Barley markets remain stagnant this week, without much in the way of demand from buyers, nor any real sense of urgency from sellers. Current values for old crop feed barley remain unchanged, with indications ranging from $4.50–$5.00/bu depending on freight line and delivery timeframe. With warmer weather returning across the Prairies, feed demand has softened slightly as ranchers and feedlots are not needing to feed as heavily. On the malt side, discussions around pricing, movement, or demand remain minimal. However, showing something firm, along with clear specs, could help generate interest if you have a target price in mind.

Chickpea buyers have been slowly ramping up purchase interest. While this has not yet translated into significantly stronger bids, it could present a good opportunity for firm offers to trigger. We also see movement opportunities for producers holding tough and/or high green count product, where buyers can purchase, dry and sort the whole parcel. High moisture chickpeas can be challenging to manage, as the moisture often sits in the center of the pea and can be difficult to dry down. Repeatedly moving grain in and out of bins can cause mechanical damage and with warmer weather, there is an increased risk of mold development and crusting, which can further downgrade quality and value. This program is relatively straightforward and may be worth exploring if tough or high green count is an issue this year. Bids for sample grade product with over 20% green and damage are seen at $0.12/lb and up to $0.19/lb for 5% green and damage. Give us a call if this is of interest and we can walk through the details, including drying and sizing costs.

Canola continues to strengthen, with July futures breaking above the $700/MT level for the first time since August. Some Companies are now posting bids above $15.00/bu delivered for May–July movement, while new crop bids remain roughly 15 cents shy of that mark. This marks a good opportunity for submitting firm FOB farm offers, which have a reasonable chance of being triggered. Markets continue to respond to anticipation of renewed trade activity with China. Canola is also benefiting from the strong recovery in the soybean oil market, which is trading at its highest level since 2023.

Red lentil prices softened by 1 cent/lb this week, moving down to $0.25/lb delivered plant. #2 quality large green lentils continue to trade in the $0.25–$0.26/lb FOB farm range, while X3s are trading around $0.20/lb, with #3 at $0.17/lb. Small green lentils remain difficult to move regardless of grade. No. 1 spec are trading at $0.19/lb FOB farm, with No. 2 at $0.17/lb FOB farm, and there is very little activity on lower grades. Buyers have started offering new crop contracts for large green, small green, and red lentils. Large greens have traded at $0.25/lb for a No. 2 grade, small green contracts are priced at $0.20/lb for No. 1 with and red lentils are currently being offered at $0.20/lb. All three include an act of God clause and are indicated as FOB farm. The large and small green lentil contract values are comparable to the prices recently released by Saskatchewan Crop Insurance, though crop insurance values came in slightly higher on the reds. Buyers have not indicated how deep they intend to go on new crop bids, but given this year’s expected carryout, these programs may be limited in size.

Flax acres are expected to increase this growing season. Current prices are $16.00–$17.00/bu picked up, depending on location and movement timing, with a significant amount of product being priced into April–May delivery. New crop bids are starting at $16.00–$16.50/bu picked up with an Act of God clause, in light trade so far, but may be something to consider with the expected increase in production. New crop yellow flax has been trading at $19.00–$20.00/bu picked up with an Act of God clause. Strong competition from Kazakhstan and Russia continues to limit any major upside in pricing. If you are planning to seed flax this year, we recommend pricing at least 10 bu/acre, particularly on yellow flax, as it remains a smaller specialty market.

With pea supplies still heavy this marketing year, we can expect to see a small shift out of some pea acres for this upcoming growing season. With China back in as an export destination that should help for this next marketing year, but India is still a question mark. Current yellow pea pricing is $7.50 – 8.00/bu picked up. Green peas, based on max 3% bleach, are trading at $10.00 – 10.25/bu picked up. Maple peas have pulled back a bit to $11.00 – 12.00/bu picked up. New crop values have been a little slow to come by on yellows and greens. New crop maple peas are still available at $10.00 – 11.50/bu picked up, variety dependent.

Mustard markets have been a bit slower on the spot front, especially on spot yellow mustard demand. Buyers seem to be bought up for now and have backed off sales. Old crop yellow is being indicated at 36 to 37 cents FOB farm range. Bids might be available for lower grades on yellow, so call us for options to market that. Old crop brown is still bidding 30 to 31 cents FOB farm, and oriental remains fairly firm in the 44 to 45 area. New crop values have yellow leading the way in the 40 to 42 cent area , followed by oriental at the 37 to 39 cent range, and brown in the 32 to 34 cent area depending on movement times. New crop contracts include an Act of God. Call us to discuss our certified seed options with treatment and delivery to farm.

Oats continue to be a minimal talking point as of late when it comes to buyers pushing to purchase tonnage. Although there are some bids floating around at $3.00/bu FOB farm for March – May movement. We suspect that those numbers fall off once buyers get some purchases on the books. That is indicated as heavy and glypho free milling oats as there have been a few buyers this week questioning about heavy feed oats but no firm prices have been thrown out on them just yet. If you are sitting with a sell figure in mind posting something on offer might just go a long way today. Switching over to new crop oats and the talks are much the same as spot purchase values today. Suspect a person could likely still get $3.00/bu FOB farm for new crop but the delivery window is likely pushing into the winter months as we typically see with oats at this time of the year. Supply vs demand as always plays a roll in both new crop and old crop values and to date the supply is out-weighing the demand side of things.

Wheat futures have edged lower, as expanding global supplies weigh on prices despite strong Canadian export demand. Canadian wheat exports are running about 10% ahead of last year at 12.5 MMT, supporting elevator deliveries and port movement, but increased production and export flows from India, Argentina, and Russia are pushing the global balance toward surplus. Added uncertainty around potential U.S. trade tariffs is also pressuring markets. For Saskatchewan producers, solid export demand provides marketing opportunities and basis support, yet overall price direction remains capped by abundant supplies and the risk of sizable carryover stocks. Prices are sitting around $7.60/bu delivered in central Sask for May movement on #1 red spring min 13.5% protein with durum prices hovering around $7.50-$7.75/bu. Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation has set 2026 coverage levels at $6.92 per bushel for hard red spring wheat and $7.47/bu for durum, offering little incentive to shift acreage into those crops as farmers weigh planting decisions ahead of the March 31 deadline.

Optimism in demand has led to a rise in prices once more, following a wave of technical buying. Hopes for better trade relations with China pushed prices slightly upward. High-level trade discussions are set to resume in just a few weeks, and President Trump’s remarks during the State of the Union address indicate that he remains committed to trade and supporting farmers. According to Brazil’s Anec, the nation’s soybean exports are expected to hit 392.6 million bushels in February. This marks a decline of 28.3 million bushels compared to the group’s previous estimate from a week earlier. Local bids for soybeans are between $13.00 and $13.25/bu fob farm. North America is presently experiencing a strong supply of black and pinto beans. Inventories are beginning to be drawn down. It is anticipated that the demand from Mexico will decline and return to more normal levels because of competition from other international bean suppliers. This scenario is exerting some downward pressure on the prices of black and pinto beans. On the other hand, smaller specialty classes of colored beans are expected to witness an increase in both demand and prices due to lower supplies. At the moment, bids for black and pinto beans are hovering around 28-30 per pound, while minor specialty varieties are attracting higher bids nearing 60 or more. Interest in faba bean exports continues to be quite low, with farm gate bids at about $8.00 per bushel, and feed quality faba beans priced at roughly $7.00 per bushel FOB farm.

Canaryseed markets have not shown much action in recent weeks, not unlike most commodities we grow here in Western Canada. For the spot market we are still showing values ranging from $0.185 to $0.19 cents/lb FOB farm depending on area and movement timeline, with the stronger value pushing movement more into a summertime delivery window. Some analysts are projecting canary acres to fall 25% this coming spring, from 320,000 ac in 2025 to 240,000 ac in 2026, as growers look to other options with new crop values showing only high teens in contract opportunities. Current stocks indicates the carryover will be significant and short of poor production in 2026, that is likely to continue for some time. New crop contracts, priced at 19 cents/lb, do carry an act of God, which gives sellers protection against a shortfall of production where many other forward pricing options for cereals don’t have that safety.

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.