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Agronomy
Cereals
Stats Canada cereals and oilseeds review
From August to December 2008, direct feed grain purchases by Western Canadian feed mills was up 14 percent from the same five months a year earlier.
May 29, 2008 By Statistics Canada
March 2008
In the August to
December 2007 period, direct feed grain purchases by Western Canadian
feed mills totalled 427 000 metric tonnes, up 14.0% from
the same five months a year earlier.
Reduced purchases of barley, oats
and peas, were overshadowed by increased purchases of corn and, to a much
lesser extent, of wheat.
Direct corn purchases in the first
five months of the 2007/2008 crop year surged
to 191 000 tonnes from 110 000 a year earlier.
Corn imports by feed mills grew 32.7% to 123 000 tonnes
from 93 000 tonnes, supported by a lower US exchange rate. Purchases of Manitoba corn were also significantly
higher, the result of expanded production and lower prices relative to other
feed grain alternatives.
Direct wheat purchases from Saskatchewan declined because of lower purchases
by Manitoba mills that were substituting corn.
Wheat purchases from the other western provinces rose in the early part of
the 2007/2008 crop year prior to the major surge in wheat prices.
Feed mills' direct purchases of
barley fell 27.2% over the period, with reductions in purchases from Saskatchewan and Alberta, as feeders turned to lower-priced
corn.
Pea purchases decreased for a second
year as a result of strong food demand from India and high prices, which priced
peas out of the domestic feed market.
Note: Statistics Canada surveyed feed
mills in Western Canada to obtain data on direct purchases of feed grains from
farmers and grain dealers by province of origin. These data represent grain
deliveries in addition to the licensed deliveries currently reported to the
Canadian Grain Commission. Feed lots were not included in the initial phase of
this project. The purpose of this on-going, semi-annual survey is to identify
the amount of grain delivered by these direct methods and to identify
inter-provincial movement of grain. This will lead to improvements in grain
delivery data, which are important in the verification of farm stocks and
production as well as in the calculation of farm cash receipts.
