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    Profitability

Economics

Hybrid Fall Rye has been bred and hybridized to achieve 20-40% higher yields and has changed rye to one of the most profitable cereals grown in Western Canada.

Economics

Rye is an ancient grain that can be traced back thousands of years.

Rye originated in Turkey and surrounding countries where it can still be found growing wild today.

Today rye is primarily grown in the northern regions of the EU including Denmark, Germany and Poland along with Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. This area produces around 90% of global production. This area is often referred to as the rye belt.

2019/2020 Global Rye production (USDA – Foreign Agricultural Service)

Countries Production
(000’s of metric tonnes)
% Supply
EU Countries 7,950 68.7%
Russia 1,424 12.3%
Belarus 650 5.6%
Ukraine 339 2.9%
Canada 330 2.9%
Turkey 320 2.8%
USA 270 2.3%
Rest of world 284 2.5%
Total 11,567 100%

In Canada, the rye crop is very small. Historically rye was a much larger crop when Canadian farmers supplied a larger portion of the USA food market and when farmers used this crop more for domestic forage and feed. For many years, this crop had seen little investment in breeding or new technology in Canada. As a result, farmers had moved to other cereal crops for better return on investment.

Canadian rye production

  1980’s
average
2010’s
average
019/2020
Seeded area (ha) 363,000 137,000 175,000
Production (mt) 635,000 262,000 333,000
Domestic use (mt)     159000
Export use (mt)     170,000
  Stats Canada   AAFC Mar 19,
2020

Assumptions:

This feed model is based on Western Canada average yields and market values that allow access of rye as a feed ingredient.

The model is based on a corn value of $187/mt and all other feed products are priced competitively to this value – based on value of energy and fibre.
Rye Generally becomes favorable for feed when rye is <$10/mt over barley and corn while <$10/mt under wheat – based on value of energy and fibre.

Disclaimer:
Farm producers and feed analysts are recommended to conduct individual analysis for specific operations and markets.

In addition to the direct impact of yield on economics, hybrid rye includes many indirect economic benefits. This includes having a cover crop in fall/winter to protect the soil from erosion, nutrient and water losses. Further benefits involve spreading out many cropping risks including weather, disease, workload, overhead and marketing.

For more information call (403)926-8861