Beauty in our Backyard

Hi Agfinity newsletter readers! It’s been a while since I’ve written. I was having a bit of a block thinking about what to write today, but then I realized it is an easy one for me today. This past weekend my family and I were able to spend some time in Alberta’s beautiful Rocky Mountains. Forgive me, I may wax poetic a bit here, but the gist of my writing today is on the beauty of the country we get to live in! There are so many gorgeous places we all aspire to travel to and see in this world, but I find myself often in awe of the beauty of our own Canada!

Here in Alberta, we have the Rocky Mountains in our backyard, with some of the most beautiful vistas that people travel from all over the world to see. Then we are in the midst of foothills and prairies. As we drive the countryside, I love to see the farmers out in their fields tilling and seeding the earth and the perfectly even rows of green shoots sprouting from the ground to the sunsets in the fall with the dust clouds in the fields as the combines gather the harvest. Honestly, I don’t know if it gets much more beautiful than that! But there is so much more!

Our family enjoys the Pacific Northwest on the west coast of Canada with more mountains meeting the sea. Again, breathtaking beauty! This year we get to explore further afield in our great nation and see the all the way across to the east coast of Canada and our maritime provinces! I know without a doubt that we will find many more awe-inspiring views to stir us! We are always open to hints on the must-sees as we travel!

So, after all this written fluff, I remind myself . . . no matter how many beautiful places there are out there on this globe we call home, remember, as Canadians we have been truly blessed with some of the most amazing views! As you roam our great land, take a few moments to enjoy the sights. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

Because Farming is Forever
Amy Billett

Thanks a lot Rich Golby for this great photo!

Thank you very much George Doerksen for this beautiful photo!

Market Report – Erin Harakal

Barley is holding firm, canola and wheat are on a constant downward trend, and we are 1 day away from June. When you look at it, we essentially have June, July, and part of August to move grain before new crop comes off. It may seem like we just got the seed in the ground, but we don’t have much time left and this time of year seems to always fly by.

Dry growing conditions are a concern in most parts of Western Canada. Whereas some areas have had the opposite and have had too much rain. Growing conditions seem to be improving in the Mid-West in the US and some areas are said to be almost too wet. They are keeping a close eye on growing conditions in the eastern parts of the corn belt and southwest part of the Canadian prairies as dry conditions continue. Right now, it is a little early to tell what to expect going forward as we approach late spring and the early summer months and if these dry conditions will persist.

Barley prices have continued to hold and remained unchanged for the past few weeks. Prices for barley remain around $400-405/mt delivered Lethbridge for June-July movement. New crop can be seen around $350-360/mt for September-November movement. Even with the chaos in other commodities barley continues to be unfazed.

The price of feed wheat is almost the same if not better than graded wheat. We are currently seeing FOB Central Alberta pricing ranging from 10.00-10.25/bu picked up. Whereas Graded HRS wheat bids have been around $10.30-10.40/bu delivered for June. On Tuesday wheat futures plummeted 25 cents a bushel for Minneapolis for July futures, they are signaling wheat is oversold. We are seeing the pressure of cheap wheat coming from Russia and the potential of a bumper crop coming from them as well. Canola on Tuesday plunged $25.50/mt for July. The main reason for the down trend was due to the drop in the crude oil pricing, this also affected the other oil pricing. Canola coverage seems to be in a good place going into the summer. Now the question is when the market is going to stabilize.

Sellers Tip: Now is the time to come up with a plan for your remaining bushels. Do you have the bin space to hold it or will you need to move it before a new crop.