Hay Report - Feed Grains popular but Hay sales are picking up

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For the fortnight up to the 24th of January 2023.

As the dust settles on the Grain Harvest, we are seeing a lot more Hay listings coming forward.

We can see by the increase in the number of sales that things are starting to pick up a little. The dry period we are experiencing currently has forced many to start looking at buying some Hay. Mike mentioned below that things have dried right off in Southern Queensland, which will force Cattle Producers to start their supplementary Feeding programs.

From Christmas until now, we have been selling more Feed Grains than Hay, with Beans, Lupins and Barley being popular.

Interestingly there has been plenty of demand for Seed Hay Oats and Seed Vetch for this year's planting season.

The poor price for Sheep has meant that many are holding back Ewes they would have normally sold by now. There will be a lot of decisions made to either hold and join or quit at these current prices. Hay and Feed Grains will come into play if people are more overstocked than usual.

Lucerne Hay Growers are in the box seat, especially those in Irrigation areas. These guys will be pushing the envelope to get as many cuts as possible, as we think the Protein market still might have some legs as far as price is concerned. The Dairy market is starting to buy Lucerne, whereas many would usually buy Vetch.

We are starting to see more Cereal Hay move.

There is more and more Straw coming onto the market recently. It's one of those things where Croppers have made a bit of a snap decision to do Straw or not. Those that did would be taking a bit of a punt on what is going to happen in 2023.

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

Cereal Hay sold up to $275 a tonne in the last fortnight.

Lucerne Hay sold up to $365 a tonne over the last week.

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

Paul Grayling - Mallee, Vic based

Paul said - I have noticed a recent lift in Hay listings on the site. We are seeing that typically at least one of the key indicators will seem reasonably good, but it seems to be a struggle seeing a test where all three areas are high. The areas I speak about are Protein, Metabolised Energy and NDF (Neutral Detergent Fibre). With the season we have just had, it seems that there might be a need to subsidise one or more of these factors to capitalise on the Feed values available. There are some areas that have produced a better quality of Hay due to climactic conditions. I think the overall key is to try to avoid the rain affected options if that can be achieved. 

Shane Ruyg - Qld based

Shane said - Starting to see more enquiry on the Hay job, with things very quiet up till the last couple of weeks. Lucerne, in particular, is very popular, and Vetch Hay is starting to gain traction along with Cereal Hay. Lots of Straw being listed, and we can see the Hay season taking off in Feb/Mar as we are hearing that it is drying off down south now..

Mike Pickard - Travelling around 

Mike said - Some of the larger Hay Suppliers are purchasing from Farmers, so they have enough stocks to supply their existing customers. Some good Hay sales have happened this week with Oaten Hay ($240-275/mt) as some Farmers top up the Sheds for the winter.

Lucerne Hay has been popular with good sales happening. The season has turned quite dry across the Darling Downs (Qld), with next to no rain falling since the end of November. There is a big contrast between that area and the North, where it is extremely wet through Central Queensland and into North Queensland.

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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