Anything But Cereals

Cereals suck. There are attractive prices available in oilseed crops and in pulse crops, but cereal grains aren’t keeping pace. In the latest Pool Return Outlook from the Canadian Wheat Board, the PRO has dropped by 38 cents a bushel on wheat, 41 cents a bushel on durum and 15 cents a bushel on malting barley. After deducting average Saskatchewan freight and handling, No. 1 CWRS wheat with 12.5 per cent protein has an expected price of just $5.85 a bushel in the upcoming crop year. That’s 60 cents a bushel below the price expected in this crop year and its $2.55 a bushel below the price in ’07-08. The PRO on number one durum with 12.5 per cent protein has slumped to $6.10 a bushel, less than half the price of two years ago. Two-row designated barley now has a new crop PRO of $3.93 a bushel, down dramatically from the $5.50 pooled price in the current crop year. Another cereal crop – canaryseed – remains at 17 to 18 cents a pound. Feed barley and oats aren’t great either. In the oilseeds, canola isn’t far from $10 a bushel and in the pulse crops, attractive new crop lentil contracts are available. Some producers would like to adopt an ABC policy – Anything But Cereals. I’m Kevin Hursh.

www.hursh.caKevin Hursh, PAg, CAC