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Summary
Driving Prices Up
- While pastures continue to rebound well in the north of the country; producers are still looking for high quality protein hay lines and are keeping prices elevated. In WA the very dry conditions continue and are driving demand across all fodder lines as pastures are only supporting dry feed.
- The better cattle prices are lifting optimism about hay trading as the flow on moves through the supply chain with livestock producers looking to put more weight on the stock before sales.
- The benchmark price set by exporters looking to fill shipments is still keeping cereal hay in demand and as a consequence, replacement fodder line pricing are being kept buoyant. This is expected to rebalance in the next few weeks.
Driving Prices Down
- Reasonable green feed availability across parts of NSW all of Victoria and Tasmania and parts of South Australia are meeting short term livestock needs which have led to a reduction in demand for fodder lines.
- There appears to be a fair amount of straw available in the market from QLD and NSW, as well as some now being made in NSW and WA. Some suggestion that Victorian producers will reduce the amount of straw they make this year both due to possible weather damage and with plentiful supply reducing prices.
- Some previous season lower quality cereal hay is available in the market as producers who have had additional fodder producing opportunities look to empty some sheds of older stores.
- Silage and hay production in most of Victoria and parts of Southern NSW is continuing to add more supply to the market.
Local News
- A number of bushfires have been recorded in the southern parts of Western Australia, some of which is impacting agricultural land. The dry conditions are fuelling the fire risk in the region.
- Western Australia’s hay production for the season is confirmed as being below average with a sizable reduction in yield combined with low rainfall leading to little green feed availability. There is growing certainty there will be some supply constraints in late summer and autumn.
- BOM has stated that the long-range forecast for Australia indicates warm days and nights nationwide. During January, there is an increased chance of above median rainfall for parts of Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and more neutral rainfall chances across much of the country. Chances favour drier than average conditions for western parts of WA and the Top End of the NT. The El Niño event continues in the tropical Pacific – the typical drying influence of El Niño on Australia’s climate usually reduces during summer, especially in the east.
- Buyers are encouraged to feed test and view fodder before purchase to be sure of the quality of feed.