There has been nothing but crickets in the canaryseed market and bids remain flat. Prices have been and continue to be indicated at 20c/lb FOB farm. Buying has been slow overall, but a few trades are hitting the books. These prices will remain flat for the short term unless there is an increased demand from the South American market because of the smaller Argentine crop. New crop bids also remain very quiet. The only way prices might improve, is if the new crop acres drop drastically, but even then, on farm stocks are likely sufficient to cover any shortfall in acres. For now, reports are projecting around 250,000 acres going in this year, which won’t be a major decrease. That is down a negligible 2% from last year, and not enough to affect the future pricing.

As we wrote last week the kabuli chickpea market is very quiet in Canada right now, so very little change is expected to occur. The spot market is a ghost town due to lack of product available, but if you are a seller of product still in the bin, we have some US buyers with a bit of remaining interest to acquire tonnage. Call the office for details. New crop kabulis are very quiet as well this week as bids with Act of God have slipped down into the low thirties as many buyers have a comfortable position in place. If you are one of the few still seeding a desi type chickpea in this country call the office for details on a new crop program including an Act of God at profitable levels.

Canola’s rocky start at the beginning of the week was piggybacking mainly on losses in the soy market. That being said, May futures have managed to claw back most of Monday’s $5.40/MT loss, currently sitting at $521/MT on Wednesday afternoon. Gains made recently have been prompted by strength in soy that held more clout than nearly a penny spike in the Canadian dollar. Rayglen still has a good supply of canola seed and buyers looking for new crop tonnage if you’re still looking for options for this coming year. Please get in contact with your merchant to discuss these opportunities. As a final note, we have seen some leeway in recent bids, with buyers more than willing to look at offers over the market. Today bids sit at roughly $11.75/bu delivered plant.

Another quiet week for the oats market as prices have remained steady for some time now. Heavy and dry feed oats continue to be right around $2.00/bu picked up in your yard. With spring coming into the picture movement is starting to look more like a May/June timeframe. For #2 CW oats, pricing is in the range of $2.30/bu picked up with movement out into summer. Prices are better the closer you get to south west Manitoba so give us a call to get a price out of your area or to put in a target offer at a value that makes sense for you.

We have seen some declines in milling wheat bids over the last week, with some rain events occurring in the drought areas of the US. Although these rains likely didn’t help improve conditions of yields drastically, in a weather market any event can make large changes. Currently we have seen some hard-red spring wheat with 13.5% protein values at $6.90-6.95/bu delivered plant for summer movement. Some buyers have offered programs for spring wheat with 12.5 protein, call your merchant to see what can be done. Feed wheat values continue to hold strong with bids still floating around $5.25-5.35/bu in most areas, with some better values floating around depending on location of the grain. Durum values have slipped slightly over the last few weeks with business harder to get done. Old crop and new crop durum in the southeast is hovering around $7.75/bu picked up on farm based on #1 US quality product.

Milling quality flax has movement for April – June at $12.25/bu picked up in the yard.  #1 quality is indicating $12.00/bu delivered. Yellow flax prices this week are $13.00/bu picked up in select areas. There is also some new crop flax interest in certain locations at $12.00/bu FOB farm. Gross margin rankings are still positive even though the market hasn’t shown much life over the last couple of months. Analysts have decreased their predictions of acres from December and are estimating a 6% increase compared to last year. There will still be competition from other flax growing regions and getting some new crop acres on the books could take some movement risk off the table. If you are looking for seed, talk to your Rayglen merchant to show you some options.

This week we are seeing the barley market steady. Prices are very similar to last week and may be at their peak. $4.30-4.60/bu FOB farm are current bids depending on freight for summertime movement, and around $4.20/bu FOB farm for quicker movement. Please keep in mind these prices are based on 42mt loads, so if you are on road bans please let your merchant know, as it may affect your price. New crop barley has a few contracts left at that $4.00/bu FOB farm mark and potentially higher based on area, but they are almost filled so if you are on the fence, it may be time to decide. Offers are a great way to catch a high in the market so talk with your merchant on those.

There hasn’t been a lot of change in pea pricing this week. A large supply of yellow peas remains on farm, but producer patience is keeping prices steady at $6.50/bu FOB. Supplies on green peas are tighter, which is keeps pricing propped up. Bids on greens are between $8.25-$8.50/bu picked up on a larger variety, with some opportunities to move the small variety such as Pluto or Patrick. We are also starting to see new crop green pea pricing pop up at around $8.00/bu delivered with an Act of God. Green pea acres are expected to increase as yellow pea acres are being swapped out, but we are unsure how large or small the shift will be. There are also options for movement on higher bleached green peas, talk with your merchant on pricing.

Soybean futures have taken another significant step down this week based on reports of rain in Argentina. However, the moisture likely came too late to improve Argentina crop prospects with current production forecast falling below 40 MMT. We are at the time of year when US planting intentions start to influence markets. Some analysts expect soybeans to slide lower based on increased soybean planting intentions barring any spring planting problems. The state-run Chinese tabloid Global Times, recently reported in an editorial that U.S. subsidies for soybean farmers have given them an unfair competitive advantage in selling to China. These comments arrive at a time when it’s expected that the US will announce tariffs on imported Chinese electronics and technology products. Local soybean bids are in the $10.00 FOB farm range depending on location. Local faba bean bids are in the $6.25-$6.50/bu FOB farm range for feed quality depending on location.

Mustard again traded flat this week, as no major moves were marked on both spot and new crop pricing. The moisture situation has improved quite a bit in Southwest Saskatchewan and Southeast Alberta as another storm is forecasted for the weekend of March 24th. So, talk continues on how much acreage will actually be seeded, with some forecasts now dropping below the magic 500,000-acre mark. We will see how this all shakes out in the end. New crop yellow is still fairly strong at 35 cents, brown mustard is sitting stable at 33 cents and oriental possibly as high as 31 to 32 cents per pound depending on variety. Seed supplies are still available, but we are getting to crunch time as deliveries will be taking place end of March. We have numerous options for treatment and can deliver to your yard! Call your merchant for details.

Lentil Prices, lentil prices wherefore art thou high lentil prices?  This seems to be the question that most of us are asking. What difference twelve months can make in the world of marketing. This time last year we had some of poorest quality lentils we had ever grown, yet the markets were stable and India didn’t seem to mind. Fast forward and now we have some of the best quality lentils and India does not care. What needs to change? First, using up existing stocks around the world, second a reduction of acres, third have India reduce or get rid of tariffs and lastly, someone needs to have a crop failure. Red lentils will likely take the longest time to recover, but also won’t likely fall much further to find the bottom. Large green lentils have a lot more room to fall due to slower sales and talk of increased acres this year. Lentils are not going to be the Rockstar they once were, but like The Beatles; they’re always around and still relevant to making your farm profitable in the long run.

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.