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Driving Prices Up
- Limited vetch planting this season has reduced supply, driving up demand for lucerne and other protein-rich hays, with prices expected to remain firm.
- The beef sector’s demand for hay is strong due to herd growth and export opportunities.
Driving Prices Down
- Recent storms and wet conditions have delayed harvests in the north, leading to bleached, lower-grade hay with thicker stems and higher NDF. Overall, high-quality hay volumes are down, as adverse weather and frost have pushed many high-yielding crops toward grain production instead of hay.
Local News
- The Wimmera and Mallee regions are already classified as a high fire risk due to the dry conditions and limited soil moisture. The southwest, central Victoria and northern country is drying out quickly.
- Parts of southern NSW and Victoria were hit by rain last weekend which meant many farmers were waiting until Tuesday this week to get back into the paddocks.
- Wild weather last weekend impacted eastern Australia with a vast line of storms from northwest Queensland to southern Victoria that marched towards the east coast. A total of approximately 2.5 million lightning strikes were recorded Australia-wide on Sunday by Weatherzone’s Total Lightning Network, as a well-defined line of storms formed along a trough.
- Widespread falls in the 10-25mm range were recorded across the whole of eastern NSW except for the far northeast and southeast corners. Many locations in central Victoria and eastern NSW also saw falls in the range of 25-50mm, and there were even a few spots in both states that topped 50mm.
- The alpine areas of both NSW and Victoria received a welcome drop after a relatively dry month.
- Tasmania also received handy falls in all forecast districts, with totals topping 50mm at some locations in the state’s west.
- The BOM has released a Climate Driver Update, reporting that the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) remains neutral, with sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the central equatorial Pacific Ocean at ENSO-neutral levels.
- Buyers are encouraged to feed test and view fodder before purchase to be sure of the quality of feed.