Buyers starting to show interest in quality vetch
Limited demand and low prices are creating some new buyers for hay. See what they are doing with their hay.
SOUTHERN livestock operators are finding their feed demand returning to a normal pattern. Following the prolific flush of spring pasture growth and the mild temperatures of December, the warmer weather has increased the feeding of hay and silage.
The vast majority of this additional demand will be met by the home-grown fodder that is abundant in eastern Australia.
Pastures have dried off and silage bales and pits are being fed out for the first time this season on properties near Colac in southwest Victoria.
Demand for protein hay is common at this time of the year and while the quality of hay is low, demand this month is no different to normal.
Vetch hay buyers are on the hunt for the best quality they can find. Many buyers are not considering lots of vetch with energy levels under nine ME units nor neutral detergent fibre levels over 58 per cent.
As most livestock enterprises have supplies, the number of buyers is obviously reduced. This month the few buyers who are in the market are mainly buying for feedlotting lambs or future for demand.
A common barrier preventing graziers to capitalise on surplus pasture and fodder is their low stock numbers. Sheep producers keen to boost their numbers are chasing ewes ready for joining in February.
To achieve a healthy cycling ewe ready for joining next month at an ideal liveweight of 45kg, vetch hay has provided the added protein to incorporate with grain to boost growth rates.
Also small number of dairy farmers with spare shed space and capital are stocking up on vetch hay. Although there is more hay supply than demand at present, many in the hay sector understand that this will change.
Dry times are increasing, and irrigation water supplies are becoming tighter. If vetch hay can be stockpiled securely in a well-designed shed, these buyers are banking on cheap vetch from this year paying dividends in future years.
The capital commitment can be significant, but vetch hay is cheap. If reasonable quality vetch can be bought for $220 a tonne delivered to dairy farms in the Murray and Goulburn Valleys, this price equates to decile two.
In 80 per cent of the time in the past 10 years, vetch hay has been more expensive than $220 a tonne delivered.
Given the increased irrigation allocations and extended growing season for southern producers, lucerne hay is making a comeback this season. Growers near Ballarat are baling their second cut of lucerne after baling the first cut as silage.
Baling high-quality lucerne with high leaf content has been tricky in the scorching heat of recent days, but contractors hope to return to cut other paddocks after this week’s rain.
Demand for small square bales of lucerne hay for the horse sector has been consistent. Growers with direct contacts with the equestrian industry have been achieving $13 a bale ex-farm, which equates to $520 a tonne.
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