| | Note: prices provided are normally given as grower prices, quoted by processors to growers after cleaning and dockage. However, with quotes now not being offered by many companies, last quotes may be provided.
Looking at the Canadian trade data for 2009, its shows what my grass and legume seed reports have been saying for over a year now, and that is, “Trade is Extremely Slow”.
Canadian grass and legumes seed exports for last year were down over 35% compared to year ago levels. Of our major crops, alfalfa seed exports were down 20%, creeping red fescue exports down 47%, and timothy seed down 60%. It’s no wonder the grass and legume seed trade is struggling. There simply is no seed movement.
Other crops of note were perennial ryegrass, with exports down 38%, clover seed exports down 27%, and all wheatgrass exports down 19%. Only bromegrass seed exports showed export improvement, with bromegrass exports, both smooth and meadow, up 24%.
On the price side, nothing much has changed.
Creeping red fescue quotes are still in the 35 to 40 ¢/lb range, although there have been reports of a couple new sales. For the forage grass seeds, smooth brome is around 35 – 40 ¢/lb, with certified 5 to 10 ¢/lb higher. Meadow brome quotes are all over the map, with price quotes anywhere’s from 80¢ to $1.10 /lb. Timothy quotes have fallen to 28-30 ¢/lb. Certified Climax is around 40 ¢/lb.
Alfalfa quotes are in the $1.25 to $1.45/lb range, while red clover and alsike clover are marred at 50 – 60 ¢/lb for red, and 35 to 45 ¢/lb for alsike.
Processors are starting to gear up for their retail season, and hopefully this will bring new business and demand.
Grass and Legume Seed Quotes
 | Creeping Red Fescue | Boreal C R Fescue | Smooth Brome grass | Carlton Smooth Brome grass | Meadow Brome grass | Fleet Meadow Brome grass | Timothy | Climax Timothy | Alfalfa | Red Clover | Alsike Clover | Sweet Clover |
| Com #1 | Cert #1 | Com #1 | Cert #1 | Com #1 | Cert #1 | Com #1 | Cert #1 | Com #1 | Com #1 | Com #1 | Com #1 |
Jan 09 | 60-62 | 65-75 | 45-60 | 60-70 | 160-170 | 170-190 | 40-50 | 50-65 | 120-150 | 110-125 | 40-50 | 35-50 |
Feb 3 | 55-60 | 65-75 | 45-60 | 60-70 | 160-165 | 170-190 | 40-45 | 50-65 | 120-150 | 115-125 | 40-50 | 35-50 |
Mar 3 | 50-60 | 60-70 | 45-55 | 55-65 | 155-165 | 170-180 | 40-50 | 55-60 | 120-140 | 105-115 | 40-50 | 35-50 |
Mar 31 | 45-50 | 50-60 | 45-50 | 55-65 | 155-165 | 170-180 | 40-45 | 45-55 | 120-130 | 80-110 | 35-40 | 35-40 |
May 4 | 40-45 | 50-55 | 45-50 | 55-60 | 150-160 | 160-170 | 40 | 45-55 | 100-125 | 80-100 | 35-40 | 35-40 |
June 2 | 40-45 | 50-55 | 40-50 | 50-60 | 150-160 | 160-170 | 40 | 45-55 | 100-125 | 80-100 | 35-40 | 35-40 |
July 7 | 40-45 | 50-55 | 40-50 | 50-60 | 150-160 | 160-170 | 40 | 45-55 | 100-125 | 80-100 | 35-40 | 35-40 |
Aug 4 | 42-45 | 50-55 | 40-50 | 50-60 | 130-140 | 140-160 | 35-40 | 45-55 | 100-130 | 80-100 | 35-45 | 35-40 |
Sept 1 | 40-45 | 50-52 | 40-45 | 45-50 | 120-130 | 140-150 | 30-40 | 45-55 | 100-130 | 60-80 | 40-45 | 30-40 |
Oct 6 | 40-43 | 50 | 40-45 | 45-48 | 80-120 | 100-140 | 30-40 | 45-55 | 90-140 | 65-80 | 40 | 35-40 |
Nov 3 | 40-45 | 50 | 35-40 | 40-45 | 80-120 | 120-140 | 30-45 | 45-55 | 100-140 | 50-80 | 25-40 | 30-40 |
1-Dec | 40 | 45 | 35-40 | 40-45 | 80-120 | 120-140 | 30-40 | 40-45 | 100-140 | 50-80 | 35-45 | 30-40 |
5-Jan | 40 | 45 | 35-40 | 40-45 | 80-120 | 120-140 | 28-30 | 40 | 110-145 | 50-70 | 35-45 | 30-40 |
2-Feb | 35-40 | 40-45 | 35-40 | 40-45 | 70-110 | 120-130 | 25-30 | 40 | 115-140 | 50-70 | 35-45 | 30-40 |
2-Mar | 35-40 | 40-45 | 35-40 | 40-45 | 70-110 | 120-130 | 25-30 | 40 | 125-140 | 50-70 | 35-45 | 30-40 |
| Prices are quotes only, until actual orders come in, that's when firm pricing is established - prices in ¢/lb |
Prepared by David Wong, Market Specialist, Ag-Info Centre (310-3276), Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development |
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