The Animal Nutrition Association of Canada expects growing conditions in the U.S. to be the biggest factor affecting North American feed grain prices in the coming year.
Delayed seeding in western Canada and the U.S. corn belt is raising concerns over the potential for shortages of cereal feed grains this coming winter and higher prices.
Herb Schultz, the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada’s Manitoba operations manager, says the U.S. situation is the most worrisome.
I would say right now it’s the U.S. concerns that will probably drive the price.
In other words the price driver will be set by the U.S. growing area because they are really behind the curve in terms of getting things in.
They are late and that makes the harvest questionable in terms of large volumes.
The prairies, we’re not on and it would be nice to say the farmers are all sending their seeders out to the fields but we’re not overly late yet.
There’s a little bit of concern but it’s probably an average right now.
If the weather stays the way it is or improves for growing or seeding season then we might get a pretty good crop in.
Some places are going to be too wet.
The Red River Valley, it’s going to be late.
The land is completely flooded.
What that does really is the U.S. crops actually set the price.
If we get a good seeding and a good growing season, our crops can sort of put downward pressure on what I call that North American price.
If we mirror their growing problems or their seeding problems that just keeps adding pressure upward to the prices.
Schultz notes we trade across the border bringing in U.S. corn, dried distillers grains and soybeans so livestock producers need to keep a close watch on the North American market.
He says the other divers are international and, if the international growing conditions deteriorate that will add to the North American pressure.
Source: Farmscape.Ca
