Hay Report - Welcome rain for some..

It’s encouraging to finally see some rain fall across parts of the country. While there are still plenty of tough patches doing it hard, this will certainly lift confidence and hopefully get crops moving after sitting dry for the past few weeks.

We’re still hearing of solid volumes of hay heading up the highway into those critical feeding areas where demand remains strong, though with fuel prices easing there is at least some welcome relief starting to flow through to freight costs.

Good quality protein hay such as Vetch and Lucerne continues to move into NSW, along with cereal hay, while straw has definitely been busier as producers look to roughage their cattle and stretch feed supplies further.

Hay stocks appear to be holding at reasonable levels for now, and with a bit more rain and a favourable forecast, confidence should continue to build. If conditions improve, hopefully we’ll see more hay grown again this coming season, because there is no doubt demand will still be there.

Back in a fortnight.

Shane Ruyg

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

Here are the latest prices.

• Vetch is in the bracket of $250 to $440 a tonne (New Season)
•  Cereal Hay ranges from $200 to $450 a tonne (New Season)
•  Lucerne Hay ranges from $340 to $615 a tonne.
•  Clover & Rye Hay ranges from $350-$380 a tonne.
•  New Season Straw ranges (at the moment) is from $90-$150 a tonne.

We go around the grounds to hear from our Farm Tender Sales team:

Paul Grayling

The last Fortnight has seen a shift in sales, With buyers now seeming to be more active, Transport is still an issue with long trips but we are starting to see the price of Fuel softening somewhat which hopefully will see freight rates mirror that. With some rain in the southern part of the country giving some level of reprieve, with the weather cooling off and soil temps dropping this might not be as impactful is it would have been a couple of weeks ago. Supply is still fairly good but the distance between where the Hay is located to where it is required is proving to be a sticking point.

Mike Pickard

Jim Oehms

Nothing has really changed since my last report, if anything, the hay job has got a little more busier. A majority of hay/straw is predominantly heading from VIC into NSW due to very dry conditions, especially from the mid to northern NSW and into parts of QLD also. All varieties are being sought after and the good thing is prices are still very reasonable at this stage. The only downside really is the transport, fuel costs and most are enquiring on hay and straw as close as possible to them to minimise this cost. Silage enquiries have also picked up in the last 2 weeks as well. There are also a lot that i talk too that are holding onto their hay due to the uncertainty of what will happen over the coming winter months. If you are selling your hay, remember to have a feed test done ( a lot of people that do not have feed tests on their listings are asked the question at time of enquiring) and if buying, to inspect beforehand.

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

Jim Oehms -- 0481 102 288 or jimo@farmtender.com.au

Or call us on 1300 Farming (1300 327 646)