Seasonality of feed barley prices

Crop marketers may consider seasonal price patterns as a factor when making their pricing decisions.

 

‘Feed barley prices in Alberta are typically lowest during the harvest period and increase to steady, sometimes rising, prices during the winter and spring,’ says Neil Blue, provincial crop analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

 

He adds that during a typical growing season, barley prices usually decline into August as producers begin to empty their bins before harvest.

 

‘Late in the crop year, some disappointed malt barley producers move barley supplies not accepted as malt grade into the feed market. Particularly in years of tight supply, feed barley prices remain strong in the summer until new crop barley becomes available.’

 

Seasonal prices are calculated by taking the average price for a certain period, such as a week or month, and comparing it to the average price over the year. Seasonal prices are often plotted on a bar graph, with the annual price average as Index 100. Usually, such a calculation uses data from several years, which reduces the influence of contra-seasonal price moves that happen in some years, usually from a supply reduction.

 

Table 1. 10-year feed barley price seasonality chart

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.