Pricing help for pea growers

How much should you get for peas sold into the feed market? Good question. That's why Pulse Canada is posting feed pea benchmark prices for Western Canada on its website. You'll find the latest benchmark in PDF format. This gives buyers and sellers a useful pricing reference. For example, the benchmark for March 2-6 says the feed pea price in central Alberta should be $205.76 per tonne based on prices for competing feed sources, including barley, wheat and corn.

“Pricing comparisons for feed peas have often been lacking in Western Canada,” says Jeff Bond, director of the Feed Pea Network for Pulse Canada. “These feed pea benchmark prices are a transparent, unbiased and reliable pricing reference for the industry.”

Mark March 25 on your calendar

Pulse Canada will host an internet-based seminar on March 25 at 1:00 p.m. CST to discuss the benchmark and the benefits to both buyers and sellers of feed peas in Western Canada.

Benchmark prices, updated weekly, will provide an unbiased estimate of the intrinsic feeding value of dry peas in Central Alberta (Red Deer and area), Central Saskatchewan (Saskatoon and area) and Southern Manitoba (Winnipeg and area). The benchmark prices are generated from a standardized least-cost feed formulation for swine, which is typical of what major hog producers in Western Canada currently use. 

Hog rations are used to determine the benchmark as most of the peas fed in Western Canada end up in swine diets. The benchmark price represents the price at which peas start to become an economically feasible feed ingredient for hog producers to include in their diets.