The barley world continues to boast some great pricing as we head towards the 2022 harvest. Old crop feed values are still catching anywhere from $8.50 – $9.00 FOB farm depending on the area and timeline of delivery. New crop feed barley, although not including an act of God, is triggering around that $8.50/bu picked up price. Keep in mind that this is area and timeline of delivery sensitive. Talks around old crop malt remain skittish so if you have product in the bin, your best bet is to call in with the specs and let us see what we can find for you. New crop malt contracts including an act of God are present with quotes in the $9.50-$9.75/bu range. A few showers throughout the province over the past couple of days should hopefully make for a good start to this year’s barley crop, or at the very least, ease some immediate pressure. Should you have been lucky enough to find yourself in the zone of one of these mysterious events, one may consider putting a few bushels on the books to open up some early bin space at a great price.

Seeding is underway, but as of last week only 4% of Saskatchewan peas had been planted, which is behind the 9-year average according to reports. Planting is progressing nicely in western Sask and eastern Alberta, with both able to make headway due to lack of significant moisture. However, the eastern side of the Sask is still struggling as wet conditions persist in many areas. China’s soymeal prices have been declining, which is taking all the feed pea business away from Canada and leaving only the fractionation market as an option for pea exports into China. We haven’t seen a change in old or new crop pea pricing this week as markets hold content. Currently, old crop yellows are at $17.00/bu with green peas at $14/bu, both FOB farm and based on a #2 quality. New crop yellow and green peas have traded as high as $14/bu FOB farm with an act of God, but the majority of bids are indicated around $13.50/bu. These are decent values to get a few bushels/acres locked in. Maple peas remain quiet on old crop with $16/bu being the typical bid, however, $17/bu has traded in southeast Sask. New crop maple peas are priced at $14.50 FOB farm.

Parts of western Sask saw some rain over the last 2 days, which has added a bit of positivity for crop outlooks, however, more will still be needed. Despite this moisture, new & old crop lentil markets remain unchanged from last week, but buyers are already talking about potentially dropping bids. Old crop red lentils have and will likely still trade at 41-42 cents/lb, but these values are getting a bit harder to find. New crop bids remain at 38-39 cents FOB with an act of God, but we do have many grower offers posted at 40 cents and if this value is of interest to you, talk to your merchant about a target. Large green lentils are indicated at 53-54 cents/lb FOB for old crop #2 quality, with new crop at 44 cents FOB with an act of God. For #1 small green lentils, old crop remains at 49 cents FOB and new crop bid at 41 cents FOB. If western Sask continues to get the much-needed rain, we will see additional old and new crop lentils moving to the market.

Nothing stands out in the chickpea market this week. Growers are well underway with seeding and the focus is to get it in the ground and watch the weather reports. Some of the worst drought areas in the US are where chickpeas tend to be grown, so at this point it is hard to predict what kind of year is ahead.  Overseas markets have been eating through their chickpea stocks not wanting to purchase at the given price. Keep in mind when price goes high, consumption goes down. While today’s values may not be labelled as “high” by many, if it can’t be sold, it’s too high. One thing we can say that has changed in the market over the last couple years is the floor is higher than it ever has been, and there is no reason for that to change. Prices in India are firm and strong, and the US has been using domestic supply, so it is wait and see mode up in Canada. Values are stable from last week, as current crop #2 Kabuli are bid at $0.47-$0.50/lb FOB farm depending on the method of sizing and buyer for May-July movement. New crop #2 Kabuli’s are valued at $0.45/lb with an AOG. Sample quality chickpeas are valued at $0.30/lb.

Old crop flax prices remain steady at $37-$38.00/bu picked up this week, while new crop also holds firm at $30-$31.00/bu picked up with an act of God. Since Russia has been the dominate source of flax going into China, there have been no issues regarding Chinese supplies, and they haven’t had to pay North American prices to obtain product. There are some reports that the main growing flax region in Kazakhstan remains dry, providing some support, yet flax yields overseas, much like parts of Canada, will depend on heavier in-season rains. The US has been keeping Canadian flax bids supported piggybacking on recent trade restrictions between Russia and the US. With the gap between old and new crop pricing, some buyers have shifted their focus to new crop.

Oat markets are steady for another week as growers get in the field and work on #plant2022. Old crop values for #2 CW oats range from $8/bu FOB farm to $9/bu delivered facility and can have big swings depending on the location. There is interest in gluten free oats as well and those bids are around $10/bu FOB farm. Previously, there were buyers willing to entertain a roll over option for new crop contracts in case of crop failure, but that interest has faded away. Perhaps an offer may rekindle those types of contracts, but without, buyers are not pushing the option. New crop markets remain steady at $6/bu FOB farm on a DDC today (no act of God). Feed markets are always on the hunt for product and bids range from $6-$7/bu FOB farm with bushel weight and freight sensitivity.

Canola continues to see support in the futures market today with July posting a $7.00/MT gain up to $1,141/MT and November up $10.50/MT, sitting at $1,087/MT at the time of writing. Growers can expect to capture spot bids in the $25-$26/bu delivered range this week, while production contracts show values closer to $23-$24/bu delivered without an act of God. We do have buyers willing to entertain a “hybrid” type contract at or near above mentioned values, with growers signing up the first 5bu/ac under DDC and an additional 5bu/ac with an act of God. These contracts can be beneficial as you’re only on the hook for 5bpa in the event of production loss. Call to discuss these contracts in further detail. Demand for product remains strong for nearby shipment and new crop, despite some moisture events over the past couple of days. Now may be time to start securing contracts before the market decides growing conditions will provide an adequate crop.

Mustard remained fairly solid this week, but we are starting to see some less aggressive spot bids from some buyers. Certain purchasers have dropped their bid on yellow mustard in particular, stating they have better coverage now until new crop arrives. Much needed rain has been falling in mustard growing areas, which also helps relieve concerns, and more is forecasted later this week. We will see how this pans out and what it does to values, if anything.  New crop values remain similar to last week and we’ve been fairly busy booking new crop acres. Yellow, brown, and oriental mustard are all sitting at $0.92-$0.95/lb FOB farm, with an Act of God including drought. Spot levels show up to $1.90 on yellow, but some bidders have moved down to the $1.70 range as mentioned earlier; $2 FOB seems to be unattainable on yellow for now anyways. Brown remains at $2.00/lb for a June/July movement, which is outstanding. Oriental remains at $1.10/lb FOB farm.

The wheat markets are up Wednesday after a few bad days where futures were getting pummeled. Currently we are still seeing milling bids up to $15.45/bu delivered plant in Central Sask for nearby on a #1 13.5% protein, CWRS. The price fades a little into summer and fall prices scratch around the $13.50/bu range. Durum #1 markets are hovering around $16/bu delivered into elevator in a few areas around the province for summer movement yet. Feed wheat bids remain very attractive for spot values with $13/bu in most areas attainable as a FOB farm price, whereas bids for feed in the fall flirt closer to $11/bu range on farm. As the largest wheat exporter in the world, Russian issues persist on this market and keep values elevated, whilst at the same time, creating major uncertainty on the outlook.

The past week had canaryseed offers trading as high as 50 cents/lb picked up, with firm bids sitting in the 48-cent range. Trading at this level has been very light – buyers aren’t looking for a lot of coverage, but this still shows the power of having an active target. New crop canary is still sitting at the 40 cents/lb mark this week, virtually unchanged from last. Based on export numbers, once again Saskatchewan buyers have found more canary than was reported. So, either there is more canary still hiding in the bins from past years, or acres/ yields were under reported from this year. Either way it looks like we will once again have enough canary to finish out the shipping year without a problem, therefore, don’t expect price to go on a run unless this year’s crop conditions are poor.

Soybean futures have posted a small reversal from last week’s losses. Support is coming from planting delays in the U.S. Midwest and continued strength from the global edible oils. Any kind of back-off is driven by an uncertain economic outlook from China. Local bids are location dependent and range from $17.50 -$18.00/bu FOB farm. A weaker Loonie has been supportive for Canadian dry bean bids. New crop specialty dry beans are between 50¢-60¢/lb delivered. Domestic North American markets continue to be the primary outlet for Canadian faba beans. New crop faba bids are showing up around $15.00/bu FOB farm for a #2. Old crop feed faba bids are near $13/bu FOB farm and when old crop #2 demand periodically occurs, it is often near $16/bu FOB farm.

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