Season kicks off early with warmer weather

Dairy farmers stock up on vetch at favourable prices for summer ahead of crop uncertainty with wetter conditions forecast for spring.

Win-win situation: Some buyers are picking up hay early at reasonable prices and this is freeing up shed space for vendors.

WITH early sown vetch crops flowering and temperatures nudging 24C in the Mallee, the hay season is expected to kick off this week, at least two weeks earlier than normal.

The weather near Sea Lake should be kind to these freshly cut windrows that lay exposed to the open skies. Only light showers of less than 5mm are forecast in the Mallee tomorrow and the weekend.

Brokers and growers are reporting increased buying of old-crop vetch hay by dairy farmers in the southwest and northern irrigation regions of Victoria. Loads of shedded vetch have traded at $250 a tonne delivered to dairy farms in the Murray and Goulburn Valleys.

This represents good buying for dairy farmers, who are acquiring the hay for summer demand rather than more urgent needs.

While the maximum volumes of hay are yet to hit the market, the quality of vetch and cereal hay remains uncertain.

The trend towards wetter conditions during spring has encouraged some buyers to purchase a known quality of hay while it is available at favourable prices.

This works well for the sellers as they are able to free up valuable shed capacity for their incoming bales that are soon to hit paddocks.

Hay growers know the value of sheds. With a potentially large hay crop about to be cut, having it securely stored out of the weather normally ensures a premium of at least $10 to $20 a tonne later in the season.

Vetch growers have also been keen to secure sales for their new-crop vetch hay and have been offering at prices down to $230 a tonne ex-farm off the back of the baler, plus the option of $10 a tonne for storage.

Although these prices are attractive, buyers are not enthusiastic, as the quality of this hay is uncertain. A lot can happen to vetch during the curing phase.

A typical parcel of vetch could be expected to test out at 11 ME units of energy and 20 per cent protein, but after heavy rain vetch can also test 8.5 ME and 17 per cent protein.

The hay industry is poorly equipped to manage this quality risk in a forward contract.

In simplistic terms, if buyers and sellers could set contract prices on a mid-quality basis, test results could adjust the contract prices up or down according to the prevailing cheapest costs of protein and energy.

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