement out to June. New crop ranges from $14-$14.25/bu picked up with an act of God.  Yellow flax markets are a little less aggressive on the buying end of things, but prices range from $18.00-$20.00/bu picked up. Chinese flax imports were 26,000 tonnes in October which is above the 5-year average, however Canada only accounted for 1,300 tonnes. We are likely to see those numbers increase once the exports arrive overseas in the next couple of months. The demand continues for flax, but there are key growing areas overseas that will eventually find their way into the global market, in the meantime Canadian prices will remain supported.

This week the pea market hasn’t seen much change. With StatsCan confirming that green pea production is 30% more than last year and yellows only 4% larger, we have seen the price gap between greens and yellows narrow. China remains to be the dominant pea buyer of mainly yellows which is holding yellow pea pricing strong. Current pricing on green peas has softened to $9.50 – 10.00/bu delivered. Yellow peas are $9.25/bu delivered ($9.00/bu picked up in certain areas) and maple peas remain stable at $10.00/bu picked up. China’s buying may have slowed down to a more reasonable pace but it’s still looking like yellow pea stocks could get low if China stays in the market. This could provide more room for yellows to strengthen in as the year progresses. Again, we do have all our eggs in one basket here *(Chinese demand), so it may be a good idea to get some of the risk off the table with current yellow pea prices at a historical high.

The feed wheat market remains strong throughout the Prairies this week. Bids are readily available between $6.00 to $6.50/bu picked up depending on your location for shipping pushed out into the new year. The odd buyer does pop up with room to take product prompt, but those windows are largely closing. The closer you are to feedlot alley, the better the values look as is the case most of the time.  Milling wheat prices are not much better than feed at the moment and bids hover in the $6.50 to $7.00/bu delivered range based off of #1 quality and 13.5% protein. This week we’ve traded some new crop #1 durum for $8.25/bu FOB farm in SE Sask with an October through December delivery window. If you are looking for the most up to date prices in your area, please call your Rayglen merchant.

After January canola futures saw a big jump up last week on reported lower Canadian production, and we have seen them fall back slightly. Currently we are sitting at $583/MT, which compares to $589/MT at time of writing last week. Much of this weakness is due to losses in soy futures over the past couple weeks triggering some profit taking sales in Canola. March futures are still lower than January and currently sit at $579/MT.

The oats market has been particularly strong for this time of year as of late. Many buyers that are usually pricing into summer at this time of the year have use for product in nearby months; in nearby weeks even in some cases. We have triggered targets in strong freight areas (Southeast Sask) as high as $3.75/bu picked up on yard for #2 milling oats. Further North the numbers are not quite as aggressive but still impressive, nonetheless. If you haven’t sold much to date, it’s time to consider making additional sales while the iron is hot. Fall 2021 prices should be on your radar today as well, as values are up to $3.25/bu picked up on farm East of Saskatoon. This is a very solid number to get some risk off the table on sales and storage for next year’s production.

Not much new to report in the barley field as prices are flat compared to the week previous. We’ve seen $4.25 – $5.00/bu FOB trade depending on the area, with the higher numbers being closer to feedlot alley. Rumblings of some $6.00/bu malt barley prices are afoot if you want to sit on it for April – July delivery. Given the fluctuation in temperatures as of late, make sure to monitor your bins and do random germ checks to ensure that your quality is still holding up on a malt scale. No big pricing guarantees for production contracts on the malt side of things but there is some $4.50 – $5.00/bu feed bids out there. If these numbers are jumping out at you, our opinion would be to stay away from a feed variety barley and plant one of the newer varieties whether it be Synergy, Connect or even Bo. Given what these have shown on the yield side of things, at the end of the day if it makes malt then that’s great and if not, the feed market is still strong and puts some money back into the farm’s pocketbook.

Chickpeas are getting mixed signals from StatsCan and Sask Ag, with uncertainty in the supply/quality of this year’s production. It is reported that Australian production is up slightly from 708K MTS to 737K MTS. Earlier strength in chickpeas prices out of India were believed to trigger higher seeding and have now backed down to usual prices. Higher seeding could lean more pressure on values if the production is average. While several buyers have backed their bids off by $0.03-0.04/lb,  a #2 large kabuli bid of $0.30/lb delivered plant can still be found in the market. Feed prices have also slumped a little with trades occurring around $0.12/lb off the farm. Desi’s have also come up in conversation from the buyer’s side but no reference to value. Call if you have inventory and we can get to work on price discovery.

Argentine workers strike, retreating fund selling and tapering South American rains have all offered a little stability to soybean futures. Local soybean bids now hover around $12.50/bu picked up depending on location. Export faba bids remain rare, due to increased production out of Australia. Feed faba bids are near $7.00/bu FOB farm, location dependent. North American dry bean production has increased sharply year over year. Harvest delivery pressure is beginning to subside, and some early Mexico export demand has come to some of the specialty classes. New crop dry bean bids are soon to be released. Contact Rayglen if you are interested in new crop.

Lentils continue to feel the pressure from overseas markets. With all the information being published in the last couple weeks from around the world, the marketplace has lost its urgency to fill contracts at high prices. No one ever knows where the markets are going to end up but locking in profit is always a win. It was this time last year we started to see a little upswing in reds and that continued until early this fall. The world loaded up on lentils to get coverage, now the market has comfortable supply with more to come. This has put a bearish tone on the markets as a supply shortage risk is limited. There are really only three unknowns left out there that will change the market’s perception; 1) quality of the Australian crop, 2) how many acres will India actually get planted; early reporting says lentil acres are up this time last year, 3) what will be the quality of the crop be?  Today’s price on red lentils is still trading between $0.23-$0.24/lb FOB farm, large greens at $0.32-$0.33 FOB farm and small greens hover around $0.27-$0.28 in most places. Looking at these markets through a zoom lens makes it hard to see the whole picture, zoom out and look at everything to help you with your marketing decisions.

Little has changed in canary seed pricing as bids continue to hold firm at $0.32/lb picked up on the farm for Jan. to March movement. Pricing for this year has extended beyond last years thirst which trailed off in October and ended with no real seasonal spike in late Winter. This year, values have remained quite strong from the get-go and continue to quietly hold their own. Down the road we may see a price perk should exporters not have enough coverage for Spring sales. Are we trading higher or lower though further out? Time will tell. There have been some inquiries in regard to new crop pricing. Right now, there are no firm bids from buyers so if you have a target in mind, give your Rayglen Merchant a call.

This week we saw fairly steady prices after the reaction to the StatsCan report last week. Brown mustard remains a good story as buyers continue to show strong bids. Firm pricing remains around $0.32/lb FOB for February to March pickup and as high as $0.33/lb for April to June.  Yellow is sitting at $0.41/ln FOB farm for February to March movement also. Oriental Forge variety sits at $0.28 for Feb. to March movement, while Cutlass Oriental is now steady at $0.27 FOB for that same window.  New crop contracts are starting to be signed at a good pace. Please call us to discuss all your new crop and seed options. We have all varieties of seed, either treated with 2 treatments, or un-treated and our prices include delivery to your yard.

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.