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Driving Prices Up
- An article in The Weekly Times explains how growers who have access to suitable storage facilities are prepared to hold on to their hay for four to six months after baling. The tax-effective scheme of Farm Management Deposits provided by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, allows farmers to set aside pre-tax income into eligible accounts, and pay tax only in the year the cash is withdrawn. By waiting until the hay market is more favourable, hay sale prices could increase based on demand in areas that have had low yields throughout this year.
Driving Prices Down
- Crop affected areas in northeastern Victoria and southern NSW are finding that the quality of their harvests have been impacted by the recent rainfalls, which is therefore negatively impacting the price of hay sales.
Local News
- The hot, dry and windy conditions earlier in the week generated an extreme fire danger across parts of south eastern SA and western Vic on Monday. These conditions could have been even more dangerous by potential high based thunderstorms, which tend to come with little or no rainfall. This is called dry lightning, which can spark bushfires in hot and dry conditions such as today. These thunderstorms also may become severe, generating damaging wind gusts across parts of the state. If there is abundant dry matter and plant material on the ground, this is highly flammable and poses danger.
- Reports state that the cropping area of Western Australia is celebrating its third-largest harvest on record, with wheat yields looking to average 3.5 tonnes per hectare. Despite this great achievement, the Grains Industry Association of Western Australia’s crop report for December states that “pre-harvest estimates of grain yields for wheat, barley and canola have ended up being well below actual yields”.
- Cereal hay is trading well in southern Australia as those whose crops were frost-affected during flowering, and whose primary focus is on grain production, were cut were hay instead.
- Red Fire Ant Invasion of QLD and NSW: Under the Biosecurity Act 2014, everyone – individuals and organisations -has a general biosecurity obligation (GBO) to take all reasonable steps to prevent the spread of fire ants. Queenslanders are legally required to report suspected sightings of fire ants within 24 hours of their discovery, and depending on the nest locations, take action to treat the pest. If you do not do this, penalties may apply.
Fire ant biosecurity zones are also in place to help manage the movement of materials that are known to spread fire ants such as soil, hay, mulch, manure, quarry products, turf and potted plants. - Buyers are encouraged to feed test and view fodder before purchase to be sure of the quality of feed.