The pea market has started the year off at a slow pace with all pea markets trending softer. Yellow peas are trading around that $6.00/bu FOB farm mark maybe a touch higher in the right area. Green peas are trading at $8.00/bu delivered and maples are at $8.00 to 8.25/bu FOB farm. StatsCan is reporting that this will be one of our biggest, if not the biggest pea crop, the province has ever produced. This speculation is based off of their model-based satellite vegetation estimate, which will be revisited in two weeks. When talking to our clients it seems this estimation maybe a little high, as yield seems to be a mixed bag. At this point the markets have not seemed to reacted to the news. We will see if there are adjustments made on the next release from StatsCan.

Flax prices continue to remain consistent again this week as trading holds steady sitting around $13.50/bu FOB give or take a quarter or so depending on location. With some new crop coming off and in the bins, yield estimates have picked up to 25bu/a. An increase of over 7% from the previous five years offsetting the slight drop in seeded acres. Let’s hope we continue to see the good quality and bushels as harvest continues. If we look globally, USDA reports show that flax acres have decreased a bit and if they have an average crop, estimates show a double digit decrease in tonnage from the previous year. Drought looks to have caused some issues in Kazakh yields; how much is yet to be determined. Reports on new crop Russian flax is a bit of a question mark as well as no news has really surfaced swaying things one way or another. Overall, exports are tight right now and pricing seems to be a direct beneficiary.

The feed barley market has definitely quietened down over the last while due to harvest pressure, a yearly occurrence. The feed price has been ranging between $3.20 to $3.75/bu as FOB farm pricing. As we have mentioned numerous times, the closer you are to the southwest part of the province the better the price is normally. Limited tonnage opportunities will likely arise from time to time throughout the year so firm targets on the table can be effective. Malt barley contracts have been scarce with very few companies actually bidding. Current malt indications are high $4’s to low $5’s depending on malting type and variety; it helps to have samples in to get checked out to help generate firm bids.

As seems to be the norm, credible canary seed production data is a bit contradictory and ever changing. Despite last fall’s price spike and the subsequent brisk farmer sales, old crop on-farm inventories still exist predicated on holding on for 1 penny more. It has been proposed that we will carry in more inventory than previous years and that we will produce a little less despite higher seeded acres; ultimately resulting in an approximate 10% increase in total supply. Our Canadian currency has an impact on our local canary seed bid. The CAD has been rising steady since March and has kept pressure on the US equivalent conversion for canary seed. Market has subsided a little from the Oct-Apr run but still remains well supported at the cusp of new crop. Local bids continue to hover around 27 cents/lb picked up on farm.

Feed wheat prices have remained stable this week across the province. Bids are ranging between $4.75-$5.10/bu FOB farm. Movement is starting to be pushed out into the new year for some buyers and prompt movement is getting tough to find. Heat blast appears to be an issue in some areas that have moved into the wheat harvest. Some areas are seeing lower yields as well as bushel weight issues. Milling wheat bids have been down so far this crop year with #1, 13.5% protein bids falling below $6/bushel. We do have an opportunity delivered into north central Saskatchewan however, on a #1, 13% protein at $6/bu.

A stressful start to the week in lentils as Western Canada was waiting on the decision of the India import tariff, only to be disappointed as they reverted back to the 33% “tax” beyond Aug. It was hoped that their tariff would have continued at the reduced rate of 11% helping prop up prices but that is no longer the case for the remainder of 2020. Mixed reviews of harvest have been rolling in with drier areas taking a hit to yield (15bu/acre) and some areas reporting anywhere from 35-50 bu/acre. New this week are reports of wind damage cutting yields in all sorts of crops as harvest continues. Those exceptional early acres could make up for the later downfall and produce a better than average yielding year but time will tell. There is no doubt that lentils are still a crop that can take a turn with the shift of the market but for now it seems bids of $0.23-$0.24/lb on #2 reds and $0.27/lb on #2 large greens off the farm for shipment in 2020 are still available. Sentiment is these bids could slip as we continue through harvest and yield/quality reports roll in.

The chickpea market has not seen a lot of variation in pricing over the past couple of weeks. Both the US and Canada saw a decrease in acres which is supportive to pricing, but we have yet to see a larger change in the market. As per reports, we will have to see how the 2020 Russian crop turns out which is our competition into the Asian markets. However, with the acres being down in Canada and the US and as supplies are used up, we are expecting some price recovery to occur. Current chickpea pricing is at 27 cents/lb picked up on farm with most buyers wanting a max of 10% 7mms. We also have homes for feed chickpeas that have been moving at 12 cents/lb picked up.

Oats prices on a #2 milling oat delivered out into Manitoba show a range of $3.15/bu to $3.50/bu depending if you want to send the truck in October or May. Obviously there is still some decent freight costs that would need to be deducted off these values so the further east you are the better. We have some interesting opportunities for heavy feed oats still catching a FOB farm price north of $2.50, which would be as strong or stronger than milling prices in some areas. Standard feed oats bids hover in the low 2’s price range as the feed complex as a whole takes its standard punch to the throat at harvest time.

Soybeans saw some upside earlier this week when the charts reached an eight month high. However, that rally did not last long and this morning there is a weaker tone. New supply buying has taken a breather with the market expecting weather conditions to stabilize. That doesn’t mean there isn’t demand. The demand will likely stay fairly firm into the fall. We are seeing soybean prices up to $10.50/bu FOB while faba beans have backed off slightly to $7.00/bu also picked up. The market is establishing a range but there are some warnings that this rally may be overextended. If you have soybeans in the bin, now may be a good time to get some locked in.

This week we did get more yield reports on mustard and they are all over the map it appears. Yellow has been reported at less than 10 and some as high as 25 bu/ac. We have had some brown mustard harvested at 10 to reports of almost 30 bu/acre. If it’s not heat and moisture issues, its wind, lately the wind has been playing havoc with swaths. So this will be interesting to see how this pans out in the end with reduced acres being planted. Spot yellow is still trading at 40 cents/lb FOB farm for September/October movement. Brown sits at 30 cents for September movement still so far. Oriental bids for short term movement continue to be a challenge with only a few options on the table. Call your merchant about an offer on oriental as a possible way to market it.

Canola markets are currently well supported just prior to the bulk of canola being harvested. This is in large part due to canola futures following the escalating soybean futures. Market still waiting for early canola yield indications from canola country. With very few acres harvested yet, it is still anyone’s guess on average yield and if late season heat had a real yield impact. However, seems to be a consistently held belief that canola residual stocks from the 20/21 crop will shrink year over year. Local bids of $10.50/bu delivered are available. Call your Rayglen merchant to discuss.

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