Hay Report - Big Vetch year ahead

Check out this speaker list - Chris Howie, Peter Law, Danny Thomas, Nigel Kerin, Prof Richard Eckard, Jess Cavanagh, Jeremy Hutchings, Ellen Garland, Vic Dohle, and Jeff McDonald. All these speakers will deliver so many takeaways for Farmers. The event is "The Business of Farming". Friday, March 3rd, 2023 in Bendigo, Victoria. For an agenda and to buy tickets, click here. See the flyer below.

For the fortnight up to the 21st of February 2023.

By Dwain Duxson

Going by sales of Vetch Seed this year on the Farm Tender platform, we are likely to see a lot of Vetch planted this coming Winter Cropping season.

It's such a diverse Crop, and in the back of Farmer's minds is the high price they paid for Fertiliser and Nitrogen last year. It was by and far the most expensive Crop ever planted. Planting expensive Crops is fraught with danger. You need a favourable outcome with both yield and price to make a profit.

By diversity, we mean you can Graze it, Green or Brown Manure it, Cut it for Hay or Harvest it for Grain. Good old Popany has been a strong seller this year, as Growers would probably be looking at the Hay option first when growing this more expensive variety.

But getting conditions right at Cutting and Baler time hasn't eventuated over the last few seasons. To make top-quality Vetch Hay you need some luck.

In the Hay world, I reckon there is nothing better than seeing and smelling good Vetch Hay. It's a pleasure to feed out. I guess it's like having a green lawn or a brown patch in the front yard. I know what I would rather.

Somewhere along the line Vetch took over from Lucerne as the Protein Hay of choice. However, Lucerne bounced back this year and being a perennial Crop, you can keep going back to the well time and time again, and that's exactly what Lucerne Growers have done this year.

Around the grounds. Many are reporting how dry it is and how hard the ground is after a wet year. Parts of Queensland are extremely dry, similar to Northern NSW. Gippsland hasn't had rain for some time and is looking for Hay to tie them over. Other areas are typically dry for this time of year. 

Farmers are also starting to think about the Autumn period and when the weather cools down. Some are looking to stockpile while the price is still reasonable.

We are looking forward to Vic Dohle from Green and Gold Contracting being a part of a panel to talk about Hay at our Business of Farming event in Bendigo on March 3 (see link above). The domestic and export Hay markets have been a challenge for many over the last couple of years, and I am looking forward to picking Vic's brain about everything Hay. It would be great if you could come along.

What's happened to Hay prices over the last fortnight?

Good Clover Hay made $350 in the last fortnight, with Lucerne Hay operating around the same number.

Straw sold at around $90 a tonne.

Most of the Vetch Hay we sold was around $200 a tonne and below. 

There was some good Barley Hay sold for up to $250 a tonne. 

We go around the grounds to see what our Farm Tender Salespeople have to say:

Paul Grayling - Mallee, Vic based

Paul said - Over the past fortnight, there has been some interest in Vetch and also Clover type Hay, and also some interest in Straw with most people trying to marry quality with price. Getting the best of both worlds is seemingly difficult. With the quality lacking overall and a belief that there is top dollar getting thrown around for anything with a half-decent Feed test. At the minute, this isn't the case, in my opinion. The rule of thumb that I work on is if it's good quality and the price is right, it will sell. If either of those two are off, it will sit there. At the end of the day, the market will dictate where your at and where you need to be at. The market is, however, fluid, and change is always not far away. 

Shane Ruyg - Qld based

Shane said - Lots of talk but still very little action with the Hay job currently, apart from a couple of decent parcels, it's really just spot loads selling presently. With the current warm weather and moving into Autumn, we predict the market will start heating up as buyers look to stockpile for the winter.

Mike Pickard - Travelling around 

Mike said - Few hay sales into Gippsland this week. But across-the-board, mainly Cereal Hay, is being sold locally. Some Lucerne sales were happening at around $350 a tonne. Talking to one Hay Grower in Queensland, he is on the lookout for some good quality Lucerne Hay to fill a few orders.

End of message

For more information on selling or buying Hay contact the following:

Paul Grayling – 0447 069 082 or paulg@farmtender.com.au

Shane Ruyg – 0447 922 604 or shaner@farmtender.com.au

Mike Pickard – 0429 677 636 or mikep@farmtender.com.au

Or 1300 Farming (1300 327 646)

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