The effects of early frost that touched most of western Canada are still yet to be seen. Specifically, on canola, reports suggest this frost could prove to be harmful in a few areas where temperatures dropped below minus 5 degrees Celsius and the crop was still standing. Luckily, many areas have canola swathed now and damage should be limited. We have seen bids perk up a touch this week due to a weaker Canadian dollar, strong soyoil markets and presumably some weather instability. Today, bids range between $10.25 to $11.50/bu depending on which area of the province you are in and delivery timeframe. The highest bids are seen for Jun-Jul 2021 delivery in west central SK. Please call your Rayglen merchant for a firm bid on your farm.

The pea market remains quiet into this week and some classes have even softened a bit more. Yellow peas are being bid up to $6.75/bu delivered plant, greens came down to $7.50 – $8/bu and maple peas remain at the $8/bu picked up mark. Yellow peas seem to have hit their lows, with hope bids will firm up later into the marketing year. Green peas, however, seem to keep slipping and buyer interest is lacking. Green peas are not likely to see the increase that we are expecting in yellows. As per reports, India’s yellow pea and desi pea prices continue to rise due to shrinking supply. This is where we could see some positivity in the yellow pea market further into the year.

Flax prices remain strong this week. With little carry-over, prices are in the $14.00-$14.25/bu range picked up in the yard. Flax supplies for 2020/21 are estimated to be larger than last year, of course considering any impact of frost this week. There is potential for strong exports this coming year to draw supplies down to the 2019/20 levels. China will likely need to increase their flax imports as there are reports that indicate damage due to heavy rains and we are seeing those prices firm up. While most of the Canadian flax crop is still in the field, the US harvest is well advanced. Flax prices are also edging up in Europe due to limited selling pressure from Russia. There is potential for price increases on Canadian supplies going forward.

Chickpeas saw a bit of frost this week but the hope from the market is that anything that might have been affected was already desiccated. There is still an air of uncertainty on the direction of chickpea value as we teeter on harvest and will get a full picture of quality and quantity from this year’s production. Acres were down but are the environmental factors combined with that enough to push the market up? Spot trades for large kabuli’s sitting at $0.27/lb FOB farm for a #2 and so far, no carry for further out delivery. Feed/sample values still at $0.12/lb.

Southern Alberta has pretty much wrapped up their barley harvest, so the onslaught moving into feedlot alley in Lethbridge has backed off. As such, we have seen a bit of a price pick up on barley. Prices are ranging in that $3.50 – $3.80/bu range for some quicker movement with the better pricing the closer to Alberta. If you are looking for stronger prices and are willing to defer delivery, give your Rayglen merchant a call. According to the most recent StatCan report, this year’s barley yield average is being pegged at 71.7bu/a which would make the second highest ever. That coupled with an increase in farm and commercial stocks has the potential for us to be loosening the belt a loop or two. What may possibly spell some relief comes in the form of an ongoing rift between Australia and China as China has imposed 80.5% duties on Australian barley imports. Could there be potential for Canadian barley to make some inroads??

Lentils prices see to gaining strength this week with increased bids in large green and small red lentils.  Markets for red lentils are trading as high as 25-26 cents delivered, while large greens are trading 28-29 delivered on offer. Small greens seem to be stable at 24 cents FOB farm again this week. Markets could be seeing an increase as Stats can released the project ending stocks.  The 20/21 ending stocks are pegged at 161,000 tonnes, which is 100,000 more than this year and 555,000 less than 18/19. A second consecutive year of low ending stock and high-quality lentils may have buyers trying to purchase now as an insurance policy just in case Australia’s and India’s crop have quality and quantity issues. Their crops have yet to be harvested and most of the Canadian crop is now in the bin.

Canary seed prices are holding up solidly in the harvest pressure season. Current bids from a few buyers are at 27 cent/lb picked up on farm for movement in early fall. You can add a cent on the price for movement into late fall or early winter timeline as well. We have not heard too many reports of yield on canary come through the office yet, but expectations are that a decent crop, like most others this year, was hurt by the hot and dry stretch that we saw in July. StatsCan keeps adjusting and readjusting past year’s production to try and account for canary seed that sits in the bins for multiple birthdays then strolls back into the marketplace when 30 cents appears like a Rip Van Winkle of the commodity world. All these updates so our carryover stocks do not appear as a negative number. This year’s supply will remain tight most likely to support prices but if you have bin space issues or bills to pay, we have options to move product in a timely fashion.

Soybean futures managed to stave off a profit taking tremble ahead of Friday’s WASDE report. Chinese demand clashed to offset any significant losses with purchases for their recovering national hog herd along with stockpiling to avoid another shortage. US soybean crop conditions continue to slide with reports of pod aborting due to heat stress. Local bids are in the range of $10.50 picked up on farm. Dry bean harvest is at its early stages across the US with the greatest progress in Washington and lesser amounts as you head east across the US. Dry bean markets remain well supported. New crop faba bean bids are in the range of $7/bu picked up on farm for zero-tannin varieties. Tannin varieties may command a premium with early indications of $9/bu FOB farm for select tannin varieties.

This week we have heard several more reports on mustard yields, and they are all over the map. It certainly depended on the showers this year and the late August heat and dryness seems to have brought expected yields down. Late flowering crops were especially hit hard it seems. Spot yellow is still generally trading at 40 cents/lb FOB farm for September/October movement, but if you need quick movement straight September movement is available today; this could change at any time. 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.

Feed wheat prices have stayed the course this week across the province. Bids range between $4.75-$5.25/bu FOB farm depending on location. Some buyers are looking to cover off a few loads for movement in the next week so if you need to free up a bin, now might be a good time to ship some out. We also have options going both east and west, so pricing is firm in more areas than usual. These bids are based on minimum 58 lbs and maximum 14.8% moisture wheat. We do have bids for wheat that does not meet those specs as well at discounted prices.

Milling oats pricing have stagnated a bit, which is not unusual during the harvest season. Prices range from $3.15-$3.35/bu delivered out into Manitoba on a 2CW grade. These prices are obviously more likely to work out of eastern Saskatchewan once freight is considered. On the feed side of the market, we have bids between $2.50-$2.75/bu FOB farm for minimum 42 lbs and maximum 14% moisture oats. As always, we have markets for off spec oats as well. Give us a call with your specs for a price picked up in 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.