Direct answer: Alberta feed barley is a cash market, not a futures contract. Prices are quoted as delivered bids, most often to the Lethbridge feedlot area in southern Alberta, in Canadian dollars per tonne (sometimes per bushel). The Daily Board prints a weekly delivered-Lethbridge cash level, so the barley line updates less often than the futures lines and is labeled as a cash series.
Why barley is a cash price, not a futures price
There is no actively traded Canadian feed barley futures contract today, so there is no daily exchange settlement to print. Instead, barley trades directly between farmers, grain companies and feeders. Prices are gathered from those cash trades and bids and reported by market services and farm press, usually weekly.
That is why The Daily Board treats barley differently from the other 13 markets. It is labeled "cash (Lethbridge)", quoted in C$ per tonne, and carried forward with a flat arrow when no new weekly print is available, rather than inventing a daily change.
Why Lethbridge?
Southern Alberta, around Lethbridge, holds one of the densest concentrations of cattle feedlots in Canada. Feedlots are the main buyers of feed barley, so the delivered price into that area is the reference most of the Prairie feed trade watches. Other locations (Red Deer, Edmonton, central Saskatchewan) are often quoted at a spread to Lethbridge.
"Delivered" matters. A delivered Lethbridge price includes getting the grain to the feedlot. A farmer further away nets that price minus trucking, which is why two farms can sell into the same market and receive different net prices.
Who reports the price
Market services and farm press: weekly feed grain reports in Alberta Farm Express, Country Guide, Grainews and The Western Producer quote delivered feed barley ranges, citing services such as Prairie Ag Hotwire and commentary from feed brokers.
PDQ (Price and Data Quotes): a free cash price service owned and operated by Alberta Grains, which shows regional spot prices and can display them in tonnes or bushels.
Buyers directly: feedlots, feed brokers and grain companies post or phone their own bids. These are the numbers you actually sell at.
Reported prices are often given as a range (for example a low and high bid for the week) because different buyers pay different amounts for different delivery windows and qualities.
What moves feed barley
U.S. corn: imported corn competes directly with barley in feedlot rations. When U.S. corn is cheap enough to land in southern Alberta, it caps what feedlots will pay for barley. This is why The Daily Board covers barley next to corn.
Feedlot demand: the number of cattle on feed and feeding margins set how much barley the region needs.
Prairie crop size and quality: a big barley crop, or a lot of wheat downgraded to feed, adds supply; drought cuts it.
Export and malt demand: strong export or malting programs pull barley away from the feed market and firm local bids.
Other feeds: feed wheat, dried distillers' grains (DDGs) and feed peas or oats can substitute in rations.
Converting barley per tonne to per bushel
Using the traditional 48-pound barley bushel, one tonne is 45.930 bushels. A delivered price of C$295 per tonne is about C$6.42 per bushel. Some programs and buyers use a 50-pound bushel instead, so confirm the weight. The full table is in the grain bushels-to-tonnes guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a futures contract for Alberta feed barley?
Not an actively traded one. Feed barley is priced in the cash market, so prices come from reported bids and trades rather than an exchange settlement.
Why is feed barley quoted delivered Lethbridge?
Southern Alberta around Lethbridge is the heart of Canada's feedlot industry, so delivered bids into that area are the main reference for the Prairie feed barley trade.
How often does the barley price update on The Daily Board?
Weekly. It is a cash series, so The Daily Board uses the latest delivered-Lethbridge report and says when a level is carried forward.
Why does U.S. corn affect barley prices?
Imported corn competes with barley in feedlot rations. When corn is cheap enough to deliver into southern Alberta, it limits what feedlots will pay for barley.
See also the corn futures guide, How to Read The Daily Board, and the commodity market glossary.
